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The first half of this game was genuinely embarrassing from a design perspective. Against the Los Angeles Rams, the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense looked unprepared, sloppy, and careless with the small details that matter a lot. Yes, things improved in the second half, but I remain unconvinced that this offense is ‘fixed.’ I think Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown simply took over the game because they are exceptional players. Let’s get into this one.
Offense
I did want to kick things off with a minor positive. Right from the start, we saw a little bit more of the QB run game. If you’re going to lean on a basic run game, then Jalen Hurts has to be a bigger part of it. His mobility is a cheat code, as I’ve said for years. Here, the split-flow motion manipulates the edge defender and gives Hurts a lead blocker, too. I don’t worry about him exposing him to constant hits either; he can slide, step out of bounds, and protect himself. But you have to use the weapon you’ve got. Hurts’ ability in the running game is a huge part of the offense that the Eagles need to use more.
The run game overall was painful. It’s all zone, no gap schemes, and the line isn’t moving people off the ball. The Rams’ defensive line won the battle consistently, and when you’re asking Grant Calcaterra to block Jared Verse on split-zone, you’re basically conceding the play. That isn’t fair to the tight end and is embarrassingly poor from a design perspective. These are the kinds of details that make the whole offense look poorly coached. We are used to simply seeing the offensive line dominate at the point of attack, but they are not doing so right now. I don’t think the design is helping them, though. I don’t understand where the gap scheme stuff has gone (counter, QB counter bash, trap etc). I think trap/wham would have made sense against this aggressive Rams’ front, but we never saw it!
The passing game wasn’t any better. It was borderline unwatchable at times. There were moments where the spacing in the first half looked like something you wouldn’t even see in a college game. NFL offenses are supposed to stress every inch of the field. The Eagles had receivers clumped together, running into the same windows, as they do here. You just do not see this in the NFL, and it’s a really bad look for everyone on the offensive coaching staff.
It got to the point where I couldn’t believe what I was watching. This 3-and-out sequence was honestly as bad as I’ve ever seen. On consecutive plays, the Eagles had receivers in the same spot, A.J. Brown unsure of his assignment, and offensive linemen failing across the board. This one is first down, and you can see the spacing is dreadful. Two receivers are basically covering each other. There is nothing that Jalen Hurts can do. He does a decent job breaking the pocket and extending the play, but the receivers give him absolutely nothing down the field. This has been an ongoing issue for years. When Hurts breaks the pocket, the receivers aren’t coached to attack different levels. They either freeze or drift into the same space. That’s not just player error; that’s bad coaching. They need to coach this better and practice it. You can practice out-of-structure plays in practice, but it feels like the Eagles do not have a plan for when Hurts breaks the pocket. Just watch the three Eagles’ receivers on this play. They do not give Hurts anywhere to go.
This was the VERY next play. What the hell is going on here?! AJ Brown does not know what he is doing and doesn’t run a route. Darius Cooper and Dallas Goedert run the same route. Matt Pryor doesn’t block anyone, and Saquon Barkley can’t protect Hurts. It’s no wonder Hurts was furious after the play. This isn’t just one missed assignment. There were multiple issues in the first half that were really poor. I can accept losing games. I can accept dropped passes, bad throws, and struggles on the offensive line due to injuries. However, I can’t accept watching a team this talented look unprepared. It’s such a bad look. What else can you say about this? There are other plays I didn’t show, either, that had similar issues. Ugh. There was nothing Jalen Hurts could do. The design was just bad.
Even when they finally went for a shot play, it was poorly structured. The Eagles ran Yankee (deep post and cross) off under-center play action, but only with a two-man route concept. The Rams covered it perfectly and did not buy the play action at all. If it’s not there, Hurts has nowhere to go. Why not leak a tight end or running back to the flat as a safety valve? Once again, the offense lacks the small details. It doesn’t sweat the small stuff. You have to have a plan B if the shot play isn’t open. Hurts ends up forcing a tough throw over the middle of the field and it’s actually a decent throw.
It wasn’t just the pass game that had errors, either. The run game only got uglier. Here, Jordan Mailata was asked to make a nearly impossible reach block with no help, while Dickerson sprinted to the second level and still failed to land his block. You rarely see an offensive guard get to the second level and not even touch the defensive lineman. He doesn’t help Mailata out at all. Dickerson has not played well at all so far this season, and I wonder if the Eagles should give him a week or two off to rest up, because I can’t believe he is healthy. Through three weeks, the Eagles’ run blocking just hasn’t been good enough. They aren’t dominating the line of scrimmage, and when the scheme is this bland, you can’t hide it. Even the receiver assignments make no sense here. Darius Cooper jogs inside and ends up blocking nobody. What is the purpose of his motion?
This is my favorite play to analyse this week because it highlights exactly what I am banging on about. This play should work, but there are minor mistakes that prevent a big play. This is just a three-level stretch, but Dallas Goedert jogs out into the flat instead of threatening it quickly. I don’t know if he’s told to do that to give the impression he is chipping the defensive end (I’m not accusing him of being lazy here), but that gives the flat defender time to sink and break up the deeper throw. If you are running a 3-level stretch, you can’t ask your short route to take this long to develop. He has to threaten the flat defender immediately so Hurts can take the intermediate shot. Meanwhile, Hurts takes a shot because the line thought it was wise to have A.J. Dillon pass protect against Jared Verse. Dillon did better than expected, but the idea itself is mad. There isn’t any late rotation by the Rams here. The Eagles just choose to have Dillon block Verse…
And, all of a sudden, it all changed. It wasn’t just starting Fred Johnson over Matt Pryor. The Eagles finally remembered they had A.J. Brown. This is what the offense should be: isolate your elite receiver outside, trust Hurts’ deep ball, and let Brown win. He dominated the matchup, and Hurts put it on him perfectly. Football doesn’t need to be this complicated. The Eagles need to use their superstar wide receiver more. That shouldn’t be controversial.
The Eagles run this play a lot (and I don’t love it, if I’m honest), but this time they catch the Rams in Cover 2, and Dallas Goedert was wide open down the seam. This was one of the few times a staple concept worked, and it came down to execution. Hurts was extremely decisive with the football and made good decisions all game.
Hurts deserves credit for his second half. He saw the field brilliantly and made throws with real anticipation. This deep dig to DeVonta Smith came off a slow-developing concept, and he delivered a strike. The first-half mess wasn’t on the quarterback. Even with this play, though, I don’t love the concept. The Eagles ran Mesh with a crossing route behind it multiple times, and when the Rams played zone coverage, the Eagles had no answer. This ends up in a big completion, but it does take a while to develop, and the Eagles’ offensive line deserves credit for holding up.
Do yourself a favour and pause it when Hurts releases the football… that’s anticipation!
Once again, football doesn’t need to be this hard. The Eagles began to isolate AJ Brown in the second half and used more 3×1 looks (and fewer condensed sets). The Rams shaded coverage to the trips side, leaving Brown one-on-one. Hurts trusted him, and Brown dominated his matchup. It’s that simple. The frustrating part is that the coaching staff took three weeks to realize they had to feed their best player. Brown went into this game with six catches for 35 yards on the season. That’s absurd.
Isolate AJ Brown. Line him up and out wide. Give him a chance in a one-on-one matchup. Football can be easy, right? AJ Brown was a monster in the second half. He dominated the game.
Hurts doesn’t get enough credit for his ball placement. Stafford missed a few wide-open receivers in this game that cost the Rams. Hurts very rarely misses easy throws, and on this quick curl, he placed it perfectly high and wide, away from the linebacker. That’s consistent, underrated quarterback play. I think Hurts has been really good this season.
The last drive showed what the offense could be if they focused on what they do well, rather than trying to add too many new layers. The Eagles go Empty and Hurts delivers quickly to Smith on a short out. It just looks clean. I’m surprised the Eagles don’t run Empty more because it feels like Hurts is exceptionally consistent and delivering these short throws. The second half wasn’t perfect, but it was functional. It looked like an NFL offense again. Personally, I think the turnaround was more about two elite players (Hurts and AJ Brown) taking over the game, rather than the coaching staff dramatically turning things around. Maybe that’s harsh on the design, but that’s just how I see it.
Overall, this game was a tale of two halves. The first half was a disaster and genuinely embarrassing from a design perspective, and careless with the details. The run game was bland and ineffective, with the offensive line struggling. However, in the second half, Hurts and Brown simply took over and papered over the design cracks. It was enough (due to 2 blocked field goals…) to get the win, but the staff has a lot of work to do. The team is too talented to be this poor.
Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here. If you would like to support me further, please check out my Patreon.
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