Jalen Hurts struggled early in the Eagles’ Week 3 matchup against the Rams, but turned things around with three second-half touchdowns. Still, retired Eagles center Jason Kelce wasn’t pleased.

Kelce called out the Eagles for their poor first-half performance, using humor and sarcasm to show his frustration. “My turn?” he roared. “I’m not saying anything. You know who I’m going with. The Philadelphia Eagles this past week looked like the Philadelphia Pigeons in the first half against the Los Angeles Rams.”

The Birds, he noted, “couldn’t get anything going outside of the first touchdown off the interception from Zach Bond. And it was three and out after three and out. Sack after sack.” He is not wrong. That first half was pure, unadulterated futility, an offense that managed a measly 33 total yds and just 7 points. Kelce didn’t hold back on Hurts either.

“My man Jalen Hurts couldn’t get nothing going,” Kelce continued, his voice a perfect storm of frustration and faith. “They found themselves trailing big time in the third quarter. And how could they come back? It’s not like they got a top ten quarterback.” That last bit was pure, sweet sarcasm, a rhetorical jab that set up the glorious about-face to come.

Because what happened next was a different story entirely (but AJ Brown was still unhappy).

All of a sudden, Hurts was “out there like a point guard,” and A.J. Brown, who only had six catches on the day, somehow pulled one over his shoulder “like Willie Mays Hayes.” The playbook, it seemed, had been thrown out a window somewhere in the south end zone.

The play-calling rub and Eagles’ flipped script

The Eagles’ offense looked like two different teams. In the first half, they struggled badly, just 33 yards and 7 points. But in the second half, they came alive, gaining 255 yards and scoring 20 points to win 33–26. The turnaround was so dramatic, it got people talking.

Was Kevin Patullo, the offensive coordinator, suddenly pulling a different set of strings? Or, as the rumor mill would have it, was it Hurts himself who took over play-calling?

Top Stories

Bills Legend Jim Kelly Announces Final Cancer Update After Years of Battle

Brian Schottenheimer Blames Locker Room for Loss After Pointing Fingers at Cowboys QB

Dak Prescott Faces NFL Discipline After Doubling Down on Referees Over Cowboys Penalties

Calls Mount Against Refs’ Controversial Decision Involving Dak Prescott in Cowboys vs Lions TNF Game

Robert Saleh Makes Final Decision on Head Coaching Job Away From Kyle Shanahan & 49ers

The chatter became so loud that head coach Nick Sirianni had to step up and set the record straight. “Kevin called the plays yesterday in the second half,” Sirianni said, via The Athletic. “But make no mistake, Jalen communicates—Jalen sees the field really, really well.”

Even if Hurts wasn’t calling the plays, he was certainly dictating the intent. The playbook that came out of the drawer for the final 30 minutes was an entirely different beast.

Hurts finished the game 21 of 32 for 226 yds and three passing TDs, with Brown finally having his breakout game (6 rec, 109 yds, 1 score) and DeVonta Smith coming up with 8 receptions for 60 yds and a TD. It’s a truth Hurts himself hinted at after the game: “We play so many styles of football where in that first half we got to get out of this playing not to lose. We got to come out aggressive and play our game.”

5 takeaways from the match? The evidence for that sluggish approach also shows up on the ground, where the NFL cover page star Saquon Barkley was held to just 46 yds on 18 carries. Thing is, it’s not just one game. Through three games, the Eagles’ offense has averaged just 268.7 total yds per game. It’s an issue they’ll have to fix quickly as they head to Tampa to face the undefeated Bucs.

And what about the man who started it all? Kelce, a player who knows something about consistency and grit—he is the Eagles franchise leader with 156 consecutive regular-season starts, ended his tirade with a primal scream. “They don’t know no quit in Philadelphia. I don’t care that my time’s up. There we go, Go Birds, baby!”