One Devastating Stat Shows How Stagnant Jalen Hurts, Eagles Offense Was vs. 49ers

Hurts couldn’t complete passes down the field against San Francisco.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts really struggled in his team’s wild-card round loss to the San Francisco 49ers. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ offense struggled during their 23-19 opening-round playoff loss to the 49ers on Sunday. It got so ugly that Philadelphia fans relentlessly booed their own team throughout the game.

One of the problems for the Eagles was a struggle to hit plays down the field. In fact, Hurts’s passes had almost no air yards on them throughout the game. How bad was it? San Francisco wide receiver Jauan Jennings completed a pass for more air yards than Hurts did all game.

Jennings hit Christian McCaffrey for a 29-yard touchdown on a wide receiver pass early in the fourth quarter. That ball traveled 26 yards in the air, which was the most air yards for a pass in the game.

Hurts did not complete a pass for more than 14 air yards during the entire game. Niners quarterback Brock Purdy completed four passes of 16 air yards, but Jennings bested both quarterbacks on that stat.

Longest throws in the 49ers-Eagles game by air yards (per @NextGenStats):

Jennings - 26 yards
Purdy - 16 yards (4x)
Hurts - 14 yards

— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) January 12, 2026

Hurts’s inability to hit his receivers down the field made the offense extremely one-dimensional. Everything was happening close to the line of scrimmage, which allowed the 49ers to tighten things up.

For the game, Hurts completed 20 of 35 passes for 168 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. His 4.8 yards per attempt average was brutal. The only thing that kept Philadelphia in the game was Saquon Barkley’s tough running that resulted in 106 yards on 26 carries.

This was nothing new for the Eagles. On the season, they ranked 23rd in passing yards per game (194.3) and 24th in total offense (311.2 yards per game). The team’s passing offense struggled in 2025 in a way it didn’t during Philly’s run to a Super Bowl title last year. Getting Hurts to complete passing down the field will be a big key for the team heading into 2026.

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