Jalen Hurts Was the Eagles’ Biggest Problem in Latest Concerning Loss

Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo has drawn much of the ire from Eagles fans this season, but Philadelphia’s QB deserves the blame for Monday’s loss to the Chargers.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts threw four interceptions Monday after entering the night with two on the season. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Forget Kevin Patullo for a moment. The Eagles have a Jalen Hurts problem.

Hurts has been lackluster all season, and he was the biggest of problems on Monday night in a 22–19 overtime loss to the Chargers, dropping the Eagles to 8–5 with their third consecutive defeat. 

Hurts was brutal in every way, missing one throw after the next while tossing four interceptions, the last of which cost Philadelphia, at a minimum, a tie, as the Eagles were looking at first-and-10 from the Los Angeles 17-yard line late in the extra session. Instead, Hurts was picked off to complete his set of mistakes, not to mention a fumble earlier in the evening. 

How bad was Hurts? According to the Elias Sports Bureau via ESPN’s Ben Solak, Hurts is the first player since at least 1978 to turn the ball over twice on the same play, when he threw an interception, recovered a Chargers fumble and then fumbled the ball away moments later. 

Da'Shawn Hand picks off Jalen Hurts.
Da'Shawn Hand fumbles.
Jalen Hurts recovers.
Jalen Hurts fumbles.
Troy Dye recovers. @Chargers ball.

CHAOS! pic.twitter.com/qHHMF3hFcG

— NFL (@NFL) December 9, 2025

Overall, Hurts was 21-of-40 for 240 yards and five turnovers with a passer rating of 31.2. For those unaware, that’s on a scale from 0 to 158.3.

If this was a one-off, it would be disappointing but dismissed. Unfortunately, Hurts’s struggles are becoming the norm in a season after he helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl. The difference? Last year, Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,095 yards, allowing the passing attack to be a secondary function of the offense. 

In 2024, Hurts threw for only 2,903 yards and 18 touchdowns, but he did so on 8.0 yards per attempt. This year, Hurts has only hit that threshold three times, doing it in consecutive weeks against the Giants, Vikings and Giants again. And, in the first of those games, Hurts racked up much of his numbers during garbage time of a 34–17 loss to New York. Over the past five weeks, he’s thrown fewer touchdowns (4) than interceptions (5).

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Additionally, Hurts’s legs are also less effective. Whether that’s on scheme or the player himself, the 27-year-old quarterback has rushed for 337 yards and 33 first downs through 13 games. Last year, he registered 630 yards and 62 first downs, including 14 touchdowns in comparison to eight in 2025. 

So much of this season has been the frustration centered around Patullo, the new offensive coordinator who took over the post when Kellen Moore left for the Saints after Super Bowl LIX. It’s understandable ire, considering that coming into Monday night, Philadelphia’s offense ranked 24th in yards and 19th in points per game, along with being 22nd in both passing and rushing yardage. Compare that to last year, when the offense was eighth, seventh, 29th and second. 

All that said, the Eagles are paying Hurts $255 million across five years because they view him as an upper-tier quarterback. A player in that stratosphere has to be able to lift the offense when a star like right tackle Lane Johnson is missing, or when Barkley isn’t on pace for a record-setting campaign. Hurts has weapons surrounding him that most quarterbacks would do unspeakable things to have, led by Barkley alongside receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. And yet the offense is a slog, oftentimes called by Patullo in a way that would suggest he doesn’t trust Hurts to make throws. 

Perhaps Monday night was an indication why. The Eagles saw Hurts end three drives in Chargers’ territory on turnovers (four if you count the double-dip disaster). And perhaps most distressing is this came on a night when Barkley ran well, racking up 122 rushing yards and a touchdown, only his second 100-yard game of the year. 

Moving forward, things get easier for Hurts and the reeling Eagles. They play the 3–10 Commanders twice over the next four weeks, along with the 2–11 Raiders this upcoming weekend in Philadelphia. The only tough test is a Week 17 clash with the Bills at Orchard Park, and even that game could be relatively meaningless with Philadelphia likely headed for the NFC East crown and a date on wild-card weekend. 

But this next month is critical in the sense of getting right before the games truly matter. And if the Eagles can use it as a training ground, it could be a pivotal stretch. 

And if not? Philadelphia could be looking at an exit reminiscent of its 2023 flameout when it started 10–1, lost five of its last six and got plastered in the opening round by the Buccaneers, 32–9. 

Ultimately, it starts with getting the offense right. And that doesn’t begin with Patullo. It begins with Hurts.

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