Hurts Under Fire as Eagles' Playoff Hopes Dim

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is facing heightened scrutiny after the team’s disappointing 2025 season ended with a wild-card playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The season finish has sharpened focus on Philadelphia’s offense, with particular attention on a passing attack that was widely viewed inside the organization as a major problem.

People familiar with the situation described growing frustration among players and staff as the offense struggled to consistently generate production through the air. That dissatisfaction intensified after a pivotal moment in the loss to San Francisco, when a critical fourth-down decision became a flashpoint for broader concerns about how the unit operated under pressure.

On that fourth-down snap against the 49ers, Hurts reportedly advocated for a “four verts” call. The play was run and did not succeed, and the failed conversion was cited as a key sequence in the Eagles’ elimination. The episode has been framed as emblematic of an offense that, over the course of the season, became easier for opponents to anticipate.

Those concerns have centered on predictability and an approach seen as leaning too heavily on the ground game, even though the Eagles have one of the NFL’s most expensive offensive rosters. Within that context, sources said Hurts pushed back on efforts to broaden the scheme, including proposals to increase the number of snaps taken from under center.

The Eagles have since moved to reset the direction of the offense by appointing Sean Mannion as the new offensive coordinator. Mannion is expected to install a system that places greater emphasis on motion and under-center play-action, a shift that would require Hurts to adjust elements of his style and comfort in the structure of the offense.

Hurts, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, now enters another transition at a position group that has seen frequent change in recent years. Mannion will be Hurts’ sixth playcaller since 2020, underscoring the degree of turnover around the quarterback as the team searches for a stable identity on offense.

The change follows the dismissal of the previous offensive coordinator, Kevin Patullo. Patullo was let go after the Eagles’ offense fell sharply in production, dropping from eighth to 24th in offensive yardage. With a new coordinator in place and a stated emphasis on motion and play-action from under center, the next phase for Philadelphia will hinge on whether the quarterback and the redesigned system can align after a season that ended earlier than the team expected.