The Philadelphia Eagles are 8-5 and are coming off a Super Bowl win, but that won’t stop some from panicking. Following the team’s Week 14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked whether he would consider benching quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Sirianni was quick to shut down that conversation during an appearance on 94 WIP on Wednesday, saying, “That’s ridiculous.”
“No, I think that’s ridiculous,” he said during his weekly radio appearance on 94 WIP in Philadelphia on Wednesday. “I know every time I go out on that field with Jalen Hurts as our quarterback, we have a chance to win the game. That’s something that’s been proven. We’ve won a lot of football games.”
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Hurts had one of the worst games of his NFL career against the Chargers in Week 14. The quarterback was responsible for five turnovers, two of which came on the same play.
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Despite that, the Eagles still had a chance to win the game. But with things tied up in overtime, Hurts threw a game-ending interception to lose the contest, 22-19. It was the Eagles’ third straight loss, with the last two games occurring during national windows.
Hurts took the blame for his struggles in Week 14, saying he “didn’t play well enough” and had “too many turnovers.”
Even after the five-turnover game, Hurts’ numbers are still solid. In 13 games, he’s thrown for 2,754 yards, with 19 touchdowns against 6 interceptions. He’s already thrown for more passing touchdowns than he did last season, when he managed 18 in 15 games.
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Still, the Eagles haven’t fully gelled this season on offense. Running back Saquon Barkley hasn’t built on his record-setting year and wideout A.J. Brown has complained a number of times about his workload. Even when the team was winning games early in the season, there were signs something was off.
Hurts deserves some criticism for the team’s recent slide, but he’s far from the only issue. New Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo and Sirianni have also drawn the ire of fans this season.
Given that the problems are multiple in nature, there’s little evidence benching Hurts will help the team. Even if he has flaws, Hurts is still a two-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champ. He gives the Eagles a far better chance to win games down the stretch than Tanner McKee or Sam Howell.
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