Jalen Hurts willing to 'hold myself accountable' amid reports of Eagles' frustration with his play this season

The vibe around the Philadelphia Eagles is not that of an 8-2 team that's sitting atop the NFC standings and is the defending Super Bowl champion. 

They've won their last two games over the Packers and Lions by a combined score of 26-16, relying heavily on a dominant defense and getting by with the bare minimum on offense. That makes for a stressful viewing experience for fans and a frustrating playing experience for the Eagles' skill position players on offense. 

Eagles star receiver A.J. Brown has not hidden his displeasure with a lack of targets this season, and this week a report from The Athletic indicated he's not alone in being frustrated with the play of quarterback Jalen Hurts. Some in the Eagles locker room feel Hurts is gun shy about making throws into tight windows, prioritizing not making mistakes and limiting their ability to make explosive plays in the process. 

On Wednesday, Hurts addressed those reports when he spoke with the media, explaining those types of things come with the territory of being a franchise quarterback and noting that he's willing to hold himself accountable for some of the Eagles' shortcomings on offense. 

"I guess I get a lot of attention when things are going well and when things are not going so well," Hurts said. "I never run away from holding myself accountable, and I think that's exactly what I've taken the approach of doing. I take great pride in what we do on offense. I take great pride in how we go out there and play as a team and what our flow is. I think we've got work to do, and that obviously starts with me. That's always my approach. That's always me looking internally first in everything that we do and then in due time rising above."

The Eagles are 31st in passing attempts and 28th in passing yards this season, and Hurts has thrown for 202 or fewer yards in seven of Philadelphia's 10 games. That's going to make life for star receivers frustrating, but the Eagles are 7-0 in those games and just 1-2 when Hurts has turned it loose. 

Hurts' approach of avoiding turnovers at all costs -- he has one interception all season and the offense as a whole has four total turnovers -- is a prudent one when you have the league's most dominant defense. Avoiding short fields has effectively meant the other team is not going to score. 

Defensive struggles are football's version of force-feeding fans vegetables. Philly fans might not be having as much fun watching this year's team compared to last year, but it's hard to argue with the results for the Eagles so far. 

There's certainly an argument to be made that once the playoffs arrive, Hurts and the Eagles offense will need to figure out how to be more explosive. Last year's offense was a juggernaut, led largely by the league's most dominant ground game, but the passing game complemented that by pushing the ball downfield against defenses that loaded the box to keep them honest. 

This year, it's hard to figure out which area has been more problematic. The Eagles are 6th in rush attempts but just 17th in yards after being 1st and 2nd in those categories in 2024. You can argue their inability to run the ball is due to the lack of a true passing threat, but the same could be said the other way. Philly's passing game with Hurts at QB has long been built off of the run game, and with their struggles on the ground, the passing game is a less effective counter. 

If anyone deserves the benefit of the doubt that they'll figure things out come playoff time, it's Hurts and the Eagles, who have made back-to-back Super Bowls and are the defending champs. It's possible improvement isn't coming, but that doesn't mean they can't win a second straight title. They've taken down plenty of the NFC's best in slugfests this season and we've seen teams carried to a Lombardi by dominant defenses before. 

That wouldn't be nearly as fun to watch as last year's offensive explosion, but if the end result is the same, Philly fans won't mind eating their veggies this year.