After the Philadelphia Eagles pulled out a 25-20 victory Sunday over the New England Patriots, the question had be asked.

Was not playing the starters, especially Jalen Hurts, in any of their preseason games an issue? Was that the sole reason for the Eagles sluggish start to the season?

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni had an interesting response, saying he might have started Jalen Hurts “a series or two.”

“I’ll definitely reevaluate some of the preseason stuff next year,” he said.

“You know, I know they played the first two years that we were here, they only played one series against the Jets in 2022. Maybe I should have played (Hurts) a series or two this preseason, and I already wrote that in my notes.”

It’s way too early to think this, but that could change in 2024.

“I’m constantly self-evaluating myself. And I’m not promising anything, and I know y’all will remember this conversation and play it, and that’s okay,” Sirianni added. “But I have to — I’ll reevaluate that. You know, second thought, if I had to do it over again right now, I would say, yeah, I would have played starters one or two drives in the preseason. But next year will be a new thing with new situations and new everything, so I’m not worrying about that right now. I’m just got it in my notes to think about right now though.”

That’s all fine and well, I guess. But was not playing Hurts, or any starter, a “series or two” really the difference in Sunday’s disappointing result? I honestly don’t think so.

Sure, getting some reps in real action before the season is the more ideal approach, and I would have liked to see Hurts get some time during the preseason. But him not playing in any preseason games was not the issue.

The Eagles were too conservative.

After a 16-0 lead, the Eagles did not really keep attacking. After the DeVonta Smith touchdown, the Eagles to punt on their next four. Actually, each of those drives ended in a three-and-out.

On the first punt, the Eagles faced a third-and- 10. What was the play? A short 2-yard pass to A.J. Brown. The next drive ended on a 2-yard pass to Smith on third-and-9. The next ended on Boston Scott’s 3-yard run up the middle on third-and-10. The last drive of the first half was the most infuriating. After a penalty, the Eagles faced a second-and-21. Hurts completed a 7-yard pass to Brown, but on third-and-14 the play was a short pass that fell incomplete.

Why all these conservative plays?

It was not a great first game for Eagles new offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, that’s for sure.

The Hurts’ fumble was costly, but why have him run the clock and put your franchise QB at risk when you have a decent committee. I mean, I’m not making excuses for the fumble and maybe Kenny Gainwell, Scott or D’Andre Swift would have fumbled. But they needed more opportunities, and that was the drive for it.

Oh, and why did Swift only have one carry and two targets out of the backfield?

“I don’t ever want to come out of a game where D’Andre Swift has only two touches,” Sirianni said.

Well, you did…. And why was Dallas Goedert not used? He was wide open on multiple plays. Was that coaching or Hurts just not seeing him?

The offense just looked predictable, and the calls were very vanilla. It was Johnson’s first game, so hopefully he improves.

A lot went wrong Sunday, and blaming the fact starters did not get enough time in preseason is not entirely fair. Yes, players should get “a series or two,” at the least.

But the conservative approach on offense was a bigger issue. After driving 61 yards to start the game, they had just two total yards of offense on five possessions to end the first half.

But things should get better.

The Eagles, like many teams, probably has Week 1 rust. Look at the way Bengals’ QB Joe Burrow played. The Chiefs lost, granted without two of their top players. But still, they made some sloppy plays. At least the Eagles won, and they know what needs to be fixed

But it needs to be fast as they are on a short week with the Vikings coming to town on Thursday.

It’s always good to win, but it’s not good to play like that, and we are going to put a lot of work in to make corrections,” longtime center Jason Kelce said.

Added Hurts, “Winning is the only thing that matters and that’s something that I’ve always said. And so that is the mentality right now. That will always be the mentality. I think we obviously have things that we need to work on and have to be better in those situations when the ball is in my hands, and I take full accountability for that.”