Jalen Hurts did not have a good 2025 season. Coming off a Super Bowl winning campaign in the 2024 season, it was expected that he and the Philadelphia Eagles would continue on that success.
But they only had an 11-6 record in the regular season, and were knocked out early in the Wild Card Round with a 23-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He is now facing much backlash, but has found support from a familiar face.
Jalen Hurts faces criticism after ESPN report
The 2025 NFL season saw the Eagles perform really poorly. More specifically, the offense failed to impress and slumped to 24th in the NFL in total yards per game (311.2). The 2024 season saw them rank eighth in the same rankings. This led to offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo being fired after just one season, and Sean Mannion has now taken over.
Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce (62) and quarterback Jalen Hurts (1)
Jan 21, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce (62) and quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) embrace before a game against the New York Giants during an NFC divisional round game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Hurts finished the season with 3,224 passing yards from 294 passes completed, threw 25 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He also rushed for 421 yards and 8 touchdowns. The numbers were not bad , but was overall a down in his expected performance. Being the leader and the one who calls the snaps, he has faced much of the criticism.
A recent ESPN report by Jeremy Fowler and Tim McManus cited anonymous sources that blamed Hurts for the Eagles’ decline in offense. The source said, “Poor body language, not always bought in, not the most coachable and the players notice”. He is said to often change plays and often resists coaching advice. His teammates are said to be frustrated with his leadership and these traits.
With this information from the locker room, many have attacked the quarterback and are calling for the Eagles to move on from him. However, one of his old teammates does not think the same.
Jason Kelce defends Jalen Hurts
Jason Kelce is currently retired, but played with Hurts in his last years as a center. He discussed the recent report when he spoke on the Pat McAfee Show.
He found it suspicious that the leaks came only after a poor season. He said, “I know there’s a story about Jalen Hurts that came out earlier this week or last week. I think that, my overall thing is that, especially with Jalen, what quarterback doesn’t wanna run their stuff?” and added, “I think it’s very coincidental that it comes when the season and everything don’t go the way they want.”
Kelce further said that Hurts would have a good 2026 season, “He’s been through a lot of change and I think he’s going to be through a lot of change this year. There’s going to be a drastically different offense in Philadelphia. This is a big year for him. I feel pretty confident about the Eagles this coming season.”
Jalen Hurts will have to focus on the 2026 NFL season and hope for success if he wishes to move on from the recent controversy.