December 11, 2025
Denny Medley/Imagn Images
Can Jalen Hurts and the Eagles find positives to build on from their passing game in a loss to the Chargers?
To the naked eye, the Eagles' offense didn't take a step forward against the Chargers on Monday night. It probably looked as bad in real time as it has at any point during the season, if not worse.
But in reality, the Eagles made strides with their passing offense against the Chargers, at least in design and, sometimes, in execution.
For the first time, perhaps ever in the Nick Sirianni/Jalen Hurts era, the Eagles featured some higher-level NFL pass concepts beyond the endless array of hitches, glance routes, slants and RPOs that had become basically their entire standard operating procedure.
But because of rare turnovers (five of them!), dropped passes and penalties, you would've had to squint really hard to see that progress in real time.
Modifications were there, though, and acknowledged in a positive light this week by Eagles coaches and players. Hurts told reporters on Wednesday that he knew the media "obviously caught some of the changes made this week," but lamented that other issues overshadowed those positives, adding that "every week when we do something well, there's another thing that kind of bites us."
Not only were these route designs incorporated into the offense, but Hurts' execution on several of them showed his growth as a pocket passer that just hadn't been on display throughout the season.
It can be argued that his 28-yard overtime bullet to DeVonta Smith on third down was the best between-the-numbers pass he's thrown all season, possibly in his entire career.
"Obviously, I never want the turnovers, but he did some really good things," head coach Nick Sirianni said Wednesday. "We were able to move the football against a really good defense. Now, we didn't finish drives for multiple different reasons, and we turned the ball over for multiple different reasons, but there was a lot to be encouraged by that we're continuing to go into the right direction that we need to go [in.]"
Which is why the Eagles must be careful in how they evaluate the impact of those newer concepts.
If they only judge Monday's tape by outcome – another loss, chaotic turnovers, another woeful third-down rate, and being out-possessed nearly 2 to 1 – then on Sunday against the Raiders, they're likely to revert back to the same, predictable, milquetoast offense that they can simply say was good enough when it mattered most to win a Super Bowl.
If they draw a parallel between their attempt to modernize the offense and Hurts' four picks, there should be no expectation of growth or development moving forward.
But if Sirianni and his offensive staff were honest about those encouraging signs from tape review, then Sirianni should follow his own advice from four years ago and treat that Chargers tape like "growth under the soil" with "roots growing out."
The infamous 2021 flower analogy was mocked locally and nationally, but eventually proved Sirianni right. Maybe Monday's offensive performance, also getting ripped apart locally and nationally, will become the 2025 version of the flower analogy.
There's only one way to find out.
The Chargers typically play a heavy dose of zone, so the Eagles schemed up some flood concepts and other patterns designed to get more outlets on one side of the field to outnumber the defense and create options in the voids that zone typically presents.
On back-to-back snaps in the second quarter, the Eagles deployed "21 personnel" (two running backs, one tight end) to work their play-action game. Hurts hit tight end Dallas Goedert for 16 yards on the first, then found A.J. Brown for 22 more on the next as the Eagles struck big plays against an excellent defense.
The 16-yard connection to Goedert came on a four-strong concept that schemed to have four different routes to the boundary side of the field – a deep post (A.J. Brown), backside dig (DeVonta Smith), shallow cross (Goedert) and wheel (Shipley).
Notice the precise throw from Hurts between the numbers. He planted his back foot and threw decisively.
Here's how it looks in freeze frame, showing all four routes to one side:
— Geoff Mosher (@geoffmosher2) December 11, 2025
Hurts could've hit Smith on the backside crosser for more yards, but it was first down and the Eagles needed positive momentum after going three-and-out on their prior possession. No harm in taking the easier option.
Directly after came another four-strong concept, but with different personnel and from a different formation. Cam Latu replaced Shipley, Daruis Cooper (a blocking receiver, mostly) replaced Goedert, and Hurts went under center with both receivers aligned tight to scrimmage to give the appearance of a downhill run.
Again, there's a backside dig (Brown) and running back leaking into the flat (Latu), but this time there's double posts to the boundary from the slot receiver (Cooper) and outside receiver (Smith) that combined to create four routes on the boundary.
The double posts took two Chargers defenders deep while two other defenders were drawn to Latu, creating an open window in the middle for Brown. Hurts just needed to be decisive, and he was. He put the ball in Brown's hands on his second straight pass between the numbers for a 22-yard gain that had the deep in Chargers territory.
Unfortunately for Hurts and the offense, three plays later came the interception to a dropping lineman that happened on 3rd-and-2 from a spread empty formation, which the Eagles showcased 15 times, their most this season. One step forward, two steps back.
But there were other examples of Hurts finding, and hitting, receivers over the middle from newer route concepts, giving them opportunities for YAC that have been missing from the playbook all season.
None was more obvious, or impactful, than his 28-yard dime to Smith in overtime. It came on another high-low concept from under center, against Cover 2. What made it more impressive was that it converted 3rd-and-16, a death knell down and distance against Los Angeles.
The Eagles finished with their third-most YAC yards this season despite Hurts' turnovers and struggles in other areas of the passing game, and the other problems that weren't his fault.
The coaches this week need to brainstorm and ask: Were the turnovers and other misfires a result of the advanced passing game that Hurts can't handle, or just an unfortunate coincidence?
Only one way to find out.
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