Four plays.

I just keep thinking about those four plays.

You know which ones.

One minute and 28 seconds left. First and 10 from the just over San Francisco’s 20-yard line. All three timeouts left. After three hours of nonsense from the offense, the game was right there to be had.

Then came the four plays, ending with a 4th and 11 attempt that’s likely the end of Kevin Patullo’s run as Eagles offensive coordinator. But how did the Eagles get there? Why did a golden opportunity dry up so fast?

I’ve watched the game twice in full now (I know, there’s something wrong with me) and just fired up the NFL app to fully rewatch the final sequence again.

Here’s what I saw then, saw again, and can’t stop seeing.

Jalen Hurts saved his worst for last.

Let’s discuss the four plays.

First and 10: Four man 49ers rush. Hurts has plenty of time. Takes off up the middle. Tripped up by a 49ers defensive lineman. Hurts’ lack of running burst—apparent all year—prevented what could have been a big gain had he broken the first line of defense.

Second and 11: Hurts bails a clean pocket when perceiving pressure that wasn’t there. Scrambles right. Throws the ball away. Incomplete, out of bounds. Tom Brady criticizes Hurts for leaving the pocket too quickly, and cutting the field in half for himself. Saquon Barkley could have been had for a check down. Even a three or four-yard completion would have been better than a wasted down.

Third and 11: The play that needed to be made. A two-by-two set shifts to a three-by-one on the left side with Goedert in motion. DeVonta Smith comes wide open on a post pattern. Hurts throws high. The pocket was clean. He had time. The ball has to be on Smith’s chest. Sure, Smith—leaping high in the air—got his hands on it. But it’s a bad throw. If the pass is complete, it’s first and goal inside the 10.

Fourth and 11: The play that will be Patullo’s undoing. Eagles waste a timeout to talk over San Fran’s quarters look. Hurts chooses Goedert’s in-breaker rather than giving A.J. Brown a chance in end zone. Hurts is slightly late—as pointed out by Brady—and gives away his decision with his eyes. It’s an easy pass breakup for the defense, with three players converging. The play call left some to be desired, but what play on 4th and 11 in that condensed area of the field is going to work there?

When everything was on the line, the Eagles needed Hurts to make a winning play. I’d argue he made three losing plays, setting up an almost impossible fourth down against Robert Saleh’s defense.

Do you blame the coaches or players more for Sunday’s loss?

I dove into the five biggest reasons the Eagles season ended on WIP Daily.

Tom Trampe, an Eagles fan that became infamous during a tailgate rant, is ill and need of some help. Here’s how you can donate. Warwick Farm Brewing has created a fundraiser to help.

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