Eagles rumors: Jalen Hurts concern, Nick Sirianni regret, Saquon Barkley praise

The Philadelphia Eagles began their season on Friday night with a 34-29 victory over the Green Bay Packers in São Paulo, Brazil.

Philadelphia made the necessary plays to come away with an overseas win, but there were still plenty of reasons for concern. In many ways, the game was reminiscent of the 2023 season — the Eagles soared to a 10-1 record despite playing sloppy football, but eventually unraveled with five losses in the last six games of the regular season.

Philadelphia will have to tighten some things up to sustain success when the weather begins to chill and the games become more meaningful.

Jalen Hurts continues turnover issues

The Eagles offensive struggles all begin with quarterback Jalen Hurts, who threw two ill-advised interceptions to go along with a fumbled snap exchange with the center. Philadelphia was hoping that Hurts would display better decision-making after finishing the 2023 season with 15 interceptions, third-most in the league. So far, he's off to a poor start.

Hurts' first interception came on his second pass of the season, when he floated a ball to wide receiver DeVonta Smith in an area that was crowded with defensive players. His second interception came in scoring range on a third-and-13 in the fourth quarter. Hurts attempted an across-the-body throw to wide receiver A.J. Brown in the end zone.

“Definitely could have avoided some of those things,” Hurts said after the game. “I put us in a bad spot as a team."

Hurts has a 3-6 record when he throws two or more interceptions, but that figure jumps to 34-14 when he throws less than two. It's no secret that Philadelphia's path to success begins with ball security.

Nick Sirianni believes play calling could have been better

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has faced a lot of criticism after the team's collapse last season. In his postgame press conference on Friday, Sirianni dismissed the similarities between their season opener and last year's early-season victories.

Although Sirianni praised new coordinators Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio, he admitted that the team played a poor first quarter offensively and mentioned that better play calling could have helped Hurts prevent some mistakes.

"It wasn't perfect by any means," Sirianni said. "We can help him out with play calls here and there as well."

The Eagles offense couldn't get on the scoreboard early, but the defense managed to hold Green Bay to just two field goals.

"To play as bad as we did offensively, and to be down six-nothing to start the game is pretty awesome," Sirianni said. "And hats off to the defense. "Don’t get me wrong, we have some things to clean up on both sides of the football, but we could’ve gone down two scores right away, but the defense really did a good job of playing good red zone defense."

Although the Eagles defense showed vast improvements in certain situations, they also had coverage breakdowns that resulted in Green Bay touchdowns. Packers quarterback Jordan Love connected with wide receiver Jayden Reed for a 70-yard touchdown after miscommunication in the secondary.

Saquon Barkley left his teammates in awe

The Eagles signed running back Saquon Barkley to a three-year, $37.7 million contract in free agency, and it didn't take long for the star to show his worth.

After the game, the Eagles expressed their excitement and awe about their new teammate's ability.

“Oh, yeah,” right tackle Lane Johnson said. “That’s 235 pounds and runs like a 4.3 [40-yard dash] so he’s a very gifted individual. He had just one of those freak show catches early and he’s a very dynamic player.”

Barkley opened up Philadelphia's scoring with an 18-yard touchdown catch on a wheel route, then added two more scores on the ground throughout the remainder of the game. He finished with 26 total touches for 132 yards from scrimmage to go along with his three touchdowns. He carried the ball 24 times for 109 rushing yards and added two catches for 23 yards.

“I know he's a great player,” Hurts said. “He had a hell of a game tonight. It's exciting to watch him play. I'm happy that he's on our side. Just going to keep pressing forward. But what a debut for him.”

“It’s unbelievable,” rookie running back Will Shipley said. “I sit here just smiling because of how special he is. I’ve seen him do it throughout camp and OTAs and all that good stuff but for him to go out there and see it in person. He shined tonight. I was really happy for him. He works his butt off so nobody deserves it more.”

It was only the second time Barkley has notched a three-touchdown game, but there may be more to come.

During his time with the New York Giants, Barkley was forced to rush behind one of the worst run-blocking offensive lines in the league. In Philadelphia, he'll have one of the best offensive lines in front of him. With better protection in front of him, Barkley was able to show patience behind the line of scrimmage and let his blocks develop before finding a hole to explode through.