Where to begin?

The Philadelphia Eagles suffered an embarrassing 33-16 loss to the Tampa Buccaneers on Sunday. The Eagles started the game with three straight three-and-outs and fell behind 24-0 in the second quarter. 

Let’s start with this — the Eagles need this bye. Like most, I did not like the early bye week when the schedule came out. But this comes at a great time to allow players like DeVonta Smith, AJ Brown and Lane Johnson to get healthy. Even more important, it allows this team to reset and attempt to fix the issues that plague them. 

Hopefully…. 

But let’s get back to Sunday’s humiliating defeat. 

Jalen Hurts is a turnover machine! With his fumble, he has now turned the ball over an NFL-leading seven times this season (four interceptions and three lost fumbles).  He leads all quarterbacks with  23 turnovers since 2023. 

With 2 minutes, 36 seconds left in the third quarter, and the Eagles trailing 30-16, Hurts fumbled on first-and-10 at the Buccaneers’ 19-yard line. The Eagles could have made it a one-score game and, maybe, swing momentum to their side. Instead, Tampa Bay was able to get a field goal and extend their lead to 33-16. 

The defense was absolutely atrocious (I will get to that), so who knows if Vic Fangio’s unit would have even stopped the Bucs and gotten the ball to potentially tie the game (assuming Hurts never fumbled and the Eagles did score a touchdown to cut the deficit to 30-23). But what if they do score and then make a stop. Maybe the Eagles could have tied the game, but after Hurts’ fumble, that was it. Really, the game was over after the Bucs’ lead 24-0, but that fumble took away any and all hope that was there. Again, the game could have been 30-23… just think about that.

I try to defend Hurts, but this time I can’t. His pocket awareness is terrible. Even Tom Brady, who is arguably the greatest quarterback of all time and was on the broadcast, said that about Hurts. His exact phrasing was “he needs better pocket awareness,” but I am saying he has none right now. 

This trend of his is getting out of control.

Will it get better? We keep saying that Hurts will fix it. He even says it, but when is it enough? When do we stop believing everything is OK with Hurts? I am still a fan, but he has to do something to fix his turnover woes. Not just that, Hurts needs to start recognizing pressure more and make smarter decisions, like throwing the ball away and stop holding and taking sacks. He was sacked six times Sunday. Yes, Johnson was out and the Bucs were very heavy on the blitz, but he needs to adjust. Hurts needs to see that blitz coming and do something. He needs to get rid of the ball faster.

On the post game show on NBC Philly, Eagles legend Ron Jaworski said every QB needs to have that two-second clock in their mind when the ball is snapped. Either Hurts’ clock is broken or he just can’t read the field too well… and the Eagles’ have an issue is that’s the case. Again, Hurts was sacked six times! The Bucs had just two total sacks entering Sunday’s game.

Hurts has to get better… and fast!

The Eagles  were outgained 287-69 in the first half. Saquon Barkley had eight of his 10 carries for 22 yards in the first and second quarters. Again, they did not score in the first quarter, the only team to not score a point in the first quarter through Week 4. That is not good and really says a lot about the coaches. I guess they are not getting the team ready to come out of the gate fast. They are not able to put together a good game plan. The Eagle did not even have a first down in the first half. 

The defense was horrendous. They made Baker Mayfield looked like Joe Montana. He made it look so easy, especially in the first half. He was completing pass after pass after pass, marching down the field. The Eagles missed 12 tackles and had no pass rush. They played too far off big-time wide receiver Mike Evand and his counterpart, Chris Godwin. Where was the urgency? Again, the game seemed over before it even started. Without the Eagles’ top stars on offense, the defense needed to step up, and they fell short… big time. 

And let’s get back to Barkley.

He had 10 carries for 84 yards… ONLY TEN CARRIES!?!?! I thought he would be involved more in the game plane without Johnson, Smith or Brown. I understand you can’t run him every play, but only 10 carries for a player like him — in any game — is absurd. If any time the Eagles needed to use him, it was Sunday. Oh, he got two targets, too. So I guess he used more than just his 10 carries…… Even if the Bucs stacked the box every play, Barkley could have gotten yards. He is a big guy and has shown throughout his career he can carry defenders and break tackles. Also, Hurts dropped back 46 times. I mean, don’t you think when the passing game isn’t working, a coaching staff would maybe not make their QB drop back 46 times and give their star running back more than 10 carries? Especially when those 10 carries resulted in 84 yards (8.4 yards per carry)…

About a month ago, this team was predicted to win at least 12 games,

It doesn’t seem that way now. 

Being 2-2 is not bad, but the Eagles could easily be 1-3. I don’t think being 2-2 is as confident as Nick Sirianni made it out to be after the game. He told his players there is a lot of season left and to get ready for the next game. While that’s true, I don’t think it’s that simple. I don’t know if these issues can be resolved in a week. 

Can Sirianni just become a better coach? Can Hurts fix the issues that have been following him since last season? Can the defense be better? Can the defense be more consistent? Can the offense finally score first-quarter points and get off to a fast start?  

All these issues, and then some, need to be addressed during the bye. The Eagles have the talent, which is why this season has been frustrating so far. Hopefully the team gets healthy, regroups and gets ready for the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 13. The key word there is hopefully…. Because all fans can do is “hope.”