After weeks and weeks of underwhelming passing numbers that didn't really impact the final score too much either way, the Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles' aerial struggles were on full display in Week 14 when, despite being the superior team, the Carolina Panthers nearly pulled off the upset victory if it wasn't for a botched catch by Xavier Legette.
Normally, the sort of relatively efficient dink-and-dunk passing game Philly has deployed over the past few months would be accented by a few deep bombs down the field to really stretch the field and take advantage of the stacked boxes Saquon Barkley demands in the front seven, but in Week 14 that didn't really happen. Sure, Barkley still got his, but the Eagles didn't complete a pass longer than 20 yards and just generally struggled to get the ball to AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith despite being the clear priorities of the pass game.
What gives? Why did Hurts struggle so much against the Panthers, and is this just an anomaly or a sign of bigger issues? Asked about the team's inability to get the ball going down the field and Hurts' increase in time to throw against a paltry defense, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore attempted to break down the issues, noting that he, too, could do a better job of drawing up more compelling plays to keep everyone engaged and happy.
“That’s a good question. I think obviously something we’ll continue to evaluate and give ourselves the best opportunities to be successful. I think there’s a ton of good in there. Some situational football, I think we did really well. On first and second down, obviously there’s some growth opportunities coming out of this game for us, just to play cleaner and more efficient football,” Moore told reporters.
“On my side, I’m going to focus on how I can help from the play design, from sequencing within a game. All of those things just to give us a chance. Obviously there’s plenty of good throughout the season and throughout even this past game in some situational football that we did a really good job.”
Whoa, is Moore just falling on the proverbial sword to be a good coach, or does he genuinely see areas where he can grow as a playcaller too? Fortinately, it might be the former, as he discussed later in his media session.
Kellen Moore wants to make Jalen Hurts' life easier on early downs
Asked if the adjustments the Eagles have made during the bye to make the passing offense less complicated have somehow made Hurts less willing to air things out for fear of an interception, Moore first celebrated his quarterback for avoiding turnovers before noting that, yeah, maybe he does need to call some better plays to give him better shots.
“Great question. I think Jalen has done an excellent job, first and foremost, of protecting the football. Having one turnover since the bye week, he’s done such an incredible job of that. You still see aggressive throws. You still see him throwing downfield,” Moore told reporters.
“This game from a production standpoint in the passing game we didn’t hit the explosives and all those things. Sometimes unfortunately those types of games happen, and this is the challenge in the NFL. You have slugfest games like this, and you find a way to win, and that’s ultimately the number one objective. I think first and second down probably can find ways to improve there, but I think situationally credit to our guys of hanging in there, two-minute drive, four-minute, first downs and passing situations, red zone, two touchdowns. There’s plenty of smaller, little details I thought we performed at a high level.”
While the NFL isn't college football, where offensive coordinators can scheme up easy looks for quarterbacks on the regular, the Eagles really do look a good bit less inspired than many of their peers around the league, with defenses being able to key in on what they plan to do in order to take it away. If Moore can bring back the motion and give Hurts an easier time before the snap, the overall passing results will likely improve right alongside it.
