Philadelphia hasn’t looked like a team that has the talent for a deep playoff run, and the Browns’ offense has struggled mightily in three straight losses.
PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Hurts wouldn’t give details but wanted to share that he had “good times” with Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni during week off matchups designed to put the .500 team back in the thick of the NFC playoff race.
Did they just become best friends?
Well, probably not. There’s probably no karate in their garage going forward, even if it was necessary for optics to spread the news that, yes, the coach and his QB are on the same page after a year of speculation that there were cracks in their relationship and that Sirianni was in the hot seat.
Hurts, second in the NFL with seven turnovers, acknowledged in training camp that there was some separation inside the locker room during last season’s free fall, from a 10-1 start to a loss with wild card. Sirianni, who coached the Eagles to the Super Bowl in the 2022 season, didn’t exactly praise Hurts in camp when he said, “The relationship between Jalen and I is good.”
With the Eagles at 2-2 and a soft stretch of the schedule ahead – starting Sunday against the ugly Cleveland Browns (1-4) — Hurts said he had “one of the most effective bye weeks” of his career, doing the work necessary to get the Eagles back on track.
“We’re the two leaders of the team,” Hurts said. “I’m happy and fortunate that we were able to come together in harmony and have the same goal in mind, to try to get it right. I have a ton of confidence in him, a ton of confidence in what he brings and everything he’s been able to accomplish. Just keep emphasizing it. Everyone goes through different times, everyone experiences adversity, but we have experienced different levels of adversity together. We’re excited about what’s to come.
The next step might be the simplest. BetMGM Sportsbook had the Eagles as 9 1/2 point favorites against the Browns.
Yes, the Eagles underperformed, but the first four teams they face coming out of the bye are even worse.
Cleveland, the New York Giants, Cincinnati and Jacksonville are a combined 5-15, a sign that perhaps if the Eagles can recover — injured receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith are expected to return — resolve their turnover issues and throw themselves into the worst of matches. NFL, the season can be saved.
The Eagles look like Super Bowl contenders compared to what’s happening in Cleveland.
Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson resolved the last civil lawsuit filed against him by a woman alleging sexual assault and battery. His legal troubles have largely overshadowed some of the worst plays made by an NFL starting quarterback in years.
It’s hard to say what’s worse: his $230 million guaranteed contract or the fact that coach Kevin Stefanski hasn’t benched him yet. Stefanski said no one this week considered replacing Watson with backup Jameis Winston.
Maybe they’re on deck for a QB-coach summit.
If so, they could learn some lessons from Hurts and Sirianni.
“Communication, talking about everything, having difficult discussions,” Sirianni said. “It’s not kumbaya, but it’s having difficult discussions, telling each other the truth. At the end of the day, like it always comes down to communication.”
The Browns are doing their best to protect Watson off the field.
Despite being sacked a league-leading 26 times, the 29-year-old hasn’t played like the franchise quarterback he was drafted to be when the Browns acquired him from Houston in 2022 .
Watson ranks at or near the bottom in virtually every measurable statistic. Worse still, he doesn’t pass the eye test. If he doesn’t hold the ball too long, he panics in the pocket, misses his passes, or just doesn’t read the field.
It has been bad, leading to cries that he should be benched.
However, the Browns rallied around Watson, who said his teammates continued to support them.
“They just tell me, ‘You’re still one of the best players in this league, believe it, have that confidence when you step on the field, lead us where we need to go,'” he said. declared. “All these guys make sure I keep my head up, stay focused and focused, don’t get down on myself and be too hard on myself.
“I just have to keep doing this job and trust them, trust myself and go out there and perform at a high level.”
Stefanski hinted at relinquishing his play-calling duties earlier this week to coordinator Ken Dorsey before deciding to maintain the status quo.
However, it was best that something changed for Cleveland’s stagnant offense. The Browns have yet to score 20 points in a game. They rank 30th in scoring at 15.8 points per game and are the only team in the league not to gain 300 yards.
These are not the plays. These are the players.
“At the end of the day, we have to go out there and execute and do our best,” receiver Jerry Jeudy said. “It doesn’t matter what the game is called, we have to do our job and make sure it works. We have to find a way to make this work.
Although he has been named AP Coach of the Year twice in five years, Stefanski’s insistence on calling plays has been a sore point with Browns fans, who argue he has too much on his plate. board and cannot solve the team’s other problems in the game.
Its oversized, laminated game sheet has been compared to a restaurant menu.
Watson supported Stefanski’s decision to select plays.
“We believe in Kevin,” he said. “Kevin has been calling plays for several years in his league. Twice Coach (of the Year) while doing play calling. So there’s no faith or love lost when Kevin calls to play. We think he’s the best playmaker in the league.
Cleveland long snapper Charley Hughlett suffered a rib injury last week and was placed on injured reserve. He will have to sit out at least four weeks, meaning his consecutive game streak will end at 152.
Stefanski said Hughlett was accidentally injured by a teammate. Hughlett is the second-longest tenured player on Cleveland’s roster behind left guard Joel Bitonio.
