“We have our moments.” Jalen Hurts remarked when asked about how he and coach Nick Sirianni are handling things in the locker room. In addition to that, with a similar tone, the HC mentioned that he won’t put any blame on Hurts publicly, even if it’s his fault. So, in short, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and head coach, both are dusting off the blame from each other’s shoulders. But can this aborting of the blame game help the Phillies to reach the level they were at the start of the 2023 season?

Probably not; if we take a glance at what Dan Orlovksy has to say about them. The Eagles are 2-2 in the season at present; their recent blowout 33-16 against the Buccaneers has raised concerns about the team’s performance and actual motto of 2024. Talking about the same, in a recent episode of NFL on ESPN on October 1, 2024, former-QB-turned-analyst Orlovksy, stated, “This is a poorly coached football team.”

Supporting his strong statement, Orlovksy pointed out several key moments in the Eagles vs Buccaneers game where things went wrong, stating how they opened on offense. Without top receivers like AJ Brown and Devonta Smith, the Eagles threw the ball on seven of their first nine plays, quickly falling behind 21-0. Moreover, Orlovsky questioned why Jalen Hurts was looking to the wrong side of the field on a basic play moment in the matchup, especially when he’s been familiar with it for years.

Continuing with his explanation of other faults, the former footballer also highlighted sloppy execution and strange coaching decisions, like slow motions that gave the defense plenty of time to adjust. Dan Orlovksy emphasized that these mistakes tell that “it’s either he’s [Jalen Hurts] doing it and has been coached improperly or he’s not taking the coaching” at all. This shows that his frustration was clear, especially considering how poorly planned and executed certain plays were in the previous games of the Eagles. Hence, for Orlovsky, this was a team not being set up for success this time, and it’s costing them.

Jalen Hurts and his Eagles need to fix a couple of things

To summarize the Philadelphia Eagles’ current stand – the team is in a rough spot heading into their bye week, sitting at 2-2 after a 33-16 loss to Tampa Bay. Now, talking about failures, they have been struggling on both sides of the ball, and it’s clear that they are underperforming. Even quarterback Jalen Hurts has been turning the ball over, and coach Nick Sirianni is feeling the heat. Additionally, injuries to key players like AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith have left the offense short-handed, and there’s no clear timeline for their return.

But guess what’s more concerning? It is how poorly the Eagles start their games; they haven’t scored in the first quarter all season and were outscored 23-0 in the first quarter of their last four games. Moreover, in the loss to Tampa Bay, the team didn’t even gain a single yard for more than a quarter and trailed 24-0 before finally crossing midfield. And it’s not like Jalen Hurts or coach Nick Sirianni haven’t taken any responsibility for the loss; they have! But the issues run deeper than any one player or coach.

Nevertheless, despite these struggles, the Eagles are trying to keep a positive mindset. And the quarterback is emphasizing a “So, what now?” mentality, focusing on moving forward and improving. Now, as the QB and coach believe that the team needs to figure out their identity, they will hope to get healthier and find their rhythm after they return from their BYE week on October 13, 2024.