Philadelphia Eagles: There’s only one reason to switch quarterbacks right now

Week 8’s game versus the Detroit Lions approaches, and we have an even larger sample size of Jalen Hurts as the Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback. There’s just one problem. It feels like we aren’t any closer, after his 11th start to determining whether or not he should be Philly’s quarterback of the future than we were after his first.

Correct us if we’re wrong, but isn’t that what the 2021 regular season was supposed to be about? Why then are we already discussing a possible quarterback switch? It’s not like this coaching staff is going to suddenly open the offensive playbook.

Heck, we don’t even know if they know how to open the offensive playbook.

Seven games are behind us on the Eagles’ 17-game slate. Nine remain. Philly’s offense with perhaps one of the game’s most versatile young signal-callers could have been one of the most difficult to prepare for, especially after the addition of Kenneth Gainwell and DeVonta Smith. Instead, it’s been one of the NFL’s easiest to prepare for.

The Birds are stale. They’re unimaginative. They refuse to try what has worked at the NFL level for decades. They don’t stick with things when they do work.

They’re never balanced on offense. They throw screen passes when there’s no blitz (something the screen game is supposed to counteract, and as a result, stops by the opposing defense come with much more frequency. So do the three-and-outs, and it feels like the best play in the Eagles’ offense is throwing the ball deep and hoping pass interference gets called.

So no, we don’t know anything more about Jalen Hurts than we did when he started, nor would have learned anything new about Joe Flacco or Gardner Minshew had they played instead of him. This Eagles offense, as currently constructed, isn’t one that’s conducive to the success of the players in it.

The quarterback can’t thrive. The wide receivers aren’t given a chance to succeed. The offensive line doesn’t know if the team is running or passing the ball most of the time (because of all of the run-pass options), and the running backs barely even get the ball.

There’s still only one reason for the Philadelphia Eagles to make a QB switch.

So, what’s next? Do things continue as they are, or do the Eagles, after trading Joe Flacco to the New York Jets and promoting Gardner Minshew to second string, throw ‘the mustache’ out there and see if he can spark the offense?

Minshew has done what Hurts hasn’t with any real consistency, win. However, while he hasn’t necessarily been Joe Montana, we do know that he’s capable and at best, a difficult matchup and playmaker and, at worst, a very good game manager.

All that’s been said to say this. There’s still only one reason to make a quarterback change at this juncture of the season though. Actually, there are two reasons. One, the Philadelphia Eagles have decided they’ve seen everything that they need to see from Hurts, and second, they need to determine if Nick Sirianni’s offense can, indeed succeed, because it actually looks any better with Minshew under center (or in the shotgun) than it did with Hurts running it.

If those aren’t the reasons, there’s really no better plan than continuing Hurts’ 17-game audition, allowing him to take his lumps, and making a decision at the season’s end.