Jalen Hurts felt what it’s like to be on the wrong side of brotherly love.
The NBC Sports Philadelphia crew shredded the Eagles quarterback and the team after the embarrassing 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers in the wild-card round Monday.
Hurts looked nothing like an MVP candidate in Tampa, completing 25 of 35 passes for 250 yards and one touchdowns while also throwing an interception.
He also failed to score on a tush push during a two-point attempt.
“No. 1 on your jersey and No. 1 off the field, there he goes,” NBC Sports Philadelphia host Michael Barkann said as Hurts ran into the locker room. “I don’t care what the passer rating says, he played a horrible game tonight. He did not play a game like an MVP-caliber player should play, he did not play a game like we expected him to play. He was terrible.”
Hurts and the Eagles collapsed down the stretch and it’s possible this implosion could cost head coach Nick Siranni his job.
Philadelphia started 10-1 this season, peaking with a thrilling overtime win over the Bills in Week 12, and then the Eagles pretty much played like the Panthers the rest of the season.
Philadelphia lost six of its last seven games, including Monday’s defeat, in its quest to return to the Super Bowl.
“You saw teams that want it and teams that did not want it. The Eagles did not deserve to be in the playoffs right now. This is an epic slide from being 10-1 to where they are now, winning one game. This is absolutely atrocious,” NBC’s Barrett Brooks said. “This is the worst breakdown I’ve ever seen in my life.”
The Eagles’ fall is one of the more stunning developments in recent NFL history as they went from arguably the best team in the NFL for one-and-a-half seasons to getting throttled by the champions of the NFC South, arguably the worst division in the NFL this season.
The Eagles’ slide began with three straight losses to the 49ers, Cowboys and Seahawks, with all the losses being respectable due to the opponents.
Worries crept in when the Eagles lost at home to the Cardinals in Week 17 to lose control of the NFC East, and then they no-showed in Week 18 on the road against the Giants.
“We did see it coming. I didn’t want to hear it and didn’t want to listen to it,” Brooks said. “The truth is this team did not play in the playoffs. This team was not ready to be in the playoffs. This team right now played the worst football I’ve ever seen in the past seven weeks.”
The Eagles kept it close Monday for a little bit, but Hurts could not lead sustained drives without injured star wide receiver A.J. Brown, and the leaky defense gave up several long scores.
Hurts, who was the MVP favorite earlier in the season, did not look like the same quarterback down the stretch while the Eagles faded.
The Eagles now enter an offseason with changes looming, including star offensive lineman Jason Kelce retiring.
“Blame is what’s needed here because something’s wrong if you lose six out of your last seven games, including the final one to go home for the winter,” an agitated, hand-moving and finger-pointing Barkann said during a fiery rant. “Something is wrong.”