The big narrative this season is how the Philadelphia Eagles are underutilizing the under-center formation, which has worked so well.
After the Eagles' 31-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane shared the data as the team went under center for a season-high 30 of the 66 snaps. Eagles quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Tanner McKee combined for going six of six for 95 yards with passes from under center.
#Eagles went under center a season-high 30 of 66 (45.4%) snaps vs. the Raiders. They only marginally increased the rate they throw off play-action under center, from 17 to 20%.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) December 16, 2025
Still, Jalen Hurts completed all four passes for 66 yards (backup Tanner McKee was 2 of 2 for 29…
During his media availability the day after the win, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni discussed playing more under center following the recent success. Sirianni still believes Hurts can dominate from any formation.
“I think he can be very successful and efficient anyway he needs to go and play. Whether that's the gun, whether that's in pistol, whether that's under center, he's shown the fact that the ability to be able to win and be efficient with everything from all different levels. Whether that's on the move, whether that's slightly on the move, whether that's a drop back and right in the same area, I just think he's been efficient throughout [the] course of his career and everything that he goes through.”
The numbers would somewhat disprove what Sirianni said about Hurts
The Score's Brenden Deeg shared the stats for Hurts when he throws the ball from under center to start the play. Hurts has completed 22 of 34 passes for 300 yards with a passer rating of 125.2, ranking third in the NFL, and has only been sacked twice.
Jalen Hurts throwing under center this year:
— Brenden Deeg (@BrendenDeeg_) December 16, 2025
- 22/34
- 300 yards
- 125.2 passer rating (3rd among all QBs)
- Only 2 sacks
This needs to be a bigger part of the offense going forward. pic.twitter.com/vYhPBQmjrP
Sirianni can try to justify it all he wants, but Hurts and the offense are better when they pass and run the football from under center than in any other formation. It has been something brought up time and time again throughout the season for this Eagles team.
Can Hurts succeed from shotgun and the pistol? Sure, he can make plays from those formations, but the success rate of being under center versus in shotgun is significantly different to the point that being under center has to be a part of the game plan.
The good news is that Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo seems to be aware of that fact, as he did it quite a bit in the Raiders game. Now it's about making sure Patullo doesn't get away from that and keeps running out of it.
Read more: Three words is all Jalen Hurts needed to destroy Eagles false injury narrative
Philly's offensive template of success has been set up. They just need to make sure they are following it moving forward.