The Philadelphia Eagles cannot catch a break. Making their second NFC Championship Game in three seasons, the Eagles have been one of the better teams in the league the past few years. However, the conversation around them, much like the Kansas City Chiefs, revolves around style points.
After winning back-to-back playoff games with a game plan focused on the run, there is still debate about their ability to win the big game with their current formula. One former QB with three Pro Bowl appearances to his name outright rejected the idea, claiming it was impossible with their play style.
Alex Smith Still Hesitant About Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl Chances
Alex Smith had a 16-year career in the NFL and is best known as the precursor to Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City.
On ESPN’s “Get Up,” however, Smith was unimpressed with Philadelphia despite their thrilling 28-22 win in the snow over the Los Angeles Rams. “This passing game, and we’ve seen this from this offense the entire year, it is conservative by nature. And Jalen is conservative with the football by nature.”
On the season, Hurts has just seven turnovers, the second-lowest mark of his career since he became a starter. The only lower mark came in 2022 when the Eagles went to the Super Bowl.
“Listen, he’s risk-averse, he values the football, and that’s been the formula for this offense. He’s doing what this offense wants him to do. They live in a world, with the tush push, it is first and nine. They got different set of rules there. And so you see it on third down, watch their third-down play-calling.
“I mean this team never throws it past the sticks. Again, trying to get to a fourth-and-one, so we can tush push. Only Daniel Jones and Gardner Minshew have a lower stick percentage than Jalen Hurts. That’s a fact. And again, he took the sacks, and he has these games.”
"They could win yesterday in the snow. … Can they hoist a Lombardi doing this? I don't think so." 😯
—Alex Smith on the Eagles' passing game pic.twitter.com/bHvf9SxykM
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 20, 2025
Regardless of the method, the idea has worked for Hurts. On the season, PFN’s QB+ metric ranks him as the fourth-best QB in the league, which drops to sixth when including the playoffs. However, his two playoff games have been the worst games of his season and two of the five worst for any playoff game-winning QB since 2019.
So maybe there is some truth to Smith’s words when he says, “They could win yesterday in the snow. They may be able to next week — Washington’s run defense is not great. Can they hoist a Lombardi doing this? I don’t think so.”
In the two playoff games this season, Hurts has combined for 259 passing yards and two touchdowns, while adding 106 yards rushing. Those numbers are right in line with his 2022 postseason campaign where he tallied over 300 passing yards in the Super Bowl but was pedestrian the rest of the way.
Unfortunately, that didn’t end well for Philly and they lost to the Chiefs. If the two teams meet again, Saquon Barkley might be hard-pressed to dominate a Kansas City defense that has been one of the best in the league against the rush.
In that scenario, if they have to suddenly pivot to a pass-heavy game, the team could lack rhythm. Perhaps, there is some truth to what Smith is theorizing.
Nonetheless, before the Super Bowl, the Eagles have a date with the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game. The last two teams to underestimate and look past the Commanders met their season’s end.
So without looking ahead, the focus for Philadelphia has to be on Jayden Daniels and Co.