Eagles’ A.J. Brown, Gardner Minshew on fatal pick-6

Jalen Hurts would look up. Jalen Hurts wouldn’t drop a pass.

Jalen Hurts would win the game.

Maybe that’s an unfair way to look at things, and maybe it’s too simplistic. But backup quarterback Gardner Minshew struggled mightily in the Eagles’ 20-10 loss to the Saints on Sunday, and it’s really hard to imagine the Eagles’ MVP candidate making the same fatal mistake.

So what happened to that brutal pick-6 in the fourth quarter?

“It was press (coverage) at first,” a visibly frustrated A.J. Brown said after the loss. “I try to get Gardner’s attention to look up, but he never looks back at me. The DBs actually called it and basically doubled me.”

Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore sat on the route, picked off the pass and ran into the end zone for a 12-yard pick-6 to put the Saints up by 10 points. That was the game. The Eagles went from driving with a chance to tie the game, or took the lead and the game was essentially over.

Was the miscommunication just a result of a lack of familiarity between Brown and Minshew?

“I don’t think so,” Brown said. “I just don’t think he looked up. He saw one look and stayed with that look.”

Phew.

Lattimore basically confirmed it. He said the Eagles ran the whole game and he finally picked it up. Minshew locked in and threw an unfortunate pass. Sure, Brown’s effort fell a little short, but the ball shouldn’t have been thrown.

“We were running the same play before and it was the same coverage and they made great adjustments to jump the route,” Minshew said. “I should have seen that lever when we made that move. I figured because it was the same coverage, [Lattimore] was going to play it the same way, but he made a great adjustment and made the play to beat us.”

It was a bad play by Minshew.

There was a lot going on Sunday night. The numbers actually looked better than the eye test. Minshew completed 18 of 32 passes for 274 yards with a touchdown and an interception. But the offense was anemic with Minshew at the helm on Sunday. He never looked comfortable, throwing errant passes and failing to play the ball.

“Obviously [Minshew] is going to want to play back,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “We’re all going to want to play, aren’t we?” I have to look at the tape there. Obviously, [Lattimore] made a good catch at a critical time in that spot.”

A lot went wrong offensively for the Eagles on Sunday. In addition to Hurts, they were also missing Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson. The rest of the remaining offensive lines struggled with missed assignments and penalties. The play-calling left a lot to be desired.

But you feel like if Hurts had played on Sunday, the Eagles would have won. You had the same feeling when you lost on Christmas Day.

“Jalen’s not on the field,” Brown said. “We’re not thinking about what he would do or anything like that. We have to focus on who is playing and try to win the game with the people I play with.”

Hurts missed his second straight game with a sprained right shoulder, and while head coach Nick Sirianni wouldn’t commit to Hurts’ return for the regular season finale, things definitely seem to be moving in that direction.

Maybe Hurts’ return won’t be a panacea for the offense and the team. But it will undoubtedly give the team a huge boost.

“I think Jalen is obviously a special player,” Jason Kelce said. “I thought Gardner played well enough today to win if everyone else leads and plays at the level they’ve played all year. Including me. Obviously, a new quarterback, there’s familiarity and things like that. I thought Gardner played well.”

Remember all the talk about Hurts being a system quarterback? That he wasn’t a deserving MVP candidate?

Forget all that.

If we learned anything Sunday afternoon, it was just how important Hurts is to the Eagles and how much they need him back on offense.

Can the Eagles win with Minshew at the helm in a game where the Giants will likely be rested in Week 18? Yeah, maybe, probably. But you can’t take any chances after this loss.

Because Jalen Hurts matters so much.

“We will evaluate it during the week,” Sirianni said. “Obviously, if he’s ready to go, he’ll play.

The Eagles better hope so.