Home Sports NFL Power Rankings entering the divisional playoffs: Eagles need Jalen Hurts to do more

NFL Power Rankings entering the divisional playoffs: Eagles need Jalen Hurts to do more

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NFL Power Rankings entering the divisional playoffs: Eagles need Jalen Hurts to do more

AJ Brown was asked on December 8 what needed to be improved on the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense. He said the passing game, an honest answer that drew a lot of attention and was exaggerated.

But Brown was not wrong.

And in the wild card round we saw what he was talking about. And why he had time to read a book in the second half of the game. Not that he or any other Eagles receiver was busy in Sunday’s 22-10 win over the Green Bay Packers.

Jalen Hurts returned after missing two full games and nearly a third with a concussion, and he wasn’t good. Hurts had a stretch between the final minute of the first quarter and 4:41 remaining in the third quarter in which he did not complete a pass. The Eagles’ best passing play in the game was a bad throw by Hurts that Dallas Goedert caught as it was thrown behind him at the line of scrimmage, and then stiff-armed his way into the end zone.

The Eagles had only 121 net passing yards. Philadelphia had a very conservative game plan, but it wasn’t executed all that well either. It was good for Philadelphia because the defense was fantastic and beat Green Bay, but at some point in these playoffs the Eagles will need more than 121 passing yards to win. Considering how many times Philadelphia has had quiet passing games this season, leading to Brown’s complaint more than a month ago; Philadelphia has 12 games with 210 passing yards or fewer this season; it’s fair to wonder if Hurts can turn it on when needed. And at some point, whether it’s a close divisional-round game against the Los Angeles Rams, or a shootout in Detroit in the NFC championship game, or a Super Bowl, Philadelphia will need it.

Hurts is capable of doing it. Not long ago he was putting on a show and nearly led the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory over the Chiefs. But Hurts’ production over the rest of the postseason will be the difference between Philadelphia returning to a Super Bowl or being eliminated early.

Here are the power rankings for the remaining eight teams left for the divisional round of the NFL playoffs:

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