With hopes to turn around their negative end to last year’s season, the Philadelphia Eagles attempted to fix the problems that plagued them, but failed with a 2-2 start.
The Eagles’ end to the season last year can be labeled nothing but a catastrophe.
With their collapse in the last seven weeks many Eagles fans were left to wonder what and who caused this spectacular failure.
This led to the firing of both offensive and defensive coordinators and several big acquisitions, including acquiring running back Saquon Barkley from the New York Giants.
However, despite a few bright patches, The Eagles 2-2 record going into their bye during week five, Eagles fans look once more to who to blame.
Naturally this blame falls on the Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, and their quarterback Jalen Hurts.
One of the many aspects of the Eagles season last year that left fans disappointed was Hurts’s costly turnovers.
Hurts had a career high of 20 turnovers and 15 interceptions last season.
This season Hurts has turned the ball over seven times, three of which were in the Red Zone.
So far Hurts is the only quarterback in the NFL with more than one turnover in the red zone.
If the Eagles hope to score on their drives Hurts needs to take better care of the ball, especially when they are within the other team’s 20-yard-line.
During the Eagles training camp Hurts was reported to be getting the ball out of his hands quickly which resulted in only one interception all camp. However, now during the season this is quite the opposite.
Hurts ranks 32nd among QBs in average time before the throw with 3.1 seconds and has thrown four interceptions.
In order to throw fewer interceptions and limit the number of sacks Hurts needs to get the ball out of his hands quicker and trust his receivers to do their job..
After last season’s failure, Sirianni’s job as head coach fell into question.
Sirianni was brought back this year with hopes that with the signing of Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator, Sirianni could step back from the offensive side of the game and focus on maintaining the team’s culture.
However, so far this year the Eagles have yet to score in the first quarter, yet to win the turnover battle, and rank 20th in penalties per game. All of this reflects directly onto the coaching staff and Sirianni’s job is yet again being called into question.
It’s not all bad, though.
The acquisition of Saquon Barkley has proved through the first four weeks to be yet another great move from GM Howie Roseman.
Despite his heartbreaking dropped pass against the Atlanta Falcons late in the fourth quarter in week two, Barkley has played like a top 5 running back in the league. Barkley currently ranks third in the NFL in rushing yards having played one less game than the two running backs ahead of him.
Also, the Eagles week four 33-16 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can be partly attributed to injuries the team has dealt with.
Eagles all pro right tackle Lane Johnson and wide receivers Devonta Smith and A.J. Brown are all expected to return for week six.
The Eagles played the Browns week 6 and they squeaked by with a 20-16 victory.
In A.J. Browns return since week 1 his stat line was six catches on nine targets for 116 yards and one touchdown.
Jalen Hurts committed zero turnovers in the win
Overall, the Eagles have the talent to be one of the best teams in the NFL. But if the coaching staff and the quarterback don’t step up, Eagles fans could be looking at a similar end to the season as last year.