Bolts Burn The Birds in Overtime

Eagles lose to the Chargers in overtime and Jalen Hurts makes the wrong kind of history. Alexa play "Good Riddance" by Green Day.

The Philadelphia Eagles are in freefall. Gravity has wrapped her arms around this team and dragged them to the ground. They are plummeting. They are a sinking ship. A monument collapsing. As they peel through the air, they are unable to overcome the inertia of all of their missteps. A trainwreck in motion stays in motion. Here comes that familiar heartbreak again.

The Birds lost to the Los Angeles Chargers in a game that could be best described as “on some bullshit.” Even the Monsters Inc. broadcast of this game was less zany than the real deal. Philadelphia’s offense cratered to catastrophic levels. The offensive execution was at the Mariana Trench. Philly went to Los Angeles and fell for the banana in the tailpipe. Their offensive philosophy is Murphy’s Law. Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong, and will go so wrong that you’ll wonder why you stayed up on a Monday night to watch it all go down.

Say what you will about the Eagles offense, but at least they’re unselfish. They pass the blame for their poor performances around. This week, Jalen Hurts took the baton. I’m a Hurts fan. I defended him in the comments of a tweet where NFL Analyst and World’s Most Annoying Man, Chris Simms, pointed the finger at Jalen as the primary issue with the Eagles’ offense. I did this because I am a hero and my tweets are important. But Hurts was absolutely terrible in this one. His weaknesses were on full display. His decision-making is worse than mine after I take an edible and order at McDonald’s at midnight on DoorDash. Jalen didn’t see the field well at all. He missed open receivers, was slow to progress to his checkdowns in key moments, and lacked decisiveness. Worst of all, Jalen did the one thing he’s worked hard to avoid in the past year: he turned over the ball.

This was the first four-interception game of Jalen’s career. He had two turnovers on one play. I repeat, TWO TURNOVERS ON ONE PLAY. According to ESPN Insights, “the 6 combined turnovers in the 2nd quarter were the most in a quarter since Oct. 27, 2013.”

We are at cartoonish levels of history-making. Hurts’ fourth and final interception in the redzone on the last play of overtime gave the Chargers the game. He took the nail and drove it into the coffin.

Jalen has significantly regressed as a quarterback. At times this season, it’s been hard to tell if he’s been the issue or if the offensive system is limiting his effectiveness. At this point, the problems run so deep that the blame has coalesced. The offensive system is rotten to its core, and that includes everything from play design and playcalling to the quarterback’s decision-making.

Hurts was the biggest culprit, but he wasn’t the only player who failed to execute in key moments. A.J. Brown had three major drops, one of which resulted in an interception, and another was a perfect pass from Jalen Hurts in the endzone that would’ve given Philadelphia the lead and most likely the win. The offensive line also committed untimely penalties that put the offense in negative situations.

I’ve been hard on Kevin Patullo, and I thought he called a (very) okay game. But the issue with Nick Sirianni’s coaching staff has never been their ability to call individual plays. It’s piecing together a cohesive offense. It’s a poorly designed offensive system that fails to maximize the potential of world-class talent. It’s the inability to diagnose their deep-rooted issues and find answers for what ails them. Sirianni was more involved in offensive meetings this week to help organize things (which is not ideal). The timing of this passing offense looks completely off, which is insane since it is (checks notes) Week 14 of the NFL Season. At the end of the day, that is a coaching issue. The fact that you can not get a team that just won the Super Bowl and is returning 10 of 11 offensive starters on the same page is an indictment of your coaching staff. At one point during the broadcast, Troy Aikman called this offense “pedestrian”.

What’s most upsetting is that the defense played absolutely lights out. Vic Fangio continues to coordinate a Black Hole that may give in some moments, but will adjust, shapeshift, and collapse an opposing offense. Outside of a 60-yard catch and run by Chargers running back Kimani Vidal early in the first quarter, Vic Fangio’s defense absolutely smothered Los Angeles. The defense was a hammer that hit Justin Herbert time after time. They devoured a paper thin Chargers offensive line to record 7 sacks. They held the Chargers to 139 yards passing. LA’s leading receiver was Kimani Vidal who (as mentioned) had 1 catch for 60 yards. Over and over again, the offense put this defense in compromising positions, and the defense kept rising to the challenge until they couldn’t take it anymore. The defense was on the field for close to 57% of the game.

So far this season, when this team found itself plummeting, the defense was the parachute that would bail them out. But unfortunately, a parachute can only carry so much weight. That familiar feeling is creeping back. It’s how we felt in 2023, when the 10-1 Eagles collapsed to 11-6 and lost in the wild-card round. After beating the Detroit Lions on November 16, the Eagles were 8-2 and the #1 seed in the NFC. They held a comfortable lead in the division over the 4-5-1 Dallas Cowboys. Less than a month later, the Eagles are 8-5 and fighting for the #3 seed in the NFC, with any hope for home-field advantage slowly fading away. The 6-6-1 Dallas Cowboys are behind but not comfortably.

In the next month, the Eagles will play teams with a collective record of 13-25. Their hardest remaining contest is an away game at Buffalo on December 28. But what does it matter? This team may show signs of life against lesser opponents down the stretch, but we know the truth. This is not a championship-caliber team. They are the shell of a once-great offense. An undisciplined mess that lacks any concrete identity. They are a brilliant defense that can no longer carry a lackluster offense. The talent difference no longer matters. This is the day the season died for Philadelphia.

The bottom is falling out. Brace for impact.

Check out the game recap, or feel free to skip to Trending Up/Trending Down if you don’t want to relive the trauma.

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GAME RECAP

At the start of this game, it looked like the Chargers might run away with the game. The Eagles had a chance to open up this one with a score after Jalen Hurts threw a deep ball to an open A.J. Brown, but the ball was just out of reach and Brown couldn’t reel it in. After the Philadelphia offense stalled out on it’s opening drive, a hobbled Justin Herbert infused momentum into the Los Angeles offense. Herbert hit Kimani Vidal on a scramble drill dump-off, which Vidal ripped off for a 60-yard. Los Angeles followed that up with an 11-yard run by Omarion Hampton, who just returned to the lineup from injury. The Chargers drew first blood with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Hampton, taking a 7-0 lead.

On Philly’s next possession, Saquon Barkley finally started hitting his stride. He ran the rock for 19 yards on the first play of the drive and followed that up with another run for 10 yards. The Eagles were hammering runs to the left side. Hurts ripped a deep shot to DeVonta Smith in the endzone, but just overthrew him. After Los Angeles covers a 3rd and 9 toss to the flat to DeVonta Smith, the Eagles are forced to kick a 41-yard field goal to make it 7-3.

After a shaky opening drive, the Eagles’ defense tightened up. They pressured Justin Herbert all day, plowing through an injured offensive line. Herbert had a lot of success scrambling away from pressure at times, but for most of the day he took hit after hit and couldn’t get in a position to get the ball to his receivers.

Meanwhile, Jalen Hurts looked inaccurate and scattered. He overthrew DeVonta Smith on a pass early in the second quarter that initially resulted in an interception by the Chargers but was overturned after replay showed the ball hitting the ground. On Philly’s fourth drive of the game, Hurts hit A.J. Brown for a huge 23-yard completion off play action to give the Birds a little momentum working down the field. On the very next play, history was made (and I mean that in a bad way). Hurts threw an interception to Chargers defensive end Da’Shawn Hand. On the return, Hand fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Jalen Hurts, who then fumbled AGAIN. According to ESPN Insights, no player has committed two turnovers in a single play since 1978, making Jalen Hurts the first. Big yikes! The play was so confusing that it broke the Monster’s Inc. broadcast.

The Chargers reaped the benefits of the double turnover. After a 31-yard pass from Herbert to wide receiver Tre Harris got them into field goal range, Cameron Dicker hit a 45-yard field goal to extend LA’s lead to 10-3.

On the next drive, Jalen Hurts was intercepted again, throwing a pass directly to Chargers cornerback Donte Jackson. Before the end of the second half, Hurts already had 3 turnovers. On the ensuing Chargers possession, Nakobe Dean hit Justin Herbert, resulting in a sack-fumble, which defensive lineman Byron Young recovered. The Eagles worked their way down to 1st and goal on the 2-yard line thanks to big plays by Barkley, Brown, and Goedert. Unfortunately, from there, the Eagles had an A.J. Brown touchdown catch negated due to a Jordan Mailata holding penalty, an incompletion to Saquon Barkley, and a 6-yard sack on Jalen Hurts. They settled for a 30-yard Jake Elliot field goal to bring the score to 10-6.

The Eagles’ defense held the Chargers on the ensuing drive, and a Kimani Vidal personal foul penalty on the punt put the Eagles in field goal range. Elliot attempted a 48-yard field goal but couldn’t nail it.

At halftime, Jalen Hurts had a passer rating of 27.2. Despite dominating time of possession, the Eagles were behind by 4 points. According to ESPN Insights, “the 6 combined turnovers in the 2nd quarter were the most in a quarter since Oct. 27, 2013.”

To start the second half, Los Angeles ran a 16-play 9:28 drive. Herbert evaded Philly pressure with his legs, converting first down after first down. The Eagles’ defense held the Chargers to a 36-yard field goal attempt, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Moro Ojomo gave Los Angeles a fresh set of downs. Despite the opportunity, the swarming pressure from Philly’s defense got to Herbert, and the Chargers settled for a field goal to make it 13-6.

On the ensuing drive, the Eagles worked their way down the field for a Jake Elliot 54-yard field goal try to tighten the score to 13-9. On the next Chargers drive, Herbert was pummeled by a combination of Zack Baun, Byron Young, and Jalyx Hunt (who punched the ball out of Herbert’s hands, but the Chargers recovered). The Chargers gave the Eagles the ball back. Saquon Barkley took a fake tush push toss to the left side of the line, taking it 52 yards to the house to give the Eagles a 16-13 lead.

After forcing the Chargers to punt again, Jalen Hurts threw a high pass to A.J. Brown that bounced off his hands and into the hands of a Chargers defender. It would be Jalen’s 4th turnover of the day. The Chargers get the ball and score on a 31-yard field goal to tie the game 16-16.

With 3:33 left in the game, the Eagles worked their way down the field. Hurts hit Brown for 15 yards and then again on a slant for 19 yards. Hurts then tossed a perfect pass to A.J. Brown in the endzone, but Brown couldn’t make the catch. On 4th and 11, Jake Elliot hits a 44-yard attempt to give the Eagles the lead 19-16.

With 2:16 left in regulation and 1 timeout, Herbert and the Chargers took the field with a chance to tie it up. After Herbert missed Quentin Johnston on 3rd and 11, Quinyon Mitchell was called for pass interference giving LA a fresh set of downs. Herbert converted a 3rd-and-4 after scrambling away from pressure. The Chargers hit a 46-yard attempt to tie the game at 19-19 and send it to overtime.

In overtime, Philadelphia deferred to give Los Angeles the ball first. Herbert (who was the Chargers’ leading rusher for the day) went for 12 yards on a quarterback keeper on the first play. Then Omarion Hampton took off for 18 yards. On 3rd and 7, Nolan Smith took down Justin Herbert as he stepped up in the pocket to run, forcing the Chargers to settle for a 54-yard field goal attempt, which they made to take the lead 22-17.

The game came down to Philly’s offense. Hurts converted on 3rd and 6 with his legs, but it was called back due to a Cam Jurgens hold. On 3rd and 16, Jalen hit DeVonta Smith for 28 yards. Later in the drive, he floated a pass to A.J. Brown with pressure in his face, but Brown couldn’t make the one-handed catch. On 4th and 4, the Chargers were called for a neutral zone infraction, giving Philadelphia a fresh set of downs. Hurts hits Goedert for 16 yards on 2nd and 7 to give the Eagles a first down at the Chargers 17 17-yard line. On the next play, Hurts scrambled to his right and tried to fit a throw into a tight window for Jahan Dotson at the goal line, but the ball was tipped by Chargers cornerback Cam Hart and intercepted by Chargers safety Tony Jefferson. Game Los Angeles.

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TRENDING UP

• Philadelphia’s Front Seven: The Eagles were all over Justin Herbert in this game. Jordan Davis stepped up in Jalen Carter’s absence, making a few key stops, including a sack on Justin Herbert and multiple big-time stops in the running game. Jalyx Hunt had 2.5 sacks and 3 QB hits on Herbert, including an almost sack fumble. Nakobe Dean had a sack-fumble on Herbert that was recovered by Eagles defensive lineman Byron Young. Nolan Smith got a big stop on Herbert in overtime to force Los Angeles to kick a field goal. The defense sacked Justin Herbert a total of 7 times, which is the most they’ve had in a game since week 7 of 2024 against the Giants. The defense was on absolute fire last night and gave the offense every chance to win it.

• Philadelphia’s Secondary: The return of safety Marcus Epps helped settle this secondary. Epps made a few key stops in this one. While he’s not the flashiest player, his reliability helps solidify things in the backend. Adoree Jackson had a great game in coverage, securing an interception. Cooper DeJean was absolutely everywhere in pass coverage, limiting Chargers star receiver Ladd McConkey to 1 catch for 12 yards (I enjoyed it, my fantasy team did not). Aside from a late pass interference call against him, Quinyon Mitchell once again played a great game. The secondary did their part.

• Saquon Barkley: Barkley finally got going in this one. He ripped off a toss on a fake tush push for 60 yards and a score. He had a few runs of +10 yards and got rolling running behind the left side of the Eagles offensive line. It’s great to see Barkley break a few of those open and work to get this running game back on track.

TRENDING DOWN

• Jalen Hurts: This is the worst Jalen Hurts game I’ve ever seen. Hurts finished with 240 yards and 5 turnovers, including the infamous double turnover. Since the second half of the Cowboys game, Hurts has looked inaccurate and indecisive. He thrives when he plays with rhythm and uses his legs to get easy yardage. He did none of that tonight. The fact that the Eagles were still in this game after Hurts’ turnovers are a testament to the talent on this team. But make no mistake, Hurts played the biggest role in this loss.

• A.J. Brown in Big Moments: Brown had three major drops today - one deep shot on the first possession of the game, one on a high pass from Hurts that resulted in an interception, and one beautiful pass in the endzone that would’ve won the game for Philadelphia. The Hurts-Brown connection has been off all season and it really showed up last night.

  

• The Eagles Offensive Coaching Staff: The team looks unprepared, undisciplined, and lacks an identity. This is the same stuff we’ve talked about week after week. I’m pretty sure I could beat Kevin Patullo in Madden. This is first and foremost a coaching issue. If the players of this talent level struggle to execute, it’s because the coaches are struggling to communicate in an effective way. Big changes are coming this offseason.

• Talent Making Up the Difference: Talent can only take you so far. The Eagles are perhaps the most talented team in the NFL. The defense maximizes that talent while the offense is incapable of doing so. That talent on offense allows the dam to break every once in a while. With Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith you’re bound to score at some point. But the Eagles can no longer run a scheme where they just line ‘em up and let rely on talent alone. They can no longer let the defense know where the punch is coming from and still expect to land it. Coaching needs to give that talent some edge, some sort of advantage. That’s not the case this season.

HOT TAKES

• Kevin Patullo Needs to Be Fired: Listen, I’m well aware that this whole shitshow is not Patullo’s fault alone. But sometimes a little scapegoat will do you good. The argument against firing Patullo is that doing so will disrupt the offensive communication structure. That doing so might add a new complication. But to be honest, there’s nothing about the current offense worth protecting. The Eagles need a significant change to offset the inertia of this struggling offense. I’d vote for giving QB coach Scot Loeffler a chance to call plays. I sincerely doubt he’s a long-term solution, but maybe you’d get just a little bit more juice from an experienced playcaller. At this point, Patullo will be let go in the offseason. We’ve been to this rodeo before with Brian Johnson. He’s the only thing that’s changed around this offense since the Super Bowl. The Eagles need to bring in an experienced playcaller who has designed and led a modern offense in the past. They need to give that playcaller the keys and lock Sirianni out of the room. For now, leave Patullo in LA and let him enjoy the warm weather.

• Jalen Hurts is Limiting this Offense: Jalen’s inconsistency is approaching Nick Foles-ian levels. This year, he has fluctuated between an elite NFL quarterback and an ACC-level starter. Earlier in the season, his conservative play style caused a disconnect with his playmakers. Now, it’s his recklessness and indecision. Hurts holds onto the ball too long, and he struggles to throw over the middle of the field. What’s frustrating is that we know he can reach the highest heights of his position. You can win a Super Bowl with him. But he’s not playing like it. If I’m Jalen’s quarterback coach, I’m telling him to work on nothing but throwing over the middle of the field all offseason.

THINGS ONLY I CARE ABOUT

• Jim Harbaugh is an Alien. Every time they cut to Jim on the sidelines, he looks like it’s his first time on earth and he can’t believe what’s happening in front of his eyes. Jim is an intelligent species. He once said he doesn’t eat chicken because it’s a nervous bird. He seemingly only wears khakis. His intensity rivals the sun.

  

• Justin Herbert is also an Alien. I hypothesize that this is why these two men get along. Case in point, Justin Herbert staring into nothingness while golf-clapping after a holding call. Doesn’t look normal to me, reader!

  

• Oronde Gadsen’s Dad’s Pet Monkey: Troy Aikman is great for little anecdotes during the broadcast, but this week, he dropped a weird one. While mentioning that he played with Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsen’s dad in Dallas, he mentioned how (the older) Oronde Gadsen had a pet monkey he’d bring to the locker room. Apparently this monkey caused all sorts of problems. In one interview with KTCK-AM 1310 in Dallas, Aikman commented on Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant getting a pet monkey and warned about the perils of having one in the locker room:

  “And then Oronde shows up with this pet monkey. What’s the monkey gonna be doing while we’re trying to practice, we’re going to meetings? Who’s watching the monkey for crying out loud? And I’m not sure anybody was. But he would bring this monkey and he put a diaper on it so we wouldn’t have to worry about, you know.

Good for Troy for speaking out about the rampant issue of pet monkeys in NFL locker rooms.