The Philadelphia Eagles offense struggled on Sunday against New York. You could argue it was their worst outing of the entire season offensively.
Jalen Hurts essentially facilitated this let down, throwing three interceptions and posting a passer rating of 17.5. His team didn’t exactly do a great job picking up the slack either. Boston Scott fumbled on the team’s second to last drive, Greg Ward dropped a touchdown on the goal line, and of course, Jalen Reagor dropped back-to-back go ahead touchdowns at the end of the game.
But guys like Greg Ward and Jalen Reagor should never be the go-to guys with the game on the line. Even depending on a backup running back in Boston Scott on the final drive is a little questionable.
Nick Sirianni has done a better job incorporating his playmakers over the past few weeks, but he reverted back to force feeding underwhelming players on Sunday. There’s no reason Reagor should have as many targets as DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert combined. Reagor finished the day with two receptions on seven targets. Smith had two receptions on four targets, while Goedert hauled in one catch on three targets.
Some of this falls on the quarterback as well. Sirianni admitted that the final play of the game was designed to go to Smith, but Hurts decided to throw it to the guy who just dropped a touchdown a few plays earlier instead.
Reagor was open on the play and he absolutely should have caught the pass, so I shouldn’t get on Hurts too much for this play. But in crunch time with the game on the line, it’s always more favorable to depend on your best players, rather than giving a guy like Reagor an opportunity.
The Eagles offense is at its best when they lean on the rushing attack and use it to scheme their best pass catchers open. Smith and Goedert are the only receivers on the team that Sirianni/Hurts can depend on every week, which obviously isn’t ideal. But the offense has been successful despite their lacking fire power.
In order to get back on track offensively, Sirianni needs to put a heavy emphasis on getting the ball into his best player’s hands. Focus on Smith and Goedert, while giving Quez Watkins some looks here and there. Simple as that.
There’s a fine line between developing young guys for the future and doing what’s necessary to win right now. Sirianni needs to find that happy medium and figure out how to effectively incorporate his skill players.
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