INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Jalen Hurts did not want to use “we.” He made sure to emphasize “I.”
“The ‘we’ — I look at it, it’s ‘I,’” Hurts said after the first four-interception game of his career. “It starts with me, how I play, how I lead, and my ability to go out there and figure it out.
“There’s no excuses.”
It’s common to explain away a loss as a collective defeat. Hurts was intentional about his word choice after the Eagles’ 22-19 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, which included an interception on the final play of the game while driving with a chance to win. This was an “I” game. Hurts threw four interceptions and fumbled once. He even committed two turnovers on the same play, something that had not occurred in modern football history.
There were also drops that sullied splendid opportunities. There were penalties that negated critical plays. But Hurts did not rationalize his performance based on those realities. Rather, he thought his evening required him to look in the mirror.
“I have to find a way to win,” Hurts said, accentuating the subject in the sentence.
Hurts never runs from the burden of accountability. But this was a reflection of the way he’s playing. He finished 21 of 40 for 240 yards and no touchdowns. The EPA/dropback of -0.38 was the worst of his season. Hurts has committed seven turnovers in the past two games. The offense is averaging 16.2 points in the past five games. The Eagles need better play from their quarterback.
“I didn’t play well enough. Too many turnovers,” Hurts said, “Lots of opportunities, especially when we get on the other side of the 50, and I wasn’t able to get us in the box.”
All turnovers sting, but it’s the last one that’s a lasting one. It came on a first-and-10 at the Chargers’ 17-yard line in overtime. The Eagles had moved the ball effectively, including one of Hurts’ best passes of the season to convert a third-and-16 earlier in the drive. The Chargers, up by a field goal, were on their heels.
“You live for those opportunities, you live for those moments,” Hurts said. “Everything was trending forward.”
Hurts gave the Chargers the game when he tried to squeeze in a tight-window throw that was deflected and intercepted by veteran Tony Jefferson. Coach Nick Sirianni credited the Chargers’ defense. Hurts called it a play he’s “made a million times in that scenario against cloud coverage,” and made no excuse for the dangerous throw in an advantageous situation. Part of the Hurts lore is how often he’s in the winner’s circle, and that drive offered a chance to rewrite the story of a putrid performance. Hurts’ entire football ethos is binary: win or lose.
“Ultimately, it’s a play you need to make,” Hurts said. “You got to handle the ball. I didn’t make the play.”
There weren’t enough plays that Hurts made on Monday. Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo has been under scrutiny in recent weeks, but Hurts cannot escape criticism after five turnovers. Through the first 11 games, Hurts had only one interception and two lost fumbles. In the span of two weeks, he’s turned the ball over seven times. The turnovers are uncharacteristic for him, unless you subscribe to the idea that a regression to the mean was inevitable. The missive to avoid turnovers was used to justify what seemed like a conservative approach at times. Hurts was more aggressive on Monday — the offense needs to move the ball — but he’s seeking the balance between explosive plays and protecting the ball.
“Winning is a point of pride to me,” Hurts responded to a comment noting that protecting the ball is a point of pride. “That’s why we play the game. And I got to find ways to lead our team to victories. It’s not something that’s foreign to us.”
On one of Hurts’ interceptions, he appeared to miss a defensive lineman dropping into coverage. The ball wound up stripped from the defender’s grasp, Hurts recovered it, and then it was stripped from his grasp, marking the two turnovers on the same play. On another, DeVonta Smith appeared to fall at the top of the route. And there was also an interception when Hurts tried to hit A.J. Brown in the middle of the field, and the ball deflected off Brown’s hands and into the hands of a Chargers defender. Brown was about to invite a big hit, but the All-Pro wide receiver put that interception on himself — not the quarterback. He told reporters after the game that he’s “more than capable of making that grab,” and said that play “hurt.”
That was one of a few plays that Brown wished he could have back, including a well-placed pass in the end zone late in the fourth quarter that he could not collect. It’s why Brown defended Hurts after the game.
“You can’t just point a finger,” Brown said. “All of us has a hand in that pot. Obviously, he’s a quarterback, he’s going to get a lot of stuff for it. But we in this together.”
A.J. Brown lamented some missed opportunities in the Eagles’ loss to the Chargers. (Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
Saquon Barkley said of his confidence in Hurts is “high.”
“I don’t know what the numbers were,” Barkley said. “In my opinion, when we got the ball back in overtime, and I got Jalen Hurts as my quarterback, I got all the confidence we’re going to win the football game. Sometimes, it doesn’t work. …This doesn’t change anything.”
Hurts has built equity. He’s a Super Bowl MVP. He’s outplayed Patrick Mahomes on the sport’s biggest stage. He’s led the Eagles to the postseason every year as a starter. The Eagles signed him to a contract in 2023 that gave him the highest average annual salary in the NFL. A bad game does not change his standing.
However, this has become a bad stretch. At the bye, it looked like he could be a darkhorse MVP candidate. Since then, he’s only reached 60 percent completions once in five games. He has more turnovers than touchdowns. He’s misfired more passes. He’s running less. And he’s simply not making the type of winning plays that he’s used to making. He’s not running from this reality. He must return to efficient, productive play that so often leads him to the win column.
“All encompassing,” Hurts said of why he’s putting it on his shoulders. “It’s that way when we have success, and it’s that way when we have tough times. At the end of the day, it definitely stings. It definitely stings. But how do you respond?”
This is not the first time that question’s been asked. There was curiosity about how the Eagles would respond to a collapse in Dallas in Week 12, and they were humiliated by the Bears on Black Friday. There was curiosity about how the Eagles would respond to the Black Friday defeat, after which Sirianni said he spent more time with the offense. The result was a five-turnover performance from Hurts. The offense showed more signs of life — Barkley rushed for a 52-yard score on a wrinkle of the Tush Push — but they still only found the end zone once in 13 drives.
“I look at the man in the mirror first,” Hurts said.
Notice that he said “I.” Hurts did not turn over on responsibility. The problem was that he turned over the ball.