The Philadelphia Eagles dropped their first game of the season on Sunday, losing to the Denver Broncos 21-17. After the game, players expressed concerns about the communication within the passing game, particularly between quarterback Jalen Hurts and his receivers. DeVonta Smith said that all across the offense, guys were never on the same page. This lack of communication led them to lose big moments on game-changing plays.
Smith pointed to specific times in the game where receivers just didn’t get Hurts’ signals, his hand motions prior to the play. This lack of communication caused a failure of their performance. He stated, “There’s times where we’re looking at him, and he may give a signal before or after we look, and ultimately we have to be on the same page.”
Smith made his anger about this abundantly clear. At the same time, A.J. Brown downplayed the disconnect, saying it was more of an issue between him and Hurts—not a bigger problem. He admitted the “first half was terrific” in the passing game. He lamented the fact that the squad couldn’t build off that momentum, saying that “the inconsistency reared its head again.”
In that game alone, Hurts converted 23 of 38 passes for a ridiculous 280 yards and two TDs. This was the Eagles’ best statistical performance of the season for their passing game. That wasn’t enough, even combined with favorable conditions, to win. Brown remembered one key instance when he took off down the seam and beat the entire Denver defense. He slowed down right before Hurts was releasing the pass. This misstep led to confusion on their part that cost them a likely touchdown. As I raised my head, no ball in sight. On review, I turned around, I couldn’t see the ball, and then the ball just gets thrown. We just missed,” Brown remarked.
The Eagles had trouble moving the ball all night and really struggled in the second half, punting on four straight drives. This provided the perfect opportunity for the Broncos to bounce back from a 17-3 hole and find their rhythm. Smith on their struggles remarked, “We shot ourselves in the foot a ton.”
In response to Smith’s concerns about missed connections, Hurts maintained that he “doesn’t remember any of those things happening” and expressed his intention to discuss it further with Smith. He reflected on the missed opportunities late in the game, stating, “You either hit it or you don’t, and we didn’t hit that one.”
For the Eagles, learning to fix these communication breakdowns is essential as they look ahead to next week’s rematch against divisional rival Washington. Coach Nick Sirianni will no doubt reiterate the need for greater unity between the new guys and old heads to avoid the same mistakes happening in games to come.
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