The Philadelphia Eagles lost their second home game in a row. The team crumbled apart against the Chicago Bears, losing 24-15.  Their once-unstoppable offense struggled miserably on the field on Friday. However, these issues reportedly began from the on-field preferences of superstar Jalen Hurts, which affected the entire squad, but most noticeably, Saquon Barkley.

“Saquon Barkley simply isn’t the same runner he was a year ago, and he’s not being helped by Hurts, who I’m told does not love having a lot of designated QB runs in the gameplay,” Anthony DiBona, a reputed writer for the Eagles, reported.

After his heroics last year, running back Saquon Barkley is also falling short of his expectations. In this game, he had a few good runs; however ended up getting only 56 yards on 13 attempts and didn’t catch any passes. 

When asked about the team’s struggles, Barkley simply said,

“It’s just … this game was weird. It was different. It felt weird out there. I think we’ve just got to do a better job of keeping drives going, and that’s kind of the biggest thing I take away from this game. That’s something that we’ve got to address and get better at.”

A clear example of their problems came early in the second quarter. The team moved the ball well when Jalen Hurts threw a 30-yard pass to DeVonta Smith. This put them in a good scoring position. However, their next plays failed as Barkley lost 3 yards, and Hurts threw a bad pass, missing an open Smith. They had to settle for a field goal. 

Jalen Hurts didn’t disagree with the RB much as he admitted that the team needs to examine its struggles, especially with the run game, which is the biggest factor in the offense’s poor performance. He didn’t blame Barkley, but said he personally needs to improve at making things happen in the running game.

The most consequential error of the game was quarterback Jalen Hurts’ fumble during the team’s signature play, the “tush push,” costing the team its scoring opportunity.

Jalen Hurts comments on the “Tush-Push,” being tougher day by day

As stated previously, one major moment in the game for the Eagles’ loss was a lost fumble by quarterback Jalen Hurts while trying to use the team’s famous short-yardage play, which is the famous Tush-Push, late in the third quarter. The Eagles needed just one yard to keep their drive going. But not only did Hurts get stopped, but a Bears player also ripped the ball out of his hands, which led to the Eagles losing the ball. This was a huge mistake at a key time.

After the game, speaking to the reporters, Hurts said that other teams are getting better at stopping the “Tush Push.”

“It’s becoming tougher and tougher,” Hurt said. “But ultimately, me holding onto the ball, that’s something I can control.”

The Eagles started using their special short-yardage play, the “Tush Push,” back in 2022, and for a long time, no one could stop it. However, this season, the play has become much riskier. The fumble on Friday wasn’t the only time quarterback Jalen Hurts lost the ball while running it.

 Earlier in Week 8 against the New York Giants, a player named Kayvon Thibodeaux ripped the ball away from Hurts during a “Tush Push.” Luckily for the Eagles, the referees decided that Hurts had already been stopped before the fumble happened, so they didn’t lose the ball that time.

Even though the Eagles have a good record of eight wins and four losses and are still likely to make the playoffs, the team is starting to feel worried as they get ready to play the Los Angeles Chargers next week.