Eagles film: Jalen Hurts’ decision-making was the problem in a career-worst performance against the Giants

The criticisms of Jalen Hurts as a passer have often focused on his physical liabilities, primarily that he doesn’t have enough arm strength or that he isn’t tall enough.

There are, of course, many other condemnations, as there tend to be when a quarterback can’t make the necessary throws. The list includes Hurts’ habit of leaving the pocket too early, or his reluctance to throw over the middle, or his penchant for moving to his right, or his inconsistent mechanics, or his inability to see the field or read a defense.

There were examples of the above in his worst performance as an NFL starter on Sunday. But the best explanation for Hurts’ struggles against the New York Giants centers around his decision-making.

He made errors of the mind in the Eagles’ 13-7 loss. Would it help if the 6-foot-1 Hurts had a cannon for an arm, or stood several inches taller? Probably. But if he made better decisions, or processed a tick faster, his physical liabilities — which are relatively minute — wouldn’t matter much.

The same could be said for many quarterbacks, especially young ones. Hurts’ passing hasn’t been precise since he became the starter late last season. But overall there has been improvement. And it’s not like the three interceptions he tossed at MetLife Stadium were characteristic.

Hurts threw only eight picks in his first 15 starts. He’s had only three fumbles over that span, as well. Sunday was an anomaly, which is perhaps why coach Nick Sirianni offered a rather harsh assessment after the game.

“It’s never going to be an A, B, C or D,” Sirianni said when asked about Hurts, “if you turn it over three times.”

Sirianni shouldered some blame, as well, as he should have. He strayed from the Eagles’ run-heavy winning formula early in the game as Hurts threw on 11 of the offense’s first 16 plays.

The Eagles’ receivers didn’t help matters either, especially Jalen Reagor and Greg Ward, who dropped three combined passes. The Giants deserve their share of credit, as well. They had a sound plan for when Hurts did drop.

The 23-year-old quarterback was hard on himself after the game, as he typically is following a defeat. Hurts injured his ankle early in the fourth quarter when an offensive lineman stepped on his foot. He actually played better down the stretch — a trait consistent with other games this season when he’s had rough starts.

But there were still moments he likely would want back. Here’s a closer look at the film, what Hurts may have been looking at, and the various forces behind a forgettable day:

The Giants had a few basic premises in coverage. They played mostly zone, but when the Eagles got into the red zone, mostly man. They blitzed Hurts on 11 of 31 drops, most on third down.

They didn’t come on the Eagles’ first third down. In fact, they rushed only three and dropped into an umbrella zone on third-and-11. Hurts (No. 1) probably left too early here and should have just taken the short Quez Watkins (No. 16) crosser.

But he also didn’t force the ball downfield.

“I think what you’ve seen is our play-action game has been able to be successful,” Sirianni said Monday, “but when teams know we’re dropping back and when we’re dropping back to pass, that’s where we’ve struggled in the third-and-longer scenarios.”

On the Eagles’ next possession, Hurts completed a couple of passes to DeVonta Smith and Watkins that were contested, but he put the ball in good spots. But on third and five at the Giants 20, he made his first poor decision.

Watkins may have been held as he broke inside on his dig route, but he was never open. Hurts has had few pass attempts in between the hashes this season. It’s unclear what he saw here before tossing his first interception to Giants safety Xavier McKinney (No. 29).

A series later, Sirianni called for a screen to tight end Dallas Goedert that netted zero yards. On second down, Hurts forced another pass to Watkins. He may have had Smith (No. 6) at the second level, although the end-zone view didn’t show whether the underneath linebacker obstructed a throwing lane.

The Giants, meanwhile, were unable to capitalize and led by only three points. Sirianni went back to the Eagles’ bread and butter over the last month on the next possession. He called runs for Miles Sanders and Boston Scott and got Hurts involved with zone reads.

Hurts also hooked up with Reagor for a 21-yard pass down to the 2-yard line. On first-and-goal, the Eagles ran a sprint out to Ward (No. 84). While an argument could be made against going to him in that situation, two of his four targets this season have been red-zone touchdowns.

Still, Hurts’ pass went through Ward’s hands.

Two plays later, after a Hurts draw was stopped short, Sirianni had no choice but to pass on third down with eight seconds left before the half. He dialed up a mesh concept play — one the Eagles have found to be effective against both man and zone.

But Ward fell over the middle, and Goedert (No. 88) was doubled. Hurts flushed right, but with neither Smith or Scott (No. 35) open, he should have thrown the ball away and taken the three points.

When asked if he sometimes tries to do too much because of his ability to make plays off-script, Hurts said no and pointed more to not throwing to his safety valves.

“I think I should have just took what they gave me some times,” Hurts said.

The Eagles drove into Giants territory on their first drive of the second half. But on third- and fourth-and-2, Hurts couldn’t connect with Watkins and Reagor on short slants. The first pass was too inside, and on the second, the latter receiver had a defender draped on his back.

Hurts made a check on the Eagles’ ensuing drive when backed up. He hit on a similar throw to Watkins way back in Week 2, but even though Reagor got behind the Giants cornerback, this pass should have never been thrown.

Hurts’ read was probably a touch late, and his pass underthrown, but McKinney, as the post safety, had shaded to his left after the snap. There wasn’t a route concept to the right, based upon the coverage, that might have lured him elsewhere.

Hurts had plenty of space in the pocket to step into his throw. But his mechanics on this later screen pass to Watkins appeared faulty as he all-armed his pass.

Nevertheless, Sirianni went back to the ground and the Eagles ran nine times, including a Hurts scramble, and scored a touchdown on a 1-yard Scott scoot.

The Eagles were forced to punt on their next drive. But they had two more shots to catch the Giants. Scott fumbled to end the first chance. The Eagles got the ball again, though, with over a minute and no timeouts.

Hurts checked down to Kenneth Gainwell for a couple of first downs and then on the next play uncorked a deep ball to Reagor down the left sideline. The Giants were in press man coverage, and Reagor ran a fade route.

Hurts’ decision was sound. He unnecessarily threw off his back foot, and the ball may have been a touch behind his receiver, but it was still a good throw under the circumstances. Reagor said he should have pulled it in.

Three plays later, Hurts was nearly picked off again on a throw over the middle to Reagor. Smith then ran over to Sirianni before fourth down and requested a play in which he was the No. 1 read. The coach chose another to counter the Giants’ two-man coverage: the mesh.

Smith was the 1a read, and Goedert the 1b. The latter was defended. Sirianni said that Smith and Watkins’ “didn’t do a great job executing the route discipline out of that play.”

Some coaches may have the crossing receivers slap hands as they meet to execute the designed rub.

Giants cornerback James Bradberry “did a good job of undercutting the shallow route that we ran,” Sirianni said.

Still, Smith appeared open, both initially and after he curled up field.

Hurts had some pressure and moved to his left off his spot, which may have explained why he didn’t throw to Smith in scramble mode. The safety was initially lured toward the middle but did jump toward the receiver.

Nevertheless, Hurts then threw to Reagor over the middle. The receiver jumped, the ball hit him square in the hands and he couldn’t hang on.

Despite as poorly as Hurts played, the Eagles still had an opportunity to win. But his decision-making, again, played a role in failed execution.

“It checks who you are,” Hurts said. “This is an opportunity to be resilient. This is an opportunity to overcome adversity. Something we’ve done before and I have no doubt we’ll do again.”