Philadelphia Eagles: Julian Love provides insight on Jalen Hurts game plan

Seemingly every week, fans, pundits, players, and coaches rack their brains looking for the best way to get their team a competitive advantage.

It could be the frequency at which a team throws the ball, the efficiency of a quarterback in the fourth quarter, or an injury to an offensive lineman that could provide an advantageous opportunity to an edge rusher. When one of these plans work, like the Philadelphia Eagles‘ defensive strategy versus the Detroit Lions and the New Orleans Saints, it feels like the world is a team’s oyster, but here’s the thing about game-planning for a specific opponent’s weaknesses; opposing teams can do it too.

I know, crazy, right? Is any given football game just two teams trying to take away what their opponent does well and force them to do what they are bad at?

Pretty much.

So, after watching Jalen Hurts transform from a quarterback getting headlines like this to headlines like this, it was only a matter of time before an opposing team would key in on his weaknesses and try to force the 23-year-old signal-caller to win the game with his arm. Well, that, my friends, is what New York Giants safety Julian Love said defensive coordinator Patrick Graham planned to do heading into Week 12, and the Philadelphia Eagles apparently had no idea what to do once it happened.

The Philadelphia Eagles need to prepare for more game plans like Week 12.

The Philadelphia Eagles won four of their five previous games by using Jalen Hurts as a game manager.

Granted, he was one of the most exciting game managers in the league, running the ball for an average of 12 times a game while providing a unique dynamic to the overall offense, but the Eagles thrived by having Hurts choose his shots, avoid turnovers, and complete 62 percent of his passes.

Oh yeah, and they ran the ball 208 times for an average of 217.5 yards per game over that four-game tenure; how could I forget?

Conventional wisdom would suggest that running the ball that often would eventually be unsustainable. A quarterback would make poor decisions, his play-caller would shy away from the style, a running back would get hurt, or the team would fall behind in a game and have to take more chances in the passing game. To be a run-heavy offense in 2021, you really need to commit to the style and stay on schedule.

In Week 12, the Eagles were hit with a perfect storm of bad.

Before the game even kicked off, the Eagles found themselves without Jordan Howard, who played a pivotal role in the team’s winning ways. Ideal? No, but between Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, and Kenneth Gainwell, the Eagles would surely be able to weather the storm.

Then, once the game actually started, Sirianni called 12 runs versus 16 passes over the first two quarters, and the Eagles found themselves scoreless heading into the half for the first time all season. Factor in an uncharacteristically high number of turnovers, and the Birds rapidly watched their win probability shrink with each passing minute, despite watching their defense hold Danny Dimes and Co. to only 10 points over the first three quarters. This, unfortunately, played right into Patrick Graham’s hands, as it forced Hurts to make bigger throws that haven’t been on the schedule over the past few weeks, and for Giants defenders like Tae Crowder, Darnay Holmes, Julian Love, and former Alabama teammate Xavier McKinney to take advantage of that.

When Hurts is throwing the ball down the field into double coverage, it usually doesn’t end well.

And yet, that isn’t why the Eagles lost the game. If Jalen Reagor had caught either of those end game would-be touchdowns, we’d be talking about how well Jonathan Gannon’s defense held up. If Hurts had hit DeVonta Smith in stride instead of Reagor on that final play of the game, fans would be making fun of the Giants for losing out on their guy instead of watching him chew out Sirianni for a lack of second-half targets. Heck, if Boston Scott hadn’t fumbled that ball, his reputation as a Giant Killer would have only grown.

Make no mistake about it; the Eagles lost their Week 12 game more than the Giants won it, but that doesn’t mean New York didn’t make a few choice decisions that other teams will surely emulate.

For one, the Giants made most of their big plays in Cover 2, with one safety closer to the line than the other to serve as a makeshift spy if Hurts took off running. While this isn’t the best idea if you’re facing off against a team that attacks the middle of the field, Hurts is notoriously more comfortable throwing to the outside than in, so it really wasn’t an issue. Grahm also used his two high safeties to help blanket Philly’s outside receivers and force Hurts to either throw into a congested space, take off running, or take a sack.

Really, the only benefit of this situation is that the Eagles only have one team left on their schedule with a winning record, the Dallas Cowboys, and they’ll surely be resting starters in Week 18 as they prepare for the playoffs.

If the Eagles just make a few fewer unforced errors, they beat the Giants. If Nate Herbig doesn’t get called for holding on Boston Scott’s run, they win that game. And if Hurts just takes care of the ball better, the Eagles likely get to live to fight another day. But they didn’t this time and now have a 5-7 record to show for it.

When the Philadelphia Eagles reinvigorated their offensive identity to complement their roster composition, it caught more than a few teams by surprise. But now, their success isn’t a surprise anymore, and teams have fully adjusted. Now it’s up to Nick Sirianni to make another adjustment to keep ahead of the game; otherwise, even a win against the New York Jets isn’t a full-on guarantee.