Jalen Hurts isn’t struggling alone: the Eagles’ offense has collapsed around him, and a wave of injuries, a retirement and a trade have made it worse. Philadelphia sits at 2-2 after Hurts threw for just 93 yards in a 24-20 loss to the Rams. The roster that takes the field next looks very different from the one that opened the season.
So what actually happened? The short version: a stalled passing game, a broken third-down offense and an offensive line that keeps losing starters. The Eagles quarterback is part of that story, but only part of it.
The Rams game by the numbers
Hurts completed 12 of 27 passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns. He added five carries for 18 yards. That works out to roughly 3.4 yards per completion, which is not a typo.
The Eagles also went 0-for-12 on third down and blew a 20-10 fourth-quarter lead. They have now failed on 17 straight third-down attempts, dating back to the Bears game, according to the Inquirer.
The offense finished with 172 total yards. Only 72 came in the second half, when it was shut out. Both touchdown drives covered a combined 52 yards, because the defense and special teams kept handing over good field position. In other words, the offense wasn’t driving the car. It was getting towed.
Why the Eagles’ offense is struggling around Jalen Hurts
The answer depends on who you ask. First, the personnel losses are real, and they pile up fast.
- DeVonta Smith missed the Rams game with a hamstring injury.
- Saquon Barkley left early with his own hamstring problem.
- Landon Dickerson went on injured reserve after Week 1.
- Lane Johnson, a surprise inactive for the Rams game, announced his retirement on Oct. 6 after 14 seasons, all with Philadelphia.
Johnson’s statement ended with the line that his heart was telling him it was time to say goodbye to football. ESPN reports he stepped away to focus on his mental health. Rookie Markel Bell now steps into his spot.
Then came a second jolt. On Oct. 7, the Eagles agreed to trade center Cam Jurgens and a 2027 seventh-round pick to Baltimore. In return they get a 2027 fifth-rounder and a 2028 second-rounder, pending a physical.
Jurgens had slid to left guard after Dickerson’s injury, with Drew Kendall taking over at center. He also entered the concussion protocol after the Rams game. Pro Football Rumors noted he ranked as the second-worst guard of 74 qualifiers this season by PFF. General manager Howie Roseman said, “We weren’t looking to move Cam.” Still, the move stung because Philadelphia drafted Jurgens in 2022 as Jason Kelce’s successor. Now the Philadelphia quarterback has to find rhythm behind a line that changes every week.
Who is to blame: Jalen Hurts, Sirianni or Mannion?
Here’s the thing: the blame game has no single answer, and the opinions split sharply.
The Inquirer’s postgame reactions pointed at head coach Nick Sirianni. Yahoo Sports debated whether Sirianni or Hurts, who is paid $51 million a year, deserves more of it. Meanwhile, Robert Griffin III posted, “STOP BLAMING JALEN HURTS AND NICK SIRIANNI,” and argued fans should be mad at first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. He also said the offense ranks last in the NFL in points, yards, yards per play and EPA through four games.
On the other side, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank wrote that it’s too early to give up on Mannion. His point is simple. The offense is missing four offensive linemen, a top receiver and two running backs, so it’s hard to judge the play-caller until the unit is healthy. Frank also notes that Mannion’s offensive identity still isn’t clear.
Hurts himself kept it short after the loss, blaming “poor execution.” An Inquirer column also reported that he was angry with teammates afterward.
What it means for Hurts and the rest of the season
The Eagles are only 2-2, with narrow wins over Washington and Tennessee, a 27-7 loss to Chicago and now the Rams defeat. That record isn’t a disaster. The trend is the problem, because the offense has gotten worse since the first two games.
The Jurgens deal also tells you something about how Philadelphia sees itself. After the trade, the Eagles hold two 2028 first-round picks, one of them from New England in the A.J. Brown trade, plus Baltimore’s second-rounder. That’s a lot of future ammunition, much like the draft capital that drove the 2026 NFL Draft first round. Jake Majors is likely to make his first NFL start at left guard on Sunday, per NBC Sports Philadelphia.
So is this tanking? Roseman has pushed back on the idea that the team is putting the future ahead of the present, the Inquirer reports. Even so, NFL.com says the willingness to move Jurgens suggests the Eagles would rather go in a different direction up front.
Elite quarterback pay is a league-wide story right now, as the reported Patrick Mahomes extension shows. That puts extra pressure on every highly paid passer, Hurts included. For him, the path back is boring but clear: a healthy line, a healthy Smith and Barkley, and a few third-down conversions. Until then, the question every Eagles fan keeps asking has an uncomfortable answer. The quarterback is part of the problem, but he’s far from the only one.
