The Eagles are 2-0, but the first two weeks have not exactly felt like cruise control.
Philadelphia got past the Washington Commanders and Tennessee Titans, and both were games the Eagles were expected to win. Still, neither one was comfortable.
The offense, in particular, has left room for concern, especially along the offensive line. Even with two interceptions against Tennessee in Week 2, Jalen Hurts has been the biggest reason the Eagles opened the season without a loss.
That’s why one number from ESPN’s Ben Solak stands out so much.
“3: How many third-down conversions Jalen Hurts had on third-and-11 or longer in the Eagles' win -- the first such game of his career," Solak writes. "Hurts had nine total third-down conversions -- the most he has had in any game, regular season or postseason.”
That is the kind of stat that tells you the offense has something real to build on. Hurts was sharp in the moments that matter most against the Titans, especially when Philadelphia needed to stay on schedule on third down.
The Eagles still have issues to clean up. The run game needs work, and the problems up front are still there. But Hurts converting third-and-long more than once in the same game is a strong sign that this offense can do more than just scrape by.
This wasn’t random. It was Sean Mannion having the right play call dialed up, and Hurts executing it to perfection when it mattered most.
Hurts does not need to be flawless for Philadelphia to keep moving. If he and the offense keep turning those long third downs into first downs, this group can become a lot more dangerous than it has been in recent years.
Carson Wentz in 2017 broke out in a major way, thanks in large part to how incredible he was on third downs. Hurts looked that kind of efficient in Week 2, and that’s a reason for Eagles fans to feel good about where this offense could be headed.
In Other News...
Titans Fans Have Every Right To Be Furious After This Missed Call
A late-second-week sequence against the Eagles has become the kind of officiating decision Titans fans will revisit for a while. Defensive end Jacob Martin got pressure on Jalen Hurts, who threw the ball away under duress, and the play had all the markings of intentional grounding before officials let it go. Instead of the drive ending there, Philadelphia stayed alive and eventually finished off Tennessee.
For a team already staring at an 0-2 start, the missed call only added to the frustration. It is the sort of moment that can linger because it came in a game the Titans needed to have, and because it left fans wondering how differently the finish might have looked if the flag had been thrown. [Read more 🡒]
Jeffery Simmons Gave Titans Fans A Painful Postgame Debate
Jeffery Simmons made sure the Titans entered Sunday with a clear defensive target, saying they wanted to keep Jalen Hurts in the pocket and limit his runs. For a while, Tennessee had a shot at backing up that approach, but Hurts kept the Eagles in it and finished the job late, leading Philadelphia to a 24-20 win with a touchdown pass to Darius Cooper.
Afterward, the attention shifted away from the score and toward the exchange between Hurts and Simmons in a postgame interview, with Eagles coach Nick Sirianni also weighing in on the moment. For Titans fans, it turned a narrow loss into a more complicated postgame debate, with Simmons' pregame comments now sitting right alongside the way Hurts answered on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Let Another Winnable Game Slip And Saleh Didnt Soften It
The Titans had a chance to make a statement at home in Week 2, but a 24-20 loss to the Eagles left them with the familiar feeling of a winnable game getting away. Afterward, Robert Saleh didnt try to dress it up, acknowledging the missed opportunities and making it clear that close losses do not count as anything worthwhile in the NFL.
Saleh pointed to execution as the difference and said the team has to clean up the details if it wants to turn these kinds of games into wins. For Tennessee, the frustration is not just the final score but how much was left on the table in a game that was there to be taken. [Read more 🡒]