The Dallas Cowboys caught a huge break when the LA Chargers beat the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, despite missing multiple starting offensive linemen and Justin Herbert essentially playing with one hand after undergoing a left-hand procedure earlier in the week
As such, the Eagles' defense put up historic pressure numbers, forced three turnovers, and only allowed 3.9 yards per play. So what gives?
Jalen Hurts. Literally. He gave the ball away a whopping five times, including twice on one play in the second half, and threw the game-ending interception in overtime. It was a game that the Eagles should've won going away, and Fox Sports 1's Colin Cowherd didn't pull any punches about why Hurts wasn't able to lead his team to a victory.
"One thing that has become obvious for Jalen Hurts: he is a circumstances quarterback," Cowherd said. "If the O-line's perfectly healthy, if the offensive coordinator is great, if Saquon Barkley is having an amazing night or season, if the defense is No. 1 like last year, he's really successful."
"IF the O-line's perfectly healthy, IF the offensive coordinator is great, IF Saquon Barkley is having an amazing night or season, IF the defense is #1 like last year he's really successful."@colincowherd on Jalen Hurts' UGLY game in the Eagles OT loss to the Chargers pic.twitter.com/u7iOBHXzkq
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) December 9, 2025
Colin Cowherd says what Cowboys fans have said all along about Jalen Hurts
Cowherd is no stranger to the occasional scorching hot take, but there is nothing hyperbolic about his Hurts analysis.
The Eagles are a rare case of an upper-echelon team where the more their quarterback drops back to pass, the worse they are. Hurts is winless in the last five games where he's attempted at least 30 passes. Whether you are talking about the Rams, Packers, Bills, or Patriots, they have all been carried by their respective quarterbacks.
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As Cowherd noted, Hurts needs a perfect ecosystem to thrive as a passer. If the run game isn't there, or the defense isn't elite, or the offensive line isn't the best in the NFL, he just doesn't have the talent to win as a drop-back passer. That has never been his game.
Most of the league's best quarterbacks -- including Dak Prescott -- would have Philadelphia in position to clinch the No. 1 seed.
They have arguably the best roster, and their defense ranks top-10 in EPA per play (-0.045), success rate (43.0%), dropback success rate (43.3%), and rush EPA (-0.108). And yet they’re only 1.5 games up on the Cowboys, who don't rank better than 29th in any of those categories.
Even though the Eagles have been to two Super Bowls with Hurts, Cowboys fans should be hoping he remains their starting QB for the foreseeable future.