Eagles’ Jalen Hurts called Giants DC after Week 18 to try and figure out why Philly’s offense was falling apart

The final seven weeks of the Eagles 2023 season were truly mind numbing to suffer through. They slowly fell apart after a 10-1 start, culminating in a 32-9 loss in the Wildcard round.

It felt like the Eagles coaching staff just didn’t want to change their ways, despite the on-field product getting worse and worse by the week. In an attempt to try and salvage what seemed like a special season to start, Jalen Hurts took it upon himself to look outside of the organization for answers.

In a recent ESPN article from Tim McManus and Jeremy Fowler, the two laid out what may have caused the second-half debacle we all witnessed last season. In the article, they report that Hurts reached out to former New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale following their contest in Week 18.

The Eagles QB was willing to try anything to salvage the season

“With the playoffs approaching and the hunt for improvement unending, Hurts made an unusual move. He called former Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, who had parted ways with New York following Week 18.

‘I’ve been doing this for 40 years,’ said Martindale, now the defensive coordinator at the University of Michigan, ‘and it’s the first time I’ve had an opposing quarterback call me up. I thought it was pretty cool that the guy called. It shows you what kind of pro he really is. He’s just looking at every angle that he can to get better.’

The phone call lasted about half an hour, Martindale told ESPN. They discussed weaknesses in Philadelphia’s protection and how New York tried to game-plan him.

‘It was very effective and he knew it, and he just wanted to know why we did certain things that we did. Then he went to work on that,’ Martindale said.

It’s very rare to see this kind of stuff — especially with a rival DC. But the Eagles were desperate, or at least Hurts was. Sadly, this didn’t change anything. The Eagles still fell flat in the playoffs and are still answering questions about what happened during those final seven weeks.

Nevertheless, this is the type of stuff you want to see from the leader of your franchise. A willingness to put his pride aside and find help anywhere he can get it. Hurts is a ball player, through and through. All he wants to do is be the best quarterback he can be and I can’t help but respect that.