Eagles, Week 3 — What Repeats: Three Loose Balls, Two Picks

Three of the 26 passes Philadelphia threw in Chicago were charted interception-worthy, a ball a defender should have caught. Two of them were. That is about 12 percent of the throws, one of the four highest rates of the 32 offenses this week. Last season this offense put up 11 of those on 495 throws, about two percent. In Week 1 there were none. In Nashville there was one. Jalen Hurts threw two of the three on his 25 throws; across all of last season he threw 10. Andy Dalton threw the third on his only pass of the night, the end-zone interception from the two that the Recap opened on. Hurts's two came in the third quarter. Third and five at the Philadelphia 25, down 10 to seven, his throw over the middle for Zach Ertz was broken up by T.J. Edwards. Then, with 27 seconds left in the quarter, fourth and five at the Chicago 46, down 20 to seven, Hurts threw short left for DeVonta Smith and Edwards intercepted it at the 42.

The accuracy did not hold either. 16 of the 26 throws were charted catchable, 62 percent, near the bottom of the league this week. Hurts alone was 16 of 25, 64 percent, exactly his Week 1 number, after the 73 he posted in Nashville. Last season he was at 72. The recovery lasted one week. Only two of the 26 throws were contested, a receiver and a defender arriving together, and there were no drops. The receivers caught what was catchable, and there was not much of it.

Chicago sent extra rushers at a rate this offense had not seen this season. The Bears sent five or more on 16 of Philadelphia's 31 dropbacks, 52 percent, second of the 32 offenses this week; only Tampa Bay's saw more. Last season opponents did that to this offense on 33 percent of dropbacks. Week 1 was 39 percent and Week 2 21. Against five or more, the quarterbacks completed half of their 14 throws, and two of the three interception-worthy balls came on those plays; against four or fewer, nine of 12. Two sacks, and the charters put one on Hurts: first and 10 at his own 40 in the third, down 20 to seven, five rushers came, Hurts left the pocket and Montez Sweat sacked him for two. Three games in, six of the eight sacks this offense has taken have been charted as Hurts's own fault. Across all of last season he had nine.

The fakes stay scarce. Play-action on five of 31 dropbacks, 16 percent, 20-ninth of the 32 offenses this week. Week 1 was 18 percent, Week 2 19, last season 22: three weeks below last year, and this the lowest yet. It bought nothing on Monday. Hurts's five play-action throws produced one completion, the pass to Makai Lemon that lost three yards, and one of the incompletions was an intentional grounding. Motion fell harder: 19 of 64 charted plays, 30 percent, 30-first of 32, with only Tennessee lower. That was 50 percent in Week 1 and 45 in Week 2, against 37 last season.

The run game reversed last week's story in the good direction. Chicago showed six or fewer in the box on seven of Philadelphia's 16 designed runs, 44 percent, fourteenth of the 32 offenses this week. The first two weeks it was 61 60; last season, 46. So the light boxes did not repeat, and the yards came anyway: the 16 designed runs gained 83, 5.2 a run, fourth of the 32 this week. Saquon Barkley's three longest, the 12, the 17 and the 14 to the one, all came against six in the box. 16 runs is a small sample; the score took the run game away after halftime.

On defense the zero is now a three-week zero. Case Keenum threw 34 passes and not one was charted interception-worthy. Across three games opponents have thrown 88 passes at this defense without a single ball a defender should have caught; last season opponents put up 17 of those on 539 throws. And this was the most accurate passing this defense has faced this season. 25 of Keenum's 34 throws were charted catchable, 74 percent, against 66 for the passers this defense faced last season. The pass rush is the part of the notebook that moved. Philadelphia sent five or more rushers on 11 of Chicago's 35 dropbacks, 31 percent, eleventh of the 32 defenses this week. Last season it was 19 percent, and neither of the first two weeks reached 25. It produced no sack.

The run defense's box moved too. Philadelphia showed six or fewer on 17 of Chicago's 32 designed runs, 53 percent, eleventh of the 32 defenses this week. Last season it was 68 percent, and the first two weeks 66 63, so this was the heaviest front of the three games. Chicago's designed runs gained 3.8 a run, nineteenth-most allowed this week and under the 4.1 this defense gave up per designed run last season.

The stat lines have settled, scored half-PPR. Hurts: 16 of 25 for 153 and the interception, four carries for 25 and the touchdown from the one, 12.6. Smith six of eight for 65, 9.5. Barkley 15 carries for 82, eight and a half. For Chicago, Keenum scored 24 and a half with two touchdown passes and one on the ground, and Kalif Raymond 18, with the 41-yard score.

One line on the yardstick. Through this week, every "last season" here is the 2025 regular season, a different roster. From the next episode on, the comparison becomes this team's own 2026, and the show starts answering the question in its name.

The thread, for anyone joining. Last season the Eagles went 11 six. This season they beat Washington by two, beat Tennessee by four, and lost 27 to seven in Chicago on Monday night, so they are two and one. After Week 2 the notebook said the sacks charged to Hurts had repeated, the accuracy had recovered, the light boxes had repeated without the yards, and the defense's box and four-man rush were still last season's, with a zero in the interception-worthy column. What held: the sacks on Hurts, six of eight; the play-action rate, below last season a third straight week; and the defense's zero, now 88 throws long. What broke: the accuracy, Hurts back to 64 percent with two balls a defender should have had; the light boxes, gone, with the yards arriving anyway; the motion rate, from eleventh in Week 1 to second-last; and on defense, both the box and the rush moved, heavier and more often, for the first time this season. Next is the Rams at home.

That's your Eagles — every game, by the numbers. This is Muffed: we do the same deep dive for all 32 teams. Follow the Eagles show wherever you're listening, so next week's recap lands the moment it's out. No theater. Just the football.

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_Data via nflverse. Charting: FTN Data via nflverse._