Eagles' 'Offensive' Explanations Are Wearing Thin

The lone substantive stretch for the offense after that first drive (if you want to call it that) was a two-play 77-yard, quick strike in the fourth quarter where Jalen Hurts found Saquon Barkley as an outlet in the flat and the All-Pro running back turned a five-yard catch on third-and-seven into a 41-yard gain with a nice spin move.

With the moment at hand, embattled offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo dialed up the deep shot and Smith was able to rise above Packers' safety Evan Williams to haul in the touchdown that proved to be the difference.

The sequence highlighted the angst around the offense which has enough talent to deliver lightning strikes like that with superstar playmakers but somehow leads the NFL in three-and-outs.

“In hindsight, it was slow early on, kind of finding our footing in the game,” Hurts said. “We found it when we needed it.”

That might be a little revisionist history mixed with hyperbole by the QB1.

The Philadelphia offense was actually humming on its first drive of the game, which went 16 plays and 82 yards with three third-down conversions over 8:46 minutes of game time before Hurts authored a rare turnover when the football was Peanut Punched from his arms by Green Bay linebacker Edgerrin Cooper at the Packers' 14-yard line on what would have been the fourth consecutive third-down success.

From there a typically risk averse offense went into even more of a shell than usual, generating 99 total yards with three three-and-outs over its next six drives before the feint signs of life were registered with the help of Barkley and Smith in the fourth quarter.

Ultimately, The Eagles finished with matching their worst point total in a win in over two decades dating back to 2003.

“It’s not a capability thing at all,” Hurts claimed. “We just have to go out there and play at a high level more consistently. And I think this game was a perfect example of what it could be when we take advantage of our opportunities, and then when we don’t control the things that we can and how they can hinder us.”

Frankly, Hurts explanations of the stilted passing offense are getting "offensive."

It might be time for some tough love.

"We will be very critical," head coach Nick Sirianni said after the game. "We’ve got to enjoy these wins. It is hard to come into this place against this team, well coached, good players, and win a game. So we have to enjoy this.

"Make no mistake about it, every one of us is determined to get better and continuing to rise. So, I love that they feel that way. ... So I am going to enjoy this, but you can ask any of those guys, when we get back in [the NovaCare Complex] and we are correcting the tape, we are very critical of ourselves as coaches, starting with that. You can ask some of these coaches if some of these game-film reviews are enjoyable at times. They are not, and that is my job as the head coach to make sure that we are doing everything. You can’t get tied up into the result.

"Obviously, we are here to win games and obviously we are paid to win games. That is our job and we’ve got to find ways to do that, but ultimately we want to play to the standard of football that we know we need to play to continue to get better. ... Offensively, we scored ten points. That is obviously not enough points. Tonight it was, but it will be business as usual when we get back in there. We are happy with the result, but we don’t get tied into it. We get tied into our standard and that is what is so critical to be able to paint the picture of what the standard looks like and then be relentless in holding everyone to that standard, including myself and all the coaches and all the players.”