For the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday’s 13-12 win against the Buffalo Bills felt less like a victory and more like a warning. They squeezed out a 13-12 win. The Bills pushed till the end, yet the Birds held firm. However, the offense never found a smooth rhythm and the mood after the game wasn’t all celebrations. Jalen Hurts knew it, too. Right after the final whistle, he did not hide from it.

“It’s a big-time win, a competitive game, hell of a performance by the defense. And how they played and how they were able to find a way to get that out and make plays when we needed it the most,” Hurts kept it real, praising the team’s defense.

He clearly didn’t seem impressed with the offense, and why should he? The Eagles won this game even though their offense completely disappeared after halftime, and that’s where the story really shifts.

Jalen Hurts struggled badly in the second half, going 0-for-7, and the offense managed just one first down and only 17 yards, which is shockingly low. Meanwhile, Buffalo did the opposite, controlling the game with long drives, piling up 210 yards after halftime, and holding the ball for more than 21 minutes compared to Philadelphia’s under nine.

One stretch says it all: in the fourth quarter alone, the Bills ran 29 plays while the Eagles ran just seven. Because of that imbalance, the defense was stuck on the field almost the entire time, play after play. That’s why it’s impressive the Eagles survived at all, because when your defense is asked to carry that kind of load late in a game, most teams break, and Philadelphia didn’t.

“I just think for us to come out here and play with good mentality overall. Yeah, obviously having clinched and having the opportunity to go play in a tournament, having that already sealed. This game wasn’t about anything more than just going out here and playing and playing with mentality. So glad to find a win,” Hurts added.

 The reality is that in the first half, Hurts played well. He completed 13 of 20 passes, threw for 110 yards, and added one touchdown. And he is impressed with the offense.

“I think we got into a good rhythm and good groove,” Hurts said. “We were able to move the ball down the field in the first half. And in the second half, there are a lot of things that I have to watch the tape on to be able to pinpoint. Obviously, maintaining aggression is one thing, and maintaining rhythmic ball play, then just going out there and executing ultimately. So you always look at yourself in the mirror with that.”

In that phase of the game, the Eagles’ defense forced chaos in the 1st half. Josh Allen lost the ball while going down, and Jihaad Campbell refused to quit on the play. He chased the loose ball all the way to the Buffalo 45. It flipped the field. It shifted the energy. And it kick-started three straight scoring drives for Philly in the first half.

That defensive spark was exactly what the offense needed, and Hurts immediately capitalized on the shift in momentum. He pushed the ball downfield and found AJ Brown for a 27-yard gain. That throw opened the door. Moments later, Hurts floated a 1-yard touchdown to Dallas Goedert with just 35 seconds left in the first quarter. That was the Birds’ first punch of the game.

After that, Philly kept stacking points early. Hurts delivered third-down strikes of 19 and 11 yards. Then a defensive holding call kept another drive alive. Jake Elliott finished it with a 47-yard kick. Later, Elliott struck again, capping a 61-yard march with a 28-yarder just before halftime. But after that, the offense faded. And Eagles coach Nick Sirianni knew it.

Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ second half struggle

After halftime, the Philly offense vanished. The offense barely crossed midfield. In fact, Philly snapped the ball in Buffalo territory just once in the entire second half. That came on Hurts’ final kneel at the Bills’ 48 after the onside kick recovery. Before that late drama, the defense carried everything. They stuffed Buffalo on downs at the Philly 3-yard line. Then they forced a punt after the Bills started another drive at the Eagles’ 41.

Still, Nick Sirianni refused to drown in frustration. Instead, he chose perspective.

“If you come out of this and you’re just thinking about all the negative things that happened, that makes for a miserable existence,” Sirianni said.

He admitted the split performance.

“We’ll get there. We’ll get to what we need to clean up. And really good first half by the offense, not a great second half, and a lot of different reasons why winning’s hard in this league, and I’m always going to enjoy a win.”

Now, the bigger picture comes into focus. At 11-5 after a third straight win, the Birds are rolling forward. Philly closes the regular season against the Commanders on Jan. 4. After that, Lincoln Financial Field awaits playoff football as they might land at No. 2 or No. 3 seed. The path is set. Now it is about fixing the issues and moving on.