NFL Exec Defends Jalen Hurts After Eagles Drama with A.J. Brown, Brandon Graham

A mostly drama-free stretch for the Philadelphia Eagles has given way to rumblings of potential dissension between Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown, but at least one person in the NFL isn't concerned that Hurts will be negatively impacted by the situation.

One NFC executive told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler they are optimistic that Hurts' passing will get better for the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs.

"I know what he's capable of," the executive said. "He has played better than he is now, he can still hurt you in a lot of ways, and I think he'll improve down the stretch."

A current coordinator told Fowler the Eagles "will always be a run-first team" as presently constructed, but they will "need" Hurts to be a threat in the passing game if they want to win a Super Bowl this season.

The situation started after Sunday's 22-16 win over the Carolina Panthers in a game that was much closer than expected. Brown told reporters the Eagles needed to improve "passing" going forward.

It later escalated when Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham said on his radio show that "things have changed" in the relationship between Hurts and Brown over this:

"The person that's complaining needs to be accountable, and I'm just being honest, and he knows this. I don't know the whole story, but I know that [Hurts] is trying and [Brown] could be better with how he responds to things. They were friends before this, but things have changed, and I understand that because life happens. But, it's the business side that we have to make sure that we don't let the personal get in the way of the business, and that's what we gotta do better right now."

Graham later issued an apology while speaking to ESPN's Tim McManus, saying he "made a mistake" by assuming things weren't copacetic between the quarterback and wide receiver.

Brown clarified his original comment was "misconstrued" to be about Hurts specifically when he was talking about the entire passing game. He also said he and Hurts "are good."

Whatever the exact meaning behind Brown's original comment was, he's not wrong to suggest their potential fatal flaw in a playoff setting is their passing attack. His 6.6 targets per game are his fewest in a season since his rookie year with the Tennessee Titans in 2019.

The Eagles have the No. 2 scoring defense in the NFL. Saquon Barkley is on the short list of MVP candidates with a league-high 1,623 rushing yards. Hurts leads the NFL with 13 rushing touchdowns.

Philadelphia ranks 31st in the NFL in passing yards per game, ahead of only the New England Patriots. Hurts, who has thrown for fewer than 200 yards in three straight weeks, had his worst game of the season by average time to throw, yards per attempt and air yards per attempt against the Panthers.

Hurts' efficiency metrics look better than some of the raw numbers suggest. He ranks 12th among all qualified quarterbacks this season in EPA and yards per dropback, per The Ringer's Steven Ruiz.

While those don't put Hurts in the elite category of quarterbacks, they are good enough to win with when you combine it with how effective the Eagles are at running the ball with Barkley.

The formula that the Eagles have used this season has them riding a nine-game winning streak. They enter Week 15 with an 11-2 record, one game behind the Detroit Lions for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

Philadelphia didn't ask Hurts to do much throwing the ball in its playoff run two years ago. He threw for a total of 275 yards in wins over the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.

When the Eagles needed Hurts to throw in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs, he responded by going 27-of-38 for 304 yards and one touchdown to go with 70 yards and three scores running the ball.