Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts blamed himself for the Eagles’ sloppy loss on Dec. 8.
The Eagles lost to the Los Angeles Chargers 22-19 in overtime on Monday Night Football. Hurts threw four interceptions and had a fumble in the loss.
Speaking to reporters at his postgame press conference, Hurts said it is incumbent upon him to turn the team’s fortunes around in the last few weeks.
The Eagles’ lone touchdown came on a fake tush push play where Hurts tossed the ball to running back Saquon Barkley; Barkley took the ball 52 yards to the end zone. Other than that, the Eagles put together multiple long drives that either stalled out or were cut short by turnovers.
Hurts’s first interception was actually two turnovers in one.
His pass was picked off by defensive lineman Da'Shawn Hand; running back Will Shipley punched the ball out, and Hurts recovered, but had it punched out by defensive lineman Jamaree Caldwell, and it was scooped up by linebacker Troy Dye.
His two turnovers on the same play were the first on record since turnover tracking began in 1978.
Hurts was picked off again on the following possession, when cornerback Donte Jackson jumped a route. He threw his third interception in the fourth quarter, when he launched a ball over the middle intended for A.J. Brown, but it was tipped in the air by Brown and caught by cornerback Cam Hart.
On the final possession, Hurts tried to layer a ball for WR Jahan Dotson at the pylon, but Hart batted the ball, and safety Tony Jefferson came down with it.
Hurts was inches away from a fifth interception at the beginning of the second quarter when he badly overthrew Dotson, but the ball hit the ground and was ruled incomplete.
Even with the five turnovers and just one touchdown drive, the Philly defense relentlessly attacked the Chargers offense, sacking quarterback Justin Herbert seven times and taking the ball away twice, an interception and a fumble. The defense also gave up a single touchdown and kept the offense in it all night long, ultimately giving Hurts the chance to redeem himself in OT.
“I had the ball in my hands, driving down the field, having everything on our terms, to a sense, and I didn’t bring it home,” Hurts said.
“Nick stepped in, and I think he played a very good role this week, provided some structure and kind of organized some things for us,” Hurts said. “Obviously, we still have room for improvement. But I look at myself first.”
Now mired in a three-game losing streak, the Eagles sit at 8-5 with the Dallas Cowboys breathing down their neck for the NFC East.
Their last four games will give them more than a chance to get it right. They take on the 2-11 Las Vegas Raiders and the 3-10 Washington Commanders twice; their only remaining matchup against a playoff team is against the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 28.
Hurts knows it falls on him to get his team right.
“I think winning is a point of pride to me. That’s why we play the game, and I’ve got to find ways to lead our team to victories. It’s not something that’s foreign to us; we’re just not able to do it at the moment,” he said.
“And it starts with me and how I play, how I lead, and how I go out there and do my job. So, when I look at it, at any point, it’s about how I respond to a test, how I respond to it, and what level of resilience and resolve I have to push forward and figure things out.”
