Broken hand, broken heart: 5 takeaways from Eagles-Chargers a day later

Just eight days ago, Justin Herbert went through surgery on his non-throwing hand, which he broke in Week 13 against the Raiders.

Somehow, someway, his hand was good to go against the Eagles a week later. But it was the quarterback on the other side who looked like he had a broken hand, and he was the one who broke the hearts of Eagles fans.

It was on December 8, 2020, that Doug Pederson announced Jalen Hurts would take over as the starter for the remainder of the season. Five years later, to the day, he puts on his worst performance in his NFL career.

The Eagles’ 22-19 overtime loss to the Chargers at SoFi Stadium featured five turnovers and four interceptions from the reigning Super Bowl MVP. The Eagles have lost their third straight game, and it is deja vu all over again.

Here are my five takeaways a day after the loss:

1. IN A GAME where the Eagles needed him most, Hurts played perhaps the worst game of his life. This is becoming a theme, because since the bye week, Hurts has been playing the most ominous football in his career.

Hurts’ numbers over the first eight games: 151 of 215 passing (70.2%), 1,677 yards, 7.8 yards per play, 15 TDs, 1 INT, 114.4 rating.

And over the last five games: 96 of 167 passing (57.5%) for 1,077 yards, 6.5 yards per play, 4 TDs, 5 INTs, 72.4 rating.

Hurts is not broken. He has proven this season that he can show out. He made a couple of nice plays in this game as well. On third-and-16 in overtime, Hurts fired a rocket over the middle to DeVonta Smith for a big 26-yard gain, threading the needle past the Chargers defender to feed his receiver. It was one of the best throws we have seen him make.

But, in totality, on Monday, he was horrendous. He completed just 53% of his passes, 21-for-40 for 240 yards with no touchdowns, four interceptions, and a lost fumble on the same play as one of the picks. He is the first player to ever turn the ball over twice on the same play, and the first Eagles quarterback to throw four interceptions in a game since Michael Vick in the 2012 season opener in Cleveland.

When Hurts was pressured against the Chargers, he went 3-for-13 with 41 yards and threw three interceptions. When throwing 10+ yards downfield, he was 4-for-16 with 95 yards and three interceptions.

“I have to find a way to win, and we all have to have that same mentality,” Hurts said postgame. “It starts with me. It’s that way when we have success, and it’s that way when we have these tough times. But at the end of the day, it’s all about how you respond to it.

“So it definitely, definitely stings, definitely stings. But how do you respond? And that’s the only way I know how to look at it. Again, you’re going to see what type of resolve does this team have, what type of resolve do we have within, what’s in us to respond the way we want to. So we just got to dig.”

Hurts was not the only problem on offense Monday night, but he has been weighing down this unit over the past few weeks, especially in Ingelwood. Hurts, now, is trying to do too much. All he has heard is criticism his entire career. It is starting to get to him, which it has not in years past. After being “too conservative,” he is releasing into tight windows over the middle of the field and being over-aggressive. Hurts is trying to be a player he is not.

The Eagles had drives to the Chargers’ 12, 17, 21, 23, 26, 30, and 36 that did not lead to touchdowns. The Eagles ended with 365 yards and moved the ball well at times, but scored just 19 points. The Eagles only ran 21 plays in the second half. Eight of those were on that final drive to take the lead with a field goal.

This offense is an absolute disaster. There are a lot of people at fault. Hurts, however, is dragging the biggest anchor.

“I feel like we had a lot of opportunities out there,” Hurts said. “I had a lot of opportunities to go out there and go up in the game, put points on the board, win the game. Ultimately, bearing everything that has happened or has unfolded throughout the game, it’s me asking myself, ‘How do I respond from it? How do I respond to it? How do I improve? How do I work? How do I dig deeper and find a way to figure it out?’ And that’s my mentality.”

2. A.J. BROWN IS a beast. He had a lot of great plays on Monday, and he had his third straight 100-yard game. Great right? Wrong. He had three drops, two of which would have been touchdowns, and the other was picked off.

Let us go through them, shall we?

1. First play of the game, deep ball from Hurts down the left sideline, Brown unable to extend and haul it in.
2. Early in the fourth, Brown had a pass bounce off his hands and into the hands of Cam Hart for Hurts’ third interception. Was the throw a little high? Yes. But it hit Brown’s hands. If it hits your hands, it should be caught. The Chargers tied the game 16-16 on the following drive.
3. In overtime, Hurts threw a beautiful deep ball to Brown into the endzone on 3rd-and-4 from the Chargers’ 41, but it went right through Brown’s arms.

hurts gonna take all of the slander but im not letting these be forgotten pic.twitter.com/EAIrQc4osk

— ruby (@rubythevalley) December 9, 2025

So, two probable touchdowns and a negated field goal for the Chargers would have made the score at least 28-16 Eagles.

“That one hurt,” Brown said. “I’m more than capable of making those plays. Jalen trusts me in any situation. I made some plays but I wasn’t great when it mattered.”

Brown is an amazing wide receiver, and he says he wants to be the best receiver in the world. He looks like it sometimes. On Monday night, it reminded me of the Eagles’ past: Nelson Agholor, Jalen Reagor. Passes that are there, dropped, games lost.

3. THE SAQUON BARKLEY usage mystery might be something not even Mystery Incorporated could figure out. How does he get just five carries in the second half after 13 carries for 69 yards in the first half? That is blasphemy.

We finally saw a Barkley similar to what we saw last year. He was able to make moves before being touched and grind out some yards against a beat-up Chargers defensive line. And on a night where Hurts was beyond terrible, the Eagles could have run their way to a victory.

But the Eagles’ coaching and play-calling ran away from it.

Barkley finished with 20 carries for 122 rushing yards, and a 6.1 average, including that 52-yard touchdown run on the fake tush push. This was the best running performance he has had all year against a competent team (a.k.a. not the Giants). And the Eagles completely went away from him.

On the final play of the game, Hurts’ fourth pick was a play that should have just been to Barkley. 2:35 to go in overtime at the Chargers’ 17, and Hurts fakes the handoff, throws to the endzone to Jahan Dotson while on the run, and it is a week toss which is tipped and intercepted.

I know we all hate the inside handoff on first down because it, quite frankly, never works. But how about something creative here, like a run to the outside? Crazy, huh?

1st down, btw#Eagles pic.twitter.com/SsHlrRvZXy

— Benjamin Goldstein (@BGoldsteinPSR) December 9, 2025

4. THE OFFENSE JUST has no rhythm. Put yourselves in 2024 shoes and read these from this game:

• Hurts had five total turnovers
• Brown had three costly drops
• The offensive line committed key penalties negating penalties
• Jake Elliott missed a 48-yard field goal to continue his struggles
• Cannot run consistently in short yardage situations
• Absuing shotgun and not enough under center

These problems have been persistent over the last few weeks. It is undisciplined football.

Here was the Eagles’ offense in shotgun on Monday: 51 plays, 4.2 yards per play, 2.2 yards per rush, 5.2 yards per pass, 4 INTs

And under center: 15 plays, 10.2 yards per play, 8.8 yards per rush, 16.0 yards per pass, 0 INTs

What is the fix? Nick Sirianni was reportedly more involved in the offensive game plan and installation this week. Jalen Hurts reviewed tape from previous offenses. There was a huge “positivity bunny” in the locker room this week. None of it worked.

This is basically the same group that won a Super Bowl just a season ago. This feels more than just a hangover. There are no answers on offense, the players are flat, the quarterback is in a major funk, and the offensive line is not what it once was.

This was supposed to be a team that looked at adversity and could punch it right in the mouth. In 2025, the Eagles have no counter.

5. TO END POSITIVELY, the defense was outstanding. They gave up the touchdown on the Chargers’ first drive, then went 12 straight drives without allowing one.

They allowed five field goals, but the longest drive of those five was just 51 yards. They were lights-out. Without them, this score would not have been anywhere near as appealing, and I probably would have had to tune into the Monsters Inc. broadcast to cope.

The Chargers had just 275 yards, 16 first downs, and 106 passing yards. The Eagles had two takeaways, seven sacks, and only allowed one play of 20 yards or more. They beat up the injured Herbert all game, even without Jalen Carter. It took the Eagles a little while to finally take him to the ground, but when they did, they did it with authority. And I give a ton of credit to Herbert. He showed a lot of toughness hanging in there and making big plays to get the win with a broken hand.

After poor showings in back-to-back weeks, there was a lot to like about the defensive Monday.

Personal standouts:

• Marcus Epps showed up in his first start this year. He was all over.
• Adoree’ Jackson had another very good game, with his first interception since 2023.
• Jalyx Hunt picked up 2.5 sacks.
• Byron Young had the first 1.5 sacks of his career.
• Jordan Davis recorded a sack and a half, as well.
• Nakobe Dean was head-hunting on blitzes, getting right to Herbert and even forcing a fumble.
• Cooper DeJean put the clamps down on Ladd McConkey.
• Quinyon Mitchell held Keenan Allen to 3-for-22. 

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