Until Jalen Hurts' comments after Sunday’s Eagles win over the Los Angeles Rams, many could hardly draw the distinction between playing to win and playing not to lose. But after picking up that lesson from the Super Bowl LIX MVP, it became clear that they meant two different things: one style of play was aggressive, while the other was conservative.
Hurts was simply addressing the fact that the Eagles were more active on the defense, while the offense was often restricted to certain methods and playing styles. Hurts’ sentiment was affirmed by former Super Bowl champion Drew Brees on ESPN’s First Take, where he labelled the Eagles offense the most boring.
The Eagles were lucky to have bounced back from a 19-point deficit early in the second half, to a 33-26 win against the Rams, yet NFL analysts, and even members of the Eagles’ team, all agreed that their display was far from ideal.
Drew Brees calls Eagles offense 'boring'
Drew Brees was on ESPN’S First Take with Stephen A. Smith, and while the former Saints quarterback was highlighting NFL’s standout players since the regular season began, he snubbed Jalen Hurts, despite him completing 71.4% of his passes for 479 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions through three games. Brees was unrepentant still, backing up his claims by expressing his disgust at the Eagles offense.
“I respect Philly,” Brees said. “They are winning games and finding a way to win games. I can’t stand to watch that offense, it's the most boring offense. It is, I’m sorry.”
The 13-time Pro Bowler also pointed out the stiff competition in the Eastern Conference, and was hoping to see how things play out in the long run for the Eagles, who have been inches away from defeat on more than once occasion in just three games.
“That’s the toughest division in football, too, so let’s see how it plays out. Hey, if CeeDee Lamb could catch a post route in Week 1, then the Cowboys have them beat.”
His criticism of the Eagles’ offense was hardly resented, as some of the Eagles’ offensive players have similarly expressed their displeasure at the playing style. After the Rams game, Jalen Hurts spoke with FOX Sports’ Pam Oliver and voiced the same complaints about the team’s offense.
"It’s always good to get a win, and if that doesn’t show you what type of team we are, then I don’t know what does," Hurts said of Philadelphia's comeback from a 26-7 third-quarter deficit. "We completely did that to ourselves in the first half. Completely. It’s unacceptable."
He added:
"We play so many styles of football where in that first half, we got to get out of this playing not to lose. We got to come out aggressive and play our game. You saw our game in the second half."
Eagles’ wide receiver A.J Brown wasn’t left out either, indirectly urging his coaches to be less “conservative” when dealing with the team’s offense--a group stacked with some of the NFL’s best offensive players.
"We got so many good players on this team. And at times, you can feel like we're being conservative," Brown said. "And I don't think it should be like that. It should be, let your killers do their thing. Play fast and play aggressive."
"I'm not saying that we haven't been," Brown said when asked about the offenses aggressiveness "But me personally, that's what I would like. Obviously, we're going to run the ball and pass off the run. We have a lot of good players. We should just let them go. It should be like that."
The only positive outcome of these comments would be that head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coach Kevin Patullo listen to the cries of these players and become more spontaneous in dealing with the offensive players in the coming games. The Eagles face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next. And for the first time this season, we hope to see an aggressive Philadelphia Eagles offense.
