Jalen Hurts has become a game manager quarterback. That’s a good thing for the Eagles.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Jalen Hurts is a game manager — not that there’s anything wrong with that.

In some quarterback circles, being labeled as such would be blasphemous. But Hurts probably doesn’t mind the characterization as long as the Eagles keep winning. And win they did on Sunday, with a convincing 37-20 victory over the Rams at SoFi Stadium.

Saquon Barkley was again the hero. He rushed for a career-high and franchise-record 255 yards on 26 carries, and scored from 70 and 72 yards to break open the game in the second half. The Eagles’ commitment to the ground game was pivotal once more.

But Hurts contributed, as well, and for the most part, he didn’t have the hesitant moments in the passing game that have often plagued the offense in the first quarter of games. He had better pocket awareness and he had better field vision — even if he, overall, had just 22 pass attempts.

Hurts still had to make important throws. He still had to make sound pre-snap decisions. He still had to make contributions to the run game. And he still had to touch the ball on every play and not make the kind of mistakes that would deprive him of even being called a game manager.

“He was efficient,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “Made plays with his legs. He made plays with his arm. Took care of the football. And so, I thought he was super efficient.

“Our run game was really cooking, but when we needed to pass it, he had some big-time completions to A.J. [Brown].”

Hurts had no turnovers. He was sacked only once. And he rarely forced the ball into bad spots. But for the seventh week in a row since the Eagles decided to emphasize the run game during the bye week, the game plan revolved around Barkley.

The Rams tried to limit his effectiveness. They had relative success early. But Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore never wavered from what has vaulted the Eagles into No. 1 NFC seed contention and the Super Bowl conversation.

They kept feeding Barkley, and when the running back finally hit with a 70-yard touchdown scoot to open the second half and expand the lead to 20-7, the Rams were incapable of mounting a comeback.

» READ MORE: Saquon Barkley reaches historic heights as the Birds march to seventh straight win

The Eagles’ run-heavy formula, which has been complemented by a stingy defense, has made them seemingly invincible playing from ahead. But there will come a time when they need Hurts and the passing game to shoulder the burden.

“Obviously, we have multiple ways that we can attack teams,” Hurts said. “It’ll hit at some point in terms of when we’re asked to do some of these certain things. But duty hasn’t called for some of those moments yet.

“When it does, I have confidence that we’ll be ready for it.”

Hurts has done it before. The Eagles believe him to still be capable. But in shifting their offense, they are decreasing the percentages of the quarterback potentially harming them. The change in run-pass numbers since the bye are staggering.

In the first four games, the Eagles averaged 36.3 pass plays (including sacks) to 30 rushes for a 55-45 ratio split. In the seven games since, they’ve averaged 24.7 passes to 41.3 runs for a 37-63 difference.

Hurts, as a result, has been more efficient. In the first four games, he completed 68.1% of his throws, averaged 232.5 passing yards, and tossed four touchdowns. He also had four interceptions, three fumbles, and was sacked 13 times.

In the last seven games, he’s had a 69.9 completion percentage, averaged 206.5 yards through the air, tossed nine touchdowns, and had only one interception and one fumble. He still has taken a relatively high number of sacks (16) over that span.

But he was sacked just once Sunday when he appeared to stare down Brown on a second-quarter third down. The Eagles stalled in the red zone and settled for field goals on two of their first three possessions.

On their fourth drive, though, Hurts had his best spell after Barkley opened the drive with three carries for 28 yards. On a critical third-down conversion, the quarterback scrambled for 5 yards.

A play later, he was flushed from the pocket but kept his eyes downfield and found Barkley near the sideline for a 13-yard completion. Two plays after that, he connected with Brown for a 6-yard touchdown and the Eagles’ first lead at 13-7.

Brown led the Eagles with six catches for 109 yards — with 47 yards coming after the catch. He was targeted just seven times, matching his average per game for the season. A year ago, the receiver was targeted 9.3 times a game.

“That was a hell of a game from him being able to show up in some of those moments,” Hurts said. “And to be able to do that without our guy, DeVonta Smith.”

Smith, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury, has been averaging only 6.2 targets. Both receivers want the ball, but they’ve had the correct responses when asked about the Eagles’ offensive evolution away from the pass.

Winning is what ultimately matters, and they just have to make the best of their reduced number of opportunities. They would concede that Barkley makes it more unlikely that the Eagles will suffer an implosion like they did last season at this same point.

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: Saquon Barkley might just be the NFL’s MVP after dominating the Rams

But some defense — perhaps the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday — will keep the MVP candidate in check. Right?

“It works until it doesn’t,” Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson said. “Every week’s a challenge. We know we’re playing against teams coming up that have really good defense. So it’s going to be a challenge. They’re going to try to stop it.”

The Rams tried, according to Johnson. He said they moved defensive linemen around to throw off the Eagles’ combo blocks. But they countered with more man blocking schemes and on the first play of the second half, center Cam Jurgens and guard Landon Dickerson opened a huge hole up the middle and Barkley took care of the rest.

He struck again in the fourth quarter during the four-minute drill.

“I think back to moments where we may have lost the game in the past, or maybe mismanaged a four-minute situation, where he’s truly making things easier for us,” Hurts said.

When asked about Barkley taking some of the run game off his back, Hurts joked, “He gives me some time on the back end,” but the quarterback is running as much now (10.4 carries a game) as he was before the bye (10.5).

» READ MORE: The Eagles made it clear Sunday night: They’re a Super Bowl-caliber team

The burden that has been lifted has been as a passer. But what happens when defenses sell out to stop the run? Or what happens when Barkley, who is on pace to have 50 more carries than his career high, just doesn’t have it? Or when Vic Fangio’s defense can’t get stops and the Eagles offense has to play from behind?

Hurts and the passing game will need to carry the weight. He knows it’s coming.

“We’re not satisfied,” Hurts said. “We weren’t satisfied in the past. I’m not satisfied now. We have last year to learn from.”

Can Hurts manage a pass-heavy offense better than he did a year ago? Time will tell.