Philadelphia Eagles legend Jason Kelce has voiced his desire for the team to incorporate more designed runs for quarterback Jalen Hurts in their offensive strategy. While Hurts excelled in running the ball last season with eight games featuring double-digit rushing attempts, this season has seen a significant decrease in those numbers, with only two such games recorded thus far.
On local Philly radio station 94 WIP, Kelce shared, “I would like to see them do more [QB] runs, I’m not going to lie. I think it will keep defenses honest even more so that when you’re doing just a regular tailback run, those will be more effective. You get such better angles. The numbers are better. It makes life easy. It’s almost like cheating. And it’s been a big reason why the Eagles have been successful in the ground game throughout Hurts’ tenure.”
Currently, Hurts has carried the ball 84 times this season, accumulating 329 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. This falls short of last year’s performance, where he rushed 150 times for 630 yards and 14 touchdowns. Hurts emphasized his commitment to winning, stating, “I’ve always been focused on doing whatever it takes to win, and I’ve always put my energy on trying to bring the game plan and the strategy that week to life.”
Despite the Eagles holding an 8-4 record and leading the NFC East, their offense has been underwhelming. The team ranks 23rd in passing yards, 22nd in rushing yards, and 19th in points scored per game. Head coach Nick Sirianni addressed these struggles, emphasizing the need to protect Hurts and keep him healthy for the long run. “Different plans have different reasons for why you run different things, and we will do everything we need to do to help this offense get rolling,” he stated.
The Eagles are set to face the Los Angeles Chargers in their upcoming game on Monday Night Football in Los Angeles, a highly anticipated matchup given the fan reactions during their recent game against the Chicago Bears. Hurts enters this clash with 2,514 passing yards and 19 touchdowns, completing 66.1% of his passes.
As the Eagles look to find their rhythm in the remaining games of the season, a return to utilizing Hurts’ running abilities could be key in boosting their offensive performance.