PHILADELPHIA — Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith said members of the passing game weren’t “on the same page” at times during Sunday’s 21-17 loss to the Broncos.
“We made improvements in certain areas. We still could be a lot better. Shot ourselves in the foot a lot,” Smith said.
The passing game had its best day of the season statistically, as Jalen Hurts threw for 280 yards on 23-of-38 passing with two touchdowns.
There were some breakdowns, though, for an offense that punted on four consecutive possessions in the second half as Denver stormed back from a 17-3 deficit. Smith referenced some plays in which he said receivers missed Hurts’ hand signals before the snap.
“There’s times where we’re looking at him, and he may give a signal before or after we look, and ultimately we have to be on the same page,” he said, “we have to see that signal no matter what.
“It was just little things within the routes. He may have seen something presnap and sometimes we didn’t see it.”
Hurts said he “doesn’t remember any of those things happening” and that he would have to talk to Smith to see what he was referencing.
One major missed opportunity came late in the third quarter on first-and-15 from the Eagles’ 39-yard line. Receiver A.J. Brown raced down the seam and was able to get past the Denver defense but slowed down for a beat as Hurts was getting ready to throw. Hurts’ pass ended up a few yards beyond Brown’s reach on what would have almost certainly been a touchdown.
“It’s not that I didn’t think the ball was coming,” Brown said. “When I looked up, I didn’t see the ball. I looked back, I didn’t see the ball, and then the ball was thrown. We just missed.”
Hurts added: “You either hit it or you don’t, and we didn’t hit that one. We watch the tape when we get the opportunity to, and we learn from that. But in that moment in the game, it’s about finding a way to put the dagger in them, and that definitely could have been the dagger in the game.”
Brown, who showed his frustrations this past week over the state of the pass game, did not echo Smith’s sentiment about not being on the same page, suggesting that was more between Hurts and Smith. Brown said the passing game “started off really good,” but they “just didn’t finish” and that the “inconsistency showed up again.”
The passing game ranked 31st in the NFL heading into Week 5, and the Eagles were outgained in each of their first four games. The offense has been prone to long stretches when the attack goes quiet, sometimes for nearly an entire half. Yet the Eagles raced out to a 4-0 record thanks in part to high efficiency in the red zone, special teams standouts, a stout defense and a positive turnover differential.
“Some things don’t get you until they get you,” Hurts said.