Eagles passed and failed in Week 5 loss to Broncos, as running game ground to a halt by design

PHILADELPHIA -- For weeks, the Philadelphia Eagles have been searching for ways to unleash their passing game. That portion of the offense comes in spurts, as the star players have been desperate to make it go. 

There's been frustration publicly and behind the scenes regarding the way the offense has looked -- a unit that ran the ball 54.4% of the time in the first four weeks of the season (which led the NFL) and averaged 23.8 offensive points per game.

Was there room to improve? Of course, but Philadelphia did a complete 180 on Sunday, calling 44 pass plays to just 11 runs for an insane 80% ratio. 

Even more puzzling? The Eagles had a 17-3 lead with 13:23 left in the third quarter and still attempted to pass the ball, having 19 pass plays to just one play. Saquon Barkley had one carry and Jalen Hurts had the other, a run that was technically a designed pass he scrambled out of (hence the 19-1 ratio). 

"At the end of the day, whether we ran the ball enough or not, we had an opportunity to win a football game, and we didn't," Barkley said. "I really don't get caught up in, are we throwing the ball enough? Or are we running the ball enough? Can we win a football game? It's going to look different every single game."

The final result went as expected. The Eagles allowed 18 unanswered points in a 21-17 loss, as the offense ran 14 plays for 27 yards -- punting the ball all four times. The Broncos erased the 14-point deficit to emerge victorious, but the Eagles offense helped the cause by slinging the ball around and giving the ball right back to Denver. 

There was a balance that wasn't practiced. The Eagles heard the public comments from their star pass catchers, and acted in accordance. The end result was a loss.

"I wouldn't say out of balance," said DeVonta Smith. "I think it was just based on what they were doing. They were playing a good bit of man and we like our chances when teams pay us man, but we have to be on the same page with certain things."

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Jeff Kerr

The misconnection with A.J. Brown

The Eagles prioritized taking chances with the deep ball on Sunday, as Hurts threw eight passes of 25+ air yards. He connected on two of them, a 52-yard completion to Smith and a 46-yard touchdown to Barkley. 

Hurts attempted as many passes of 25+ air yards against the Broncos as he had in his previous four games combined (eight). He finished 2 of 8 for 98 yards and a touchdown on those throws. 

None of those connects were to Brown, although it wasn't for lack of trying. With 3:43 left in the third quarter and the Eagles still holding that 14-point lead, Hurts went for the kill shot to Brown on a first-and-15. 

Brown was open and didn't see the ball. Hurts may have double pumped before finding him downfield, but the pass was far outisde his reach. The miscommunication changed things for the Eagles, and not in a good way. 

"I didn't see it, so I can't tell you what he did," Brown said. "From my point of view, we missed and that happens.

"I didn't think the ball was coming. When I looked up, I didn't see the ball. When I looked back I didn't see the ball. And then the ball was thrown. Like I said, we just missed."

The Eagles pass offense died after that. Hurts went 5 of 10 for 49 yards with a 64.2 passer rating. The Eagles threw the ball 13 times and ran it once the rest of the way, having 31 yards of offense to the Broncos' 190. 

Hurts is 1 of 5 on throws of 25+ yards to Brown, having a 58.8 passer rating on those attempts. The connection between the two on deep balls has been off all year, which has led to the offensive inconsistencies. 

"I won't give you my frustration," Brown said. "But it's something to work on, something to continue to harp on and continue to have a sense of urgency of getting better in this area so we can improve and get some things rolling." 

Are Eagles on the same page?

Smith mentioned several times the Eagles had a few plays they weren't on the same page, mentioning there where little things like not seeing a signal when Hurts is working with the protection. Per Smith, the Eagles aren't adjusting their routes or not seeing the signals fast enough.

"Guys are thinking about a lot. Guys are looking around trying to dissect what coverage it is and things like that," Smith said. "It can be a split second when you're looking up and look away to see if coverages are moving, guys are rotating, and he goes with a signal. 

"Sometimes it's just the look of it. Sometimes you look up, he does it and you don't see it. Sometimes it's just us being on the same page with the signals."

Brown didn't share the same opinion.

"That's something from those two (Smith and Hurts)," Brown said. "He said that so he probably thought that."

Brown hasn't been on the same page with this offense the majority of the season, even if he didn't agree with Smith's comments from Sunday. The Eagles have played 10 halves of football this season, and Brown has gone six of them with a catch or less. 

Brown is 57th in the NFL in receiving yards this season (194) and is averaging just 10.2 yards per catch. He's on pace for 660 yards receiving, averaging just 38.8 yards per game -- far from the three 1,000-yard seasons he's had in his first three years with the Eagles. 

The Eagles don't appear to be on the same page in the passing game, even through it has looked strong at times. In the first half on Sunday, Hurts was 13 of 19 for 108 yards and a touchdown (106.9 rating).

But the problems remain with the deep passes. In the same half, Hurts was 1 of 5 for 52 yards on throws of 10+ air yards (52.4 rating). He completed just 25% of those passes of 10+ air yards in the loss -- and just 35.1% of those throws on the season. 

There's plenty to improve and a lot to fix. The Eagles listened to their players and opened up the offense -- having a result they only experienced once over the past calendar year. 

Passing may not be in their best interest, but the Eagles appear set on getting it to work -- come hell or high water. 

"We gotta come out and not let whatever defense dictate what we're doing," Brown said. "This loss sucks. Last week, I said we learn from winning and we learn from losing. So we have another opportunity to turn it around and get this thing going."