Henry McKenna

NFL reporter

It is right to be skeptical about the Philadelphia Eagles – especially after their collapse last year.

The Eagles are coming off a 37-17 loss to Cincinnati Bengals. They have won three times in a row. Philly has moved within offensive distance for first place in the NFC East and maybe even the NFC.

Everything should be fine. Winning should solve everything.

But that’s not exactly the case. There seems to be some residual discontent from last year. You know what happened: the Eagles lost six of their last seven games, including a playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Nick Sirianni and Jalen hurts were not on good terms, according to ESPN. They didn’t communicate well.

Are they now? That’s the question that will determine whether the Eagles can avoid another collapse.

“Offensively, (we) continued to progress. I don’t think we’re there yet. (We’re) slowly finding it and putting it back together. … I’m excited and happy with the way we played on offense,” Hurts said after Philly’s win over Cincy in Week 8. “I thought Kellen (offensive coordinator Kellen Moore) did a really good job today. We’re all in this together, we stick together and let’s communicate.”

Here’s the good news: Philadelphia is not New York Jets.

Both teams were looking for an identity from the opening weeks of the 2024 season. Both teams started 2-2. Both teams had all the talent in the world to form an identity – to turn 11 high-end starters into one elite unit. But it was the Eagles who managed to achieve this with some consistency. (The Jets certainly didn’t.) That’s a credit to Hurts, Sirianni and the team as a whole.

Maybe the Eagles suffered another loss to the Buccaneers in Week 4 – which felt eerily similar to their playoff loss. But it feels like it was forever ago. Since then, they have won three matches. And their slow start makes sense with Vic Fangio in his first year as the team’s defensive coordinator and Moore in his first year as offensive coordinator. They introduced new systems that changed the way the Eagles operated. This is a good sign that these systems are finally starting to work.

But like Hurts said: they’re not there yet. There is also evidence of things falling apart and falling apart. This isn’t always a bad thing.

Think of it like building a muscle: we break them down to get stronger. You just don’t want to pull or tear anything along the way. In that sense, the Eagles tore their metaphorical ACL last year.

Against the Bengals at the start of the second half last Sunday, the Eagles had not yet taken off. It was still 10-10 in the third quarter and the Philly offense had the ball in the middle of the field. Receiver AJ Brown demanded the ball – wide open – on the left sideline. If Hurts had found it, they would have had a long touchdown. Luckily for the Eagles, they also had a tight end Grant Calcaterra wide open in the middle. Hurts went for a big gain.

On the next passing play in the red zone, Brown had space again, perhaps enough to get into the end zone. But Hurts chose his tight end, Jack Stollfor a gain of 6 yards. Brown then jumped up and punched his fists, apparently frustrated. Eventually, Saquon Barkley scored a touchdown.

Was it a sense of urgency on Brown’s part? Or frustration? And did any of this matter after the score?

When the Eagles got a lopsided score in the fourth quarter, Sirianni approached linebacker. Josh is sweating with a smile on the sidelines. Sirianni played with Sweat’s helmet and the backer pushed his coach away. It was strange. And without Sirianni’s reputation for having trouble connecting with his players, it wouldn’t be worth mentioning. But Sirianni has this reputation. His relationships are under intense scrutiny.

There was a similar but more symbolic gesture after the match. In a postgame press conference, Hurts was asked what was so effective about the designed quarterback runs.

“I don’t know. I don’t know,” he said. “It’s been called.”

This begs the question: is this increase something he was also calling for?

Hurts also discussed what worked for the offense in this game, including whether it had anything to do with the increase in snaps under center.

“When you’re able to impose, I think it says a lot about who you are offensively,” Hurts said. “There’s a lot of ways to come out on top. … Whatever it is, as long as you’re in complete control. I think that’s a mentality that we’re trying to develop and I’m trying to push it.”

Push who?

What he advocates is the strategy of attacking with your best plays and players – rather than working to exploit another team’s weaknesses. In a perfect world, the two things align. But in reality, this is often not the case.

“It’s a balancing act every week,” Moore said. “You have a lot of respect for your opponent and everything they can do. You have to consider all possibilities and prepare in the right way while continuing to do what you do and what you invest a lot of effort into. time. .

“So you’re balancing those two things week in and week out. We’re in this tug-of-war all the time.”

Is the Eagles’ three-game winning streak something or nothing?

This could all be healthy dialogue that improves team performance. Certainly, the Eagles’ last two games are a testament to exactly that. They are a different team since their Week 5 bye, both on offense and defense. However, the biggest difference was Hurts. He threw four interceptions in the first three weeks of the season, but hasn’t thrown one since. He’s lost the ball again on fumbles, with three in the last four weeks. But if you look at his turnover-worthy game stats, it helps put the situation into context.

From Weeks 1-4, he had 11 turnover-worthy plays (2.75 per game).

From Weeks 6-8, he only had one turnover-worthy play. Total.

Almost every metric of Hurts’ game demonstrates that he is becoming more and more comfortable in this offense. That makes sense. They’re figuring out how to make it work for their quarterback. It surely helps that Hurts is pushing for what matters to him. It also helps that they finally have their range of playmakers on the court. Brown, Barkley and Devonta Smith have all missed time this season.

Above all, the offensive is based on confrontationsHurts having more pre-snap power than ever. This offense tasks the quarterback with identifying – before the snap – where his primary read should be based on what he sees from the defense. When Hurts sees one-on-one coverage, he has the green light to alert his receiver and attack that play as his primary option. But it requires savvy work on Hurts’ part to avoid missing those crucial moments when the defense gives him a chance to attack. And that highlights the Eagles’ talent at the skill positions. It also helps to understand why their injuries cost them so much. Because the game may be there, but a backup can’t win it like Brown, Smith or Barkley can.

Now, if matchups don’t present themselves, Hurts is more than capable of sitting in the pocket and reading his progression. At least it has been for the past three weeks.

“He plays quarterback at a high level,” Sirianni said. “Playing quarterback at a high level is not just throwing the ball accurately, it’s going to the right spot with the ball. The right spot with the ball might be their third or fourth read.”

The Eagles are the equivalent of a time bomb in a James Bond film. You’re pretty sure everything will be fine, because… it’s James Bond. But… well, you’ve probably seen “Skyfall.” Sometimes the bomb explodes.

Yes, I’m mixing my metaphors. First it was the ACL. Now it’s a James Bond film. But that’s the nature of the Eagles. Everything is a bit chaotic.

It is not safe to say anything with certainty about Philadelphia.

Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.

(Want great stories delivered straight to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.)

Get more from the National Football League Follow your favorites for gaming information, news, and more.