The Linc - Jalen Hurts and the passing game have to be better

NFC Wild Card Playoffs: Green Bay Packers v Philadelphia Eagles — Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 1/13/25.

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

Roob’s Observations: Defense carries Eagles to crucial wild card win over Packers – NBCSP
3. Through seven series, the Eagles had 29 net passing yards, and Jalen Hurts looked absolutely lost. The 11-yard touchdown to Jahan Dotson on the third play of the game was sweet, but the next six drives netted 18 net passing yards, and Hurts was missing open receivers, taking needless sacks, holding onto the ball too long, jittering around the pocket. With Hurts unable to extend any drives, the offense looked lifeless. Four drives from the start of the second quarter through early in the third netted nine yards. Then I don’t know how but he just woke up long enough to put together a clutch TD drive. Twenty-eight yards to DeVonta. Nine yards to DeVonta. Then the 24-yard touchdown to Dallas Goedert and just like that he was back and the Eagles were up 16-3. Should have been 17-3 but Jake Elliott missed another PAT. I don’t know what was going on with Hurts early, if it was just rust from the layoff or something else, but he’s just got to be better, and the passing offense has to be better. Way better. The positives: As shaky as he was, Hurts didn’t turn the ball over, didn’t make any mistakes. No fumbles or interceptions. Didn’t do anything to hurt the team. And he showed a lot of resilience bouncing back with that 3rd-quarter touchdown drive. And that final passer rating of 111.4 is pretty good. But he threw for just 131 yards, and the bottom line is Hurts has to be better and the passing game has to be better if the Eagles are going to keep winning.

Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Packers playoff game – PhillyVoice
10) The ‘Rusty’ Award: Jalen Hurts. On the bright side: Hurts didn’t turn the ball over, nor did he put the ball in harm’s way at any point in this game, which could not be said for Jordan Love. Nick Sirianni credited Hurts with checking to the quick pass to Goedert that beat a Packers blitz for a TD. Hurts ran the ball without any sign of apprehension coming off of his concussion. All legitimate positives! However: He often held onto the ball for an eternity. He missed Brown on a deep ball off of a Brotherly Shove trick play that could have been a touchdown. The offense had a four-drive sequence during which they had 9 total yards. Hurts has the best QB situation in the NFL: Best offensive line in the NFL. The running back will almost certainly be the Offensive Player of the Year. Elite WR duo, reliable TE. No. 1 defense. The Eagles survived and advanced, but Hurts is going to have to play better if the Eagles are going to win their second Super Bowl.

Eagles Send GB Packing – Iggles Blitz
There were analysts/media folks who raised the notion of Jalen Hurts being rusty. I doubted that because we’ve seen him miss time before and he had played so much this season. I was wrong. Hurts did look rusty. His timing was off. He looked hesitant. He made some poor throws. It didn’t look like the play-calling helped matters. Replays didn’t exactly show a lot of open receivers. Still, there were plays when Hurts had a lot of time and ended up throwing the ball away. He also took one really bad sack when he went down instead of throwing the ball out of bounds. Hurts has to clean stuff like that up. The passing offense we saw in the playoff opener won’t be good enough in the coming games.

NFL wild-card playoffs: Big questions, judging overreactions – ESPN+
The lingering question: Is Jalen Hurts 100% healthy? The Eagles’ star quarterback missed the final two games of the regular season while in the concussion protocol, and there was some rust to knock off in his playoff performance against the Packers. He went 13-for-21 for 121 yards and two scores in a game the Eagles led from pole to pole. Unlike when he played the Packers in the regular season, he avoided the crippling turnovers, though he did take two bad sacks. But one of the touchdown drives came on a short field following a Packers fumble, and the second finished with a big catch and run from tight end Dallas Goedert. On six third downs of 5 or more yards, the Eagles called a true dropback only once. It was not a dominant game through the air at all. Of course, that’s not really the Eagles’ formula. They run the ball, shorten the game and play great defense. So they don’t need Hurts to sling it all over the yard. But we’ve seen multiple moments of A.J. Brown frustration this season, and we still haven’t seen the Eagles’ offense trail in the second half since Week 4. Against whichever offense the Eagles catch in the divisional round — Vikings or Rams — a shootout becomes more likely, and the pressure on the passing game elevates. What happens if it’s not the Eagles with the early takeaway next week, but rather the opponent? Hopefully another week of full practice after a return to NFL action will settle Hurts in; just as we’ve seen the passing game idle this season, we’ve also seen it soar. But if there’s any question about the Eagles making a postseason run, it’s that.

Packers-Eagles on Wild Card Weekend Sunday: What We Learned from Philadelphia’s 22-10 win – NFL.com
Hurts rusty after missing two games. Luckily for Philadelphia, the defense stood tall, because the offense couldn’t find consistency for much of the contest. Hurts took advantage of the forced turnover on the kickoff to throw an opening drive TD. The QB completed his first six passes. Then he rusted like the Tin Man doused in water. Hurts went nearly two full quarters without completing a pass, held the ball too long, and misfired often. He finished 13-of-21 passing for 131 yards with two TDs. Even with the defense forcing turnovers, the offense couldn’t bust the game open. Philly went three-and-out on all three of its second-quarter possessions. The Eagles finished with 290 yards and 16 first downs while going 2 of 11 on third downs. Those numbers can get you beat in the postseason. Saquon Barkley was once again the bright spot, generating 119 yards on 25 carries, but most of those yards were hard-fought, with just three jaunts of 8-plus yards. Heading into the Divisional Round, the hope for Philly is that Sunday was just the shake-the-rust-off game for Hurts after missing time due to a concussion.

Nakobe Dean injury: Eagles linebacker on crutches after Packers game – BGN
The Eagles defense was playing lights out against the Packers in their Wild Card matchup, but they didn’t even make it to halftime before injuries started stacking up. First, Darius Slay had his elbow looked at before heading into the locker room, and then Nakobe Dean had to be helped off the field later in the drive. The LB seemed to know that his injury was serious right away, and after the game, was seen walking with a crutch and full-leg brace.

NFL Wild-Card Recap: Philadelphia Eagles 22, Green Bay Packers 10 – PFF
Given that Jordan Davis played less than 15 snaps each in addition to the fact that Nakobe Dean left the game early due to a knee injury, Eagles rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell earned “Player of the Game” honors in this contest. In coverage, Mitchell was putting Packers receivers in handcuffs all game long, as he allowed just two receptions from five targets for 10 yards while picking up an interception of his own to put the game out of reach late in the fourth quarter. He also picked up a stop in coverage in addition to three tackles, two of which were stops, against the run. Mitchell has proven to be one of, if not, the best young cornerback in the league after his outstanding rookie season and excellent first postseason game.

Eagles’ WR explains the ‘recipe’ he was reading during Sunday’s wild-card win vs. Packers – NJ.com
“It gives me a sense of peace,” Brown said. “That’s a book that I bring every single game. My teammates call it a recipe. That’s the first time I heard that you all got me on camera with it, but it’s not the first game. I’ve had it.” Brown said the book helps him remain mentally sharp on the field, which is important because it’s a big part of his preparation and approach. He added that it had nothing to do with frustration during the game, in which he finished with one catch for 10 yards on three targets.

Searching A.J. Brown’s Book ‘Inner Excellence’ for the Lessons He May Have Learned – SI
Brown guessed—correctly—that many of us assumed he was reading as a gesture of discontent. He finished the game with just one catch for 10 yards on three targets, and we are not far removed from a time when one of the Eagles’ most senior players, Brandon Graham, went on live radio to air a supposed rift between the receiver and his quarterback (which Graham later tried to walk back). After a torrid start Saturday, Jalen Hurts vanished for a majority of the game’s back half, with a long stretch of incomplete passes and an offensive play sheet that tipped heavily toward first- and second-down runs. Instead, Brown was simply trying to recapture some inner peace. The ritual now rests alongside some more prevalent examples of how football players cope with immense stress on the sidelines. Justin Fields began repeating breathing exercises taught by the team’s yoga instructor during his time with the Chicago Bears. In a bygone era, Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson used to rip unfiltered cigarettes.

Spadaro: 6 takeaways from the Eagles’ dominant Wild Card victory over the Packers – PE.com
1. Eagles open the game with a bang – and a TD. Special teams can change a game, right? You hear that all the time, and on Sunday late afternoon in 40-degree, low-wind conditions, that’s exactly what happened. The Eagles won the coin toss and elected to defer, so Green Bay received the opening kickoff. Jake Elliott kicked off to the dangerous Keisean Nixon, who brought the ball out from 1 yard deep in the end zone. Oren Burks popped Nixon at the 27-yard line, forcing the ball loose, and Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. was there to wrestle the football away in a scrum. Eagles football, Green Bay 28-yard line. “I turned around and I was already celebrating and saw that Trotter got on it as well,” Burks said. “It was just kind of in the flow of the game, so, just tried to make a big play. That was just the mindset. In the playoffs, nobody’s going to give you anything, you have to go and take it. I feel like that play from the jump just exemplifies what it’s going to take to take the ball away.”

‘We gotta correct this tape’: Eagles’ sloppy playoff win surfaces plenty of problem areas – USA Today
“We gotta correct this tape, we have things that we have to get better from this tape,” said Sirianni, who planned to work the Eagles on Monday – unless they play next Saturday, which would trigger a mandatory day off. “But if we play on Sunday, we’re coming back to work, we’re gonna get our lift in. … We made errors as coaches, and we made errors as players, and we’re gonna go back and get those fixed. Because all that matters is the next game, and all that matters for that next game is that we get better from the things that happened in this game and repeat the stuff that we did well in this game.”

Saquon Barkley’s strategic slide cost plenty of bettors who had bet on him to score – PFT
Still, it was an easy way to ice the game. And it froze out those who bet on Barkley to score a touchdown during the game. Via David Purdum of ESPN.com, more bets were placed on Barkley to score a touchdown than on any other player in any of the three Sunday Wild Card game, at multiple sports books. It was also the third most popular leg of all parlays placed through ESPN Bet.

Wild Card Weekend: Packers Winners and Losers vs. the Eagles – Acme Packing Company
Loser: The Offensive Line. Zach Tom had Jordan Love running for his life today. He gave up a big sack on 3rd down, in which Love landed on his hurt throwing elbow. Later in the game, he ended up blowing up a play which led to a 3 yard loss as the team was getting into scoring position. With Elgton Jenkins leaving the game due to injury, the line was already weak. Tom’s unusually poor performance made it even worse. Also having a huge negative impact on the line was Travis Glover, who stepped in for Elgton Jenkins. Glover ended up being flagged for holding twice within three plays, and overall played like the inexperienced rookie he is.

Jayden Daniels, Commanders end one of NFL’s longest playoff win droughts with thrilling win over Bucs – SB Nation
Jayden Daniels is the first rookie quarterback to win a road playoff start since Russell Wilson in 2012, when the Seattle Seahawks beat Washington 24-14 after trailing 14-0. Technically speaking, rookie John Wolford was the starter when the Los Angeles Rams beat the Seahawks in the 2020 NFC Wild Card, but he left early in the first quarter with an injury and was replaced by Jared Goff. Prior to Daniels’ win, rookie quarterbacks were just 5-18 in road playoff games, with Bo Nix adding to the loss column earlier on Sunday in the Denver Broncos’ 31-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens) and Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) were the only other quarterbacks to win road playoff starts as rookies, making it to the AFC Championship Game in 2008 and 2009, respectively. If Daniels can pull off the shocker against the Lions, he’ll join those two as the only rookie QBs with multiple road playoff wins.

Game Recap – Wild card round vs Buccaneers – Commanders beat Tampa Bay 23-20 and head to Detroit for divisional round playoff – Hogs Haven
You could hear the “MVP…MVP…MVP” chants start up among the Commanders fans in the stands. Daniels took a knee on the left hash mark, Dan Quinn called time out with 7 seconds left on the clock, and Zane Gonzalez came on the field, fussing with his hair before putting on his helmet, facing 2nd & 14 and a 3-yard field goal. He doinked the ball off the right upright. BUT THE KICK WAS GOOD!!! The Commanders are going to Detroit!!

Dallas Cowboys remain only franchise in NFL history to lose Wild Card playoff game as #2 seed – Blogging The Boys
The Philadelphia Eagles wrapped up their Wild Card Round playoff win on Sunday afternoon and did so against the Green Bay Packers. It was horrible to watch as a Dallas Cowboys fan. Part of what makes the result so frustrating for Cowboys faithful is that Philadelphia did what Dallas could not a year ago. The Eagles were the NFC East winners this season and wound up with the #2 seed in the NFC playoff picture. Their prize for this was a home date against the Packers which they obviously capitalized on. It was the exact same situation that the Cowboys were in last year, and they blew it so badly it still hangs over the franchise.

Giants fans have little confidence in the direction of the team – Big Blue View
We have been asking New York Giants fans how confident they are in the direction of the team as a part of the SB Nation Reacts program. With the 2024 season now in the rearview mirror and the 2025 off season upon us, we wanted to take the temperature of the fanbase one more time. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Giants fans aren’t terribly enthusiastic about the direction in which the team appears to be headed. Only 30% of Giants fans are confident that the team is headed in the right direction now that the 2024 season is over with.