What we learned from Eagles-Saints: Jalen Hurts may have to play at less than 100%

The Eagles couldn’t overcome a dreadful first half, lost to the hapless Saints, 20-10, on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, and failed to clinch the No. 1 seed for a second straight week. Win, lose, or draw, here’s what we learned:

Despite Nick Sirianni’s absurd comments about Jalen Hurts’ superhuman-like ability to recover from injury, the Eagles are clearly a much lesser team without the quarterback. Any number of NFL squads can say the same about the difference between their starters and backups, of course, but Gardner Minshew’s magic ran out after one solid outing vs. the Cowboys. He didn’t receive much help from Sirianni’s game plan or offensive coordinator Shane Steichen’s play-calling against the Saints, but he was often skittish in the pocket and erratic in his throws. Minshew also lacked the elusiveness that can make Hurts so dangerous to defend.

» READ MORE: The Eagles have one more chance to prove they’re as good as they think they are. They can’t blow it.

There was evidence of Minshew’s deficiencies in Dallas, but a slow start on both sides of the ball at the Linc compounded his issues and the Eagles’ offense never got into a rhythm. At the risk of sounding too much like a run-the-ball-more dinosaur, Sirianni and Steichen should have, uh, run the ball more. The Saints’ run defense entered ranked in the bottom third of the NFL and Minshew needed less placed on his shoulders. With no Lane Johnson at right tackle and his replacement Jack Driscoll matched up against Cameron Jordan, the Eagles would have likely benefited from a more balanced attack. They got to it in the second half and were more productive as a result, but it ended up being too late.

Miles Sanders needed to wear a brace on his left knee following an injury last week, but he looked explosive enough on his 12 carries (for 61 yards). He played only 40% of the snaps (22 of 55), though, for his lowest amount this season. Boston Scott (two carries) was the only other running back to make the rushing stat sheet. Kenny Gainwell did receive one handoff and scooted 28 yards into the end zone, but a holding flag on left guard Landon Dickerson brought back the touchdown. It initially looked like the officials may have assigned the penalty to the wrong player. Dickerson delivered a ferocious pancake block as left tackle Jordan Mailata briefly grabbed a penetrating defender. But Mailata said Dickerson was told he was the guilty party. As questionable as that call was, the Eagles still deserved to lose.

So what now? Sirianni said Hurts was close to returning last week. If true, the Eagles still decided to give all the practice repetitions to Minshew. Did they err on the side of caution (hubris?) believing they didn’t necessarily need their starter to beat New Orleans? Or was Hurts not close to ready and Sirianni was playing the game coaches play when they want an opponent to prepare for two stylistically different quarterbacks? Ultimately, the deception didn’t matter. Hurts is a mortal and, as first reported here, he was always likely to miss at least two games after suffering a right shoulder sprain.

He threw some during the open portion of Thursday’s practice, but nothing that could be considered strenuous. Will one more week be enough so that he’s cleared to play? If there’s gray area, do the Eagles rush him back with the top seed still on the line, even though next week’s opponent, the New York Giants, may not be inclined to play at full strength? Even if they had clinched on Sunday, Hurts may have played a series or two in an otherwise meaningless finale. A month is a long span without live reps. But signs seem to indicate that he’ll play on Sunday in much more than just a tune-up. And if not, well, the Eagles may have bigger problems than having to start Minshew again.

Maybe it should just be “Eagle” because A.J. Brown seemed to be the only player to throw another teammate under the bus after the Saints loss. I’ve seen some on social media claim that Darius Slay did the same to Josiah Scott last week after “Third-and-30,” but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He never named Scott and merely said there was a missed assignment. Brown, though, probably didn’t need to harp on Minshew’s fateful pick-six to Marshon Lattimore when his route appeared less than enthusiastic.

“It was initially press [coverage],” Brown said. “Me trying to get Gardner’s attention to look up but he never looked back at me. The [defensive back] actually doubled me on the play.”

Brown was then asked if there was a miscommunication or if a lack of familiarity played a part in the interception.

“I don’t think that’s the case,” he answered. “I just don’t think he looked up. He saw one look and just stayed with that look.”

I’m all for transparency, but Minshew had already taken accountability for the throw.

“We ran that same play earlier and it was the same coverage and they made a great adjustment to jump the route,” he said. “I should have seen that leverage when we made the motion.”

» READ MORE: The Eagles get humbled by the Saints, and maybe that’s a good thing

Credit the Saints for the adjustment as well. Coach Dennis Allen and his assistants were often ahead of Sirianni and his crew and Steichen went to the slant well one time too many. As for there being any potential discord in the locker room, Brown’s gaffe doesn’t exactly meet the criteria, especially when it’s essentially the lone public example. The Eagles haven’t had much to test their unity, but they have enough leadership to nip any potential friction in the bud. Their response against the Giants, though, will say more than any anecdotal evidence could about the closeness of the group.

The other option would be to move Mailata to the right and start Andre Dillard on the left like the Eagles did in two games last season. That’s one more moving part, and maybe Sirianni figures he can get by with Driscoll for another week. The Giants don’t have anyone on the edge as accomplished as Jordan, although Kayvon Thibodeaux may be looking to make more snow angels after knocking Nick Foles out of Sunday’s game against the Colts. But Driscoll really struggled. Jordan’s three sacks weren’t all on the tackle, but most of his five pressures were. The coaches didn’t appear to help him out much in the early going. Brown’s 78-yard touchdown catch, coincidentally enough, came when Boston Scott helped Driscoll with a chip block.

Despite adding both guard spots to the number of positions Dillard can play — he’s gotten the nod ahead of Driscoll whenever Dickerson has needed a break inside — he still apparently can’t flip to both flanks. Mailata hasn’t been as reliable as he was last season, which may be one additional reason for not moving him, but the Dillard era in Philly seems to be coming to an appropriate end. First-round misses in the draft always leave marks, even if the Eagles did well to make up for the whiff.

Johnson, at the other end of the spectrum, has been one the best first-round selections in franchise history. The Eagles’ record whenever he’s been out (9-22) vs. when he’s been in (72-44-1) says as much. He plans on holding off surgery to correct a torn tendon in his abdomen and return for the playoffs. Johnson is as tough as they come, but there is obvious concern about the amount of pain he may have to endure.

Driscoll wasn’t the only O-lineman to deliver a subpar effort. The unit was flagged six times with four pre-snap false starts. Center Jason Kelce had an illegal man downfield penalty that wiped out a 22-yard catch by Boston Scott. I’d expect Jeff Stoutland’s unit to bounce back based upon its norm.

Only four teams in NFL history have recorded more sacks in one season than the Eagles (67): the 1984 Bears (72), 1989 Vikings (71), 1987 Bears (70), and 1985 Giants (68). Even if they need an extra 17th game to break the record, it’s still an impressive feat considering all the modern-day restrictions placed upon pass rushers. The Eagles also became the first team since 1982 — when sacks became an official statistic — to have four players with 10-plus sacks in the same season. Haason Reddick leads the way with 16 — which is behind only Nick Bosa’s 17½ this season — with Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat, and Brandon Graham each behind him with 11.

» READ MORE: Eagles players concede there’s ‘more work to do than we thought’

And yet, it just feels like few Eagles fans appreciate the accomplishment. It’s almost as if they’d rather see fewer sacks as long as defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon blitzed more. But why steal from coverage when you can get home with just four? Getting pressure is a two-way deal. When Gannon’s calls are on point, he takes away first and second reads. If they’re not, quarterbacks tend to get the ball out quickly against his zone coverages. If there’s an increasing concern, it’s the higher completion percentage allowed over the last seven games. In the Eagles’ first nine games, they held quarterbacks to a 58.4 pass rate. Since then, it’s 71.4 with Dak Prescott (77.1) and a combination of Andy Dalton and Taysom Hill (83.3) connecting at the highest percentage the last two weeks.

Gannon’s record against “top-level” quarterbacks isn’t good. But most coordinators struggle against the best passers. Dalton doesn’t exactly qualify. But the Eagles defense, despite a shaky start, locked down the Saints in the second half. New Orleans initially followed the Washington blueprint that led to an upset in November. It stayed patient with the run game, got into manageable third downs, and ate up the clock. The Saints converted six of their first seven third downs. But Gannon bided his time against an offense that was depleted up front. And the Eagles got into more favorable third downs and got off the field on eight of the next nine.

As worrisome as the recent completion numbers may be, especially in the middle of the field, they’re hollow if they don’t produce points. Josiah Scott had a few testy moments early in the slot vs. rookie receiver Chris Olave, but he mostly rebounded from “third-and-30,” had a key interception and never let anyone get behind him. Can he be trusted through the postseason with Avonte Maddox likely done for the season? Gannon could opt to move safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson into the slot in nickel personnel whenever Gardner-Johnson returns from a lacerated kidney. But does Gannon want to put more on his plate and can he trust Reed Blankenship alongside Marcus Epps on the back end?

Linebacker Kyzir White has been a liability in coverage over the last month or so, particularly when in man defense. … The Eagles had some nice individual performances by part-timers on defense. Milton Williams’ penetration on third-and-goal at the 1-yard line resulted in a tackle for loss. He keeps flashing and could help offset the loss of Sweat, depending upon how long Sweat is out with a neck injury. Outside linebacker Patrick Johnson didn’t bite on a play fake in the red zone and when he plastered a tight end en route, Dalton was forced to throw the ball away. Safety K’Von Wallace had a third-down pass breakup. … The Eagles have run out of practice-squad elevations for punter Brett Kern and will have to sign him to the 53-man roster if they want him for the season finale. He’s had only eight punts since taking the injured Arryn Siposs’ spot, but his 37.4-yard net average would be the second worst in the league if he qualified. There are unlimited elevations in the postseason, but an argument could be made for looking at another punter against the Giants.