‘I take accountability:' Why Jalen Hurts blames himself for sputtering offense

I take accountability:' Why Jalen Hurts blames himself for sputtering offense originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Jalen Hurts doesn't like it either.

Hurts expects more from the Eagles' offense. He demands more.

What we've seen these last two weeks isn't close to what he knows the Eagles are capable of.

And he knows exactly who's to blame.

I take accountability for a lot of it, because it's my job," Hurts said after practice Wednesday. My job is to go outthere and be the general, orchestrate everything and ultimately make plays. given the opportunities we had,

I'm very critical of myself of trying to make the most of what's given to us. And so there's definitely some evolution that we can do. There's definitely some things that we can grow in, but I look inward on all of those things and just want to make the most of the opportunities that we do have."

Of course it's not only Hurts and it probably isn't even mostly Hurts. He's completing 75.6 percent of his passes - highest in Eagles history through two games - and he hasn't committed a turnover.

But the offense has grossly underachieved and hasn't looked remotely like the 2024 Super Bowl group.

The Eagles are 29^thin the NFL in yards per game, 30^thin yards per play, 20^thin rushing yards per play, 27^thin passing yards per play and 18^thin first downs. Hurts has completed just three passes of 10 yards or more and he's last in the NFL with just 7.4 yards per completion. He's yet to throw a touchdown pass, although he's run for three.

Not to mention A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith only have 104 yards combined, and Saquon Barkley is averaging 3.8 yards per carry.

It's bad. And Hurts knows it.

We have a standard, and we have things that we look inward on and we want toimprove on, and it starts with me," he said. Ultimately, it comes down to executing and then executing in the most important moments. And so obviously we desire for a next-level of consistency in that and something I desire (to) just take that step."

The Eagles returned 10 of 11 starters on offense, with only Tyler Steen replacing Mekhi Becton at right guard.

What's changed?

New offensive coordinator, with 1^st-time play caller Kevin Patullo replacing Kellen Moore, now the Saints' head coach.

Patullo and Hurts have been together since 2021, but this is Patullo's first time calling plays on the NFL level, and it's fair to say it's a work in progress.

It comes with time," Hurts said. It comes with time. It comes with time. ... Being on the same page, so there is no gray, you know? You can't play this position in a gray place."

Seems like for most of the first two games, the entire offense was playing in that gray place.

The offense has looked predictable and punchless, and the Eagles are only 2-0 because of lock-down defense, a few timely plays on offense, ball security and a couple notable takeaways.

I think it was a really, really, really good, efficient first week given the circumstances we had," Hurts said. And I think we could have taken that (next) step and we didn't, but we still found a way to win and that's OK. We learned from it. It's only OK if you learn from it."

Ultimately, it's about winning," he said. But we know what we're capable of. But given this new season, this new team, offensive leadership looking different, you grow into that. We're confident in where we can go."

In a way, this all makes sense.

The Eagles are 28-2 since November 2021 when they don't turn the ball over, and Nick Sirianni and presumably Patullo clearly believe that against some teams without high-powered offenses, the best path to a win is to protect the football, play defense and field position and grind out wins.

But it's just as clear that you can't be a Super Bowl team with a lifeless offense.

Offensive football has always been played at a high level here," Hurts said. It's been dynamic and it's found ways to win. And we hope to continue to work to be able to do that. And we think that there are pieces and ways that we can improve and we've been very critical of ourselves. And that starts with me being critical of myself. ...

You're capable of doing something, but are you doing it? The joy we had when we walked off that field (in Kansas City), knowing all the work we put in throughout the week and knowing how tough of a game it was, it's a big-time win.

Now, (there's) the competitive nature and you have to be able to be honest with yourself and be as critical as you can with yourself so you can grow from all of those opportunities."