Eagles film review: Sifting through Jalen Hurts’ early struggles and rebound against pressure vs. Cowboys

For a good portion of the Eagles’ 34-6 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, it would have been hard to envision Jalen Hurts’ final stat line against pressure.

According to Next Gen Stats, the Eagles quarterback went 7-of-9 when facing pressure and threw for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Considering he was sacked five times in the first half as the Eagles offense went through a spell of disjointed production, the final numbers showcase the emphatic response from the quarterback late in the first half.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Jalen Hurts thrived, even under consistent pressure from the Cowboys

To see how Hurts rebounded from those early struggles, let’s look at the film.

Of the five sacks, there’s a mixture of ones that fall primarily on Hurts, ones that can be attributed either to protection breakdowns or play-calling choices, and ones somewhere in between.

The most cut-and-dried was the Cowboys’ first sack on the Eagles’ opening series. Facing first-and-10 after breaking into Dallas territory, Hurts turned down an out breaking route to DeVonta Smith a few yards short of the sticks despite the space Smith had from the nearest defender. Unable to step up in the pocket after moving off Smith, Hurts took a 5-yard sack that is fair to put on his shoulders.

Take note of Hurts’ feet on the play. He’s in a good position to throw to Smith (something that will come up later) and is pointed toward the receiver, so it’s unclear why he wasn’t comfortable targeting him with interior pressure starting to bear down on him.

The early sack, followed up by another sack two plays later, led to some erratic moments from Hurts and the offense for most of the first half.

There were plays where Hurts’ eyes seemed to drop to evaluate the pressure rather than searching for options downfield, which is a cardinal sin for quarterbacks. However understandable it may be for Hurts to anticipate the rush considering he faced pressure on roughly half of his dropbacks, the third sack of the game helps illustrate why anticipating the rush early can be costly.

» READ MORE: Eagles-Cowboys takeaways: Nick Sirianni is leading a juggernaut; the defense forces five turnovers

Facing second-and-9 at midfield, Hurts appears to read the short side of the field before quickly reversing toward A.J. Brown and Smith working on the opposite side. Brown gains some separation from Dallas cornerback Trevon Diggs on a deep out route, but Hurts senses initial pressure coming from the interior and squares his feet up to the line of scrimmage just as Brown is coming out of his break. The film, and the benefit of hindsight, shows Cam Jurgens was still engaged in his block despite getting pushed back into the pocket, but Hurts dropping his eyes led to him trying to improvise in a crowded space and taking an 8-yard sack anyway.

Hurts’ habit of squaring up to the line of scrimmage — and thus taking himself out of an effective throwing position — happened on the very next play. The Eagles were facing third-and-17 and called a concept with multiple options, both on underneath routes and closer to the first-down sticks.

Instead of letting the downfield routes develop with a relatively clean pocket, or finding open tight end Grant Calcaterra in the flat, Hurts once again anticipated the rush and tried navigating the pocket as a runner rather than keeping his eyes downfield.

When assessing the pressure Hurts faced for most of the game, it’s fair to point out how often Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore called passing plays that required routes to develop downfield even in neutral situations.

» READ MORE: Eagles-Cowboys stock watch: Jalen Hurts-A.J. Brown connection, defense way up

The best example came on the play that ended with Hurts fumbling deep in Eagles’ territory with the team facing second-and-9 late in the first half. Hurts’ ball security certainly needs to be better with Dallas edge rusher Micah Parsons looping inside on a twist stunt, but there aren’t many good options for him when he hits the top of his drop as most of the receiving options were on vertical routes.

Hurts is also mostly blameless for the second sack of the game, which featured Kenny Gainwell getting beat by Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown in the A-gap after Dallas called a simulated pressure, sending the linebacker on a pass rush.

After the shaky start, though, Hurts stabilized and handled pressure noticeably better throughout the game. In an emphatic response, he completed five of six passes in the final two minutes of the first half and led the Eagles on a scoring drive by sorting out in short order some of the things he struggled with earlier in the game.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Jalen Hurts played unevenly, but his resilience is what mattered against the Cowboys

Operating out of a pocket noticeably more chaotic than some of the pressure he tried to flee earlier in the quarter, Hurts found Brown on an in-breaking route to convert on a pivotal third-and-5 at midfield. The Cowboys sent an overload blitz, and Hurts responded by working up in the pocket and away from the pressure while keeping his eyes downfield with a wide base to hit Brown.

His best moment of the game came a few plays later, when he recognized Overshown blitzing from depth and getting a free rush on him. It’s only fair to acknowledge Hurts squares his feet to the line of scrimmage once again on the play, sidestepping the rookie linebacker, breaking the pocket and finding tight end Dallas Goedert in the end zone to give the Eagles a lead going into halftime.

It’s a play that shows the upside of Hurts’ pocket-management style and what he’s able to do when it goes right, and also one that settled him en route to another efficient performance.