For the first time since 2014, no NFL team has reached the sixth week of the season with a 5-0 record. For Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Eagles still could be undefeated if they had followed through on a maxim of his coach at Alabama, Nick Saban.
“There was something we used to talk about all the time at Alabama -- winning the fourth quarter,” Hurts said on Tuesday, “and I think that looking back on it now, talking to coach Saban, like it’s a very important thing when you talk about winning games -- you know, winning the fourth quarter and how you finish and how you establish yourself in the fourth.
“So, obviously, we all got to play four quarters of football and that starts with me and my operation and the level of that I’m operating the offense in, so I got to be better in that.”
Hurts said he and Saban recently “caught up a little bit.”
“Always good to get good direction from him,” Hurts said, “and hear his voice and his perspective.”
Philadelphia suffered its first loss since Dec. 22, 2024, on Sunday, when the Denver Broncos scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to overtake the Eagles for a 21-17 victory.
Denver’s final three possessions ended in two touchdowns and a field goal. After scoring a touchdown on its first series of the second half, the Philadelphia offense punted on four straight possessions before failing on two throws to the end zone from the Broncos 29-yard line to end the game.
“In the end, we had the ball as an offense,” Hurts said, “and we had an opportunity to go win the game and we didn’t. And being a quarterback, I take that very personally. I had the ball in my hands, and I didn’t get it done. We didn’t get it done.”
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Philadelphia has a 4-1 record and ranks 10th in the NFL in points scored this season, even though only three teams have gained fewer yards than the Eagles offense in 2025.
Hurts said the setback against the Broncos “gives us an opportunity to improve, see how we can grow from that and move forward. So that’s really kind of where we’ve been at as a team is overall just looking at the level of detail we have, and then really like controlling the things that we can, really focusing on that.
“And I’d say, too, like mastering the ordinary. You know, the little things that have gotten us.”
The Eagles didn’t get much of an opportunity to work on those things this week. Philadelphia plays the New York Giants at 7:15 p.m. CDT Thursday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Prime Video will televise the game.
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