The Philadelphia Eagles may have suffered the most surprising loss of the Nick Sirianni-Jalen Hurts era. The Eagles — the NFL’s final remaining unbeaten team — lost their first game of the season, a 20-14 loss to the New York Jets in Week 6. Despite turning the ball over four times — and forcing zero turnovers on defense — Philadelphia appeared to be in full control of the game, leading 14-12 with possession of the ball with 1:50 remaining in the game.
However, Jalen Hurts threw his third interception of the game — a career high — in the middle of double coverage on a pass intended for tight end Dallas Goedert. The Jets’ Tony Adams snagged the ball at their 46-yard line and returned it to the Eagles’ 8-yard line. The Jets would then score the game-winning touchdown one play later to secure the victory.
Sirianni was blunt in his assessment of Hurts’ third interception, which proved to be the difference in a tight game dominated by defense. “I thought that was the only turnover that was on him, though,” said Sirianni during the postgame press conference. “We need that back in that critical time. He’s going to want that back. We want that back. You know, if the play doesn’t work, we look at ourselves as coaches first, and say, ‘Was that the right play?’ That’s part of being accountable.”
Sirianni also stressed that the Eagles’ four overall turnovers — D’Andre Swift‘s fumble with 1:53 left before halftime resulted in a Jets field goal — won’t win the team games. “Any time you’re minus-4 in the turnovers, you’re not going to win many games,” Sirianni said.
Jalen Hurts Says Eagles Gave Jets ‘Too Many Opportunities’
Hurts admitted the Eagles gave the Jets — who had just 155 passing yards and 244 total yards during the game — one too many opportunities. “We had so many missed opportunities, so many mistakes as if we kind of gave it away,” said Hurts following the game. “Give a credit to them and how hard they played. … But I think we gave them too many opportunities.”
Despite the humbling loss, Hurts said he wanted to turn this negative into a positive as Philadelphia prepares to host the 5-1 Miami Dolphins on Sunday Night Football in Week 7. “This is an opportunity for us to grow,” Hurts said. “The great ones turn negative situations into positives.”
There’s little doubt that Hurts struggled throughout the game when it came to passing the football. He posted season-lows across the board in passer rating (59.5), quarterback rating (54.3) and completion percentage (62.2%).
Jalen Hurts Pressured Heavily Following Lane Johnson’s Injury
The absence of right tackle Lane Johnson — who suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter and did not return — likely played a role in those struggles, as ESPN’s Tim McManus points out. “Jalen Hurts was pressured on a season-high 40% of his dropbacks despite being blitzed on a season-low 16% of his dropbacks, per @ESPNStatsInfo,” writes McManus. “Hurts was pressured 20 times, his most in his last 36 games including playoffs.”
With the Eagles losing their first regular season game with Hurts at quarterback since Week 9 of the 2022 season, they’ll look to bounce back with a victory over one of the NFL’s top teams in the Dolphins next week.
