Hurts, Eagles Criticized by NFL Fans for Blowing 14-Point Lead in Loss to Nix, Broncos

After all of the noise surrounding them throughout the week, the Philadelphia Eagles fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 21-17 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

The defeat marks Philadelphia’s first loss since Week 16 last season. This is the first loss in a game that Jalen Hurts didn’t leave early due to injury in more than a year when the Eagles were defeated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 29, 2024.

Hurts actually had his best passing game of the season by yardage. The reigning Super Bowl MVP lost this game despite Hurts having his best passing game of the season. He finished 23-of-38 for 280 yards and two touchdowns.

Hurts’ longest throw of the day was a 52-yard strike to DeVonta Smith, who finished with a season-high 114 yards on eight catches. He also had a 47-yard touchdown pass to Saquon Barkley.

A.J. Brown, who was at the center of much of last week’s discussion, once again had minimal impact on a game with five catches for 43 yards.

The Eagles, who have mastered the art of running out the clock with a late lead, saw their 14-point advantage in the fourth quarter evaporate quickly.

The Broncos scored touchdowns on back-to-back possessions in the final period, then converted a two-point conversion after the second one to take an 18-17 lead with 7:36 remaining. They added a field goal with just over one minute left to play to force the Eagles to get a touchdown to win.

Philadelphia looked like it was going to immediately respond on its ensuing possession, but an illegal shift penalty on fourth-and-4 negated a 30-yard catch by Smith. Nick Sirianni elected to punt the ball back to the Broncos with just over five minutes left to play.

The Eagles came really close to getting the game-winning touchdown on the final play when Hurts’ pass hit Smith in the hands before getting knocked away.

Eagles Lose 1st Game 😱

The officials didn’t help matters by appearing to miss a pass interference call on Dallas Goedert on the final drive that would have put the ball around the 10-yard line with nine seconds to play.

Fans were once again not pleased with what they saw from the Eagles offense.

All of the handwringing about Hurts and the passing game is ignoring how much the rushing attack is struggling in Philadelphia right now. Barkley had more receiving yardage on his touchdown catch than he did rushing yards in the entire game (30 on six carries).

Barkley has now been held under 100 rushing yards in each of the first five games this season, matching his total from all of 2024 in 16 games. His six carries on Sunday were his fewest in a game as a member of the Eagles.

Even accounting for the strength of Denver’s defense, it’s odd that the Eagles abandoned the run to this extent. They only had a total of 11 carries in the game, compared to 38 pass attempts for Hurts.

It’s too early to say that this season is going in the same direction as 2023 when everything collapsed after a 10-1 start—there’s little chance of the defense being as bad as that group from two years ago—but there seem to be some parallel vibes right now.

The Eagles have a short week before they take on the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Thursday. If their struggles continue in that game against a division opponent with a rookie quarterback, the panic meter will hit off-the-charts levels for the defending Super Bowl champs.

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