Despite their 3-0 start, the Philadelphia Eagles offense has not yet gotten uncorked.
Still, according to coach Nick Sirianni, quarterback Jalen Hurts has not wrested playcalling duties away from first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo — despite rumors of the contrary going around after the Eagles‘ 33-26 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
Despite their unbeaten first three weeks, the Eagles rank 27th in the NFL in yards per game (268.7) and were being flummoxed by the Rams defense over the first two-and-a-half quarters.
Patullo is still working out the kinks after the Eagles hired him to replace Kellen Moore, who was named head coach of the New Orleans Saints during the off-season.
Kevin Patullo ‘Called The Plays’ In Philadelphia’s Win
A rumor was circulating that Hurts had taken over the playcalling in the second half, with Philadelphia trailing by 19 points after Kyren Williams‘ 10-yard TD reception from Matthew Stafford on LA’s first drive of the third quarter.
Yet, Sirianni swiftly debunked that.
“Kevin called the plays [Sunday] in that second half,” Sirianni said. “Kevin will continue to call the plays.”
Patullo has been with Sirianni since they coached on the Indianapolis Colts staff together in 2018, and he has been on the Eagles staff since Sirianni took over as head coach in 2021 — meaning Patullo and Hurts have worked together longer than Hurts had worked with Moore.
“I really like the relationship they have,” Sirianni said of Patullo and Hurts. “Probably a better question for them, but I know they’re close. I know they spend a lot of time together talking through the plan. I know they spend a lot of time together going through situations.
“I do value the relationship that those two have, because I think they’re really [in] lockstep and do a great job. I know they both care about each other, and I know they both want what’s best for each other. I know Kevin wants Jalen to succeed and is doing everything he can to help him do that. I love that relationship that those two have.”
Jalen Hurts Is Like A Coach On The Field
Sirianni credited Hurts’ digestion of information and how he can see things happening in real time.
“Make no mistake, Jalen sees the field really, really, really well,” Sirianni said. “He can come back and tell you what happened — without even looking at a picture, then you look at the picture, and say ‘yeah, that’s exactly what happened’ — Jalen has a great feel for how that’s going.”
Plus, Hurts can articulate what he is seeing with Eagles coaches.
“There’s communication. There’s talk through it,” Sirianni said. “I love the communication that we get from Jalen. We get a lot of good information from all of our guys, Jalen particularly, and that’s the way it should be.”
Sirianni has worked with great quarterbacks and not-so-good ones over his near-decade in the NFL. He said Hurts is one of the most trustworthy QBs he’s worked with.
“You don’t trust every quarterback. You trust the ones that are telling you what they see,” Sirianni said. “Jalen does a really good job of telling us that in the game.”
Eagles HC Nick Sirianni Debunks Jalen Hurts Rumor After Win Over Rams