Eagles film breakdown: Breaking down QB Jalen Hurts’ uneven return vs. Packers

The Eagles are moving onto the NFC divisional round of the playoffs to face the Los Angeles Rams with a question still lingering.

Sunday’s 22-10 win against the Green Bay Packers featured a familiar formula, one that revolves around dominant defensive play and a steady, explosive running game that can sometimes mask a stagnant passing attack. Will that passing attack find consistency in the postseason’s final stretch? Will it need to?

After a season of uneven production ended with Jalen Hurts missing two games with a concussion, the Eagles quarterback’s return could be described similarly in the win. He finished 13-for-21 for 131 passing yards and two touchdowns, but had a dry spell midway through the game that featured seven straight incompletions and two sacks in nine dropbacks.

» READ MORE: It’s Eagles vs. Rams in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Here’s everything fans need to know.

To add context to those numbers, let’s look at the film:

Contrary to numerous times when the passing game struggled during the regular season, Hurts got off to a quick start against the Packers. After Oren Burks’ forced fumble on the opening kickoff set up the offense deep in Green Bay territory, Hurts’ first passing attempt was a touchdown throw to Jahan Dotson from 11 yards out.

Afforded a pristine pocket for an unbelievable 6.75 seconds, Hurts went through his initial progression, evaluated the lack of rush, and eventually found Dotson in the back of the end zone on what the quarterback described as a “scramble from within the pocket.”

The end-zone view of the protection is worth watching as well to see how dominant each member of the Eagles offensive line was against the Packers’ four-man rush.

On the following series, the Eagles’ opening script became more apparent from a more typical starting field position. Hurts’ next few passing attempts featured route concepts outside the numbers that tested the Packers' reshaped cornerback duo of Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine on the perimeter.

» READ MORE: Former Eagles disagree on Jalen Hurts’ wild-card performance: ‘I don’t need my quarterback to throw for 300 yards’

The first test came with Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown matched up against Valentine on the outside and running a comeback route. In hindsight, the second-down play stands out for a couple reasons: It was one of the few times Hurts found a receiver with timing and anticipation and was also Brown’s lone catch on three total targets. It’s worth noting Brown came into the game dealing with a knee injury that held him out of Thursday’s practice.

Facing second-and-9 a few plays later, Hurts’ third dropback featured one of the offense’s most-used route combinations. The concept, referred to as “Hank” by some, featured three curl routes, two of which settled outside the numbers with a third run by DeVonta Smith that situated in the middle of the field to beat zone coverage.

Hurts seemingly started his read with Smith, but Packers linebacker Quay Walker stayed with the receiver, which led to Hurts targeting tight end Grant Calcaterra in the flat.

The concept, along with a third-down swing pass to Saquon Barkley on the following play for no gain, foretold what was to come for the Eagles offense the next few quarters. An overreliance on horizontal concepts and a lack of clear answers within the rhythm of the passing game led to Hurts’ lengthy stretch without a completion.

Hurts’ cold streak also coincided with the Packers beginning to get more aggressive in their pre-snap alignment with extra defenders at the line of scrimmage.

His final completion before the cold spell was one of the brightest moments for the passing game, but it turned out to be fleeting. Facing second-and-8, Hurts lined up under center and took a five-step drop, identified the Packers’ three-deep zone coverage and hit Smith on a deep out route perfectly timed with his dropback.

It was a rare non-play-action call from under center for the Eagles, but it wasn’t something they revisited. The offense went back to the horizontal attack the next play in response to Green Bay coming out in a “double-mug” defensive front with two linebackers lined up in the A-gap at the line of scrimmage before the snap.

» READ MORE: Eagles stats: Turnover edge, poor tackling, and Jalen Hurts’ inefficiency under pressure highlight an ugly Eagles win

Both Dotson and Smith ran quick out routes to give Hurts an outlet against the blitz, but a mix-up in the protection led to two free rushers getting to the quarterback before he could step into the throw.

While the Eagles have fared better against pressure looks this season after struggling mightily against extra rushers in 2023, there were a handful of instances during Hurts’ cold streak when the offense’s struggles sorting out unconventional looks led to miscues.

Two plays after the Eagles allowed the pair of free rushers on first down, Green Bay snuffed out a screen to Barkley after coming out in a similar double-mug front before the snap.

It’s fair to acknowledge that the screen passes to the perimeter eventually did yield dividends later. Facing another double-mug front on a second-and-1 midway through the third quarter, Hurts checked to a screen to tight end Dallas Goedert with Brown serving as a lead blocker.

The play required some individual brilliance from Goedert, who triple-stiff-armed Valentine while running up the sideline to score a 24-yard touchdown catch-and-run.

Still, Hurts finished just 2-for-8 for 19 passing yards when pressured. Those struggles will be front of mind for a Rams defense that managed nine sacks against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night as they prepare for the Eagles this week.

Also front of mind for the Rams will be a few of the Eagles’ most common route concepts.

The aforementioned “Hank” has been a staple for the group, but so has the shallow cross route combination the offense ran with success against the Pittsburgh Steelers last month. Against Green Bay, the Eagles ran a version of the route combo a couple of times with mixed results.

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The under-center play-action game was also a staple of the plan, albeit with similarly uneven production. Green Bay’s linebacking corps was well-prepared for a first-down run fake midway through the second quarter, taking away the deep dig route Hurts has often found Brown with in similar situations.

In general, Hurts wasn’t able to unlock the middle of the field partly due to Green Bay’s execution and partly because of the lack of opportunities the game plan created in the deep intermediate area of the field. He finished with just one incomplete passing attempt between the hashes due to plays like the following:

The next quarter, Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore got the better of the Packers secondary with another run fake. Facing third-and-3, Hurts rolled out to his left after faking a handoff to Barkley to the right that successfully created misdirection in Green Bay’s back end. Running a deep crossing route, Smith benefited from Packers safety Evan Williams sticking with Dotson’s clear-out route and leaving him wide open downfield.

» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts keeps winning, or the Eagles won in spite of him; either way, is it postseason-sustainable?

Hurts hit Smith for a 28-yard gain, his longest completion.

The lack of variety and in-game adjustments against the wrinkles Green Bay presented left Hurts without consistent answers, and Hurts was indecisive at times to compound things. We’ve seen the Eagles’ passing game come out of similar ruts during the regular season, but the group doesn’t have the benefit of time to figure things out going into the divisional round against a surging Rams team.