Jalen Hurts, Nick Sirianni Lambasted by Fans as Eagles Lose to Bucs in NFL Playoffs

Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacekFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 16, 2024

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

The playoffs did nothing to change the Philadelphia Eagles’ late-season woes.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers eliminated the reigning NFC champions with a 32-9 victory in Monday’s NFC Wild Card Round game at Raymond James Stadium. Baker Mayfield threw for 337 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions, while Philadelphia’s offense struggled without top receiver A.J. Brown.

Philadelphia averaged just 2.8 yards per carry, while Jalen Hurts took a terrible safety when his team was still within one score and didn’t lead a single scoring drive in the second half.

Hurts, head coach Nick Sirianni and the Eagles as a whole drew plenty of ire on social media:

Bleacher Report @BleacherReportBUCS SACK HURTS FOR THE SAFETY 😱

(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/6Csj9LT5MC

Darius Slayton @Young_Slay2Eagle and cowboys collapse back to back? pic.twitter.com/XqylUG7hkT

br_betting @br_bettingBucs bettors watching Jalen Hurts take a safety pic.twitter.com/1BwoRP4q2r

James Seltzer @JamesSeltzerThat was the worst play of Jalen Hurts’ career

Ryan Clark @Realrclark25That’s an awful decisions by Jalen Hurts. Todd Bowles & this Tampa Bay defense are playing so well.

Dave Zangaro @DZangaroNBCSI still can’t believe Jalen Hurts took a safety on a play that started at the 14-yard line.

Robby Kalland @RKallandJalen Hurts point shaving this drive with that “block” and then that lol

Kevin Negandhi @KevinNegandhiWhat a terrible decision by Jalen Hurts. That just can’t happen.

Colb @___Colb___Jalen Hurts got outplayed by Baker Mayfield in a playoff game never type his name out on this application again.

Joe DeCamara @JoeDeCamaraI really think tonight represents the end of Sirianni, and the beginning of the end of Hurts. New starting QB in 2026 I would guess.

Kevin Clark @bykevinclarkThe Eagles have fired far better coaches than Nick Sirianni.

Bleeding Green Nation @BleedingGreenIt’s insane how unwatchable the Eagles are right now. I can’t wait to wake up to that Schefter tweet that Sirianni has been fired

Peter Rosenberg @RosenbergradioNot only is the team putting in no effort and playing horribly but Sirianni has personally taken four points off the board .. this is a meltdown for the ages

ProFootballTalk @ProFootballTalkTwice tonight Sirianni took points off the board and got jack squat.

Thomas R. Petersen @thomasrp93Before you hear this repeated for the 18th time this year:

The Eagles very much played to their standard today. This is EXACTLY who they are.

Fire Sirianni. No way such a failure can return as head coach and expect players to have any faith in the future.#Eagles

FOX Sports: NFL @NFLonFOXseen at the Eagles-Bucs playoff game pic.twitter.com/zM2CTvk7io

The Eagles were not supposed to be on the road in the Wild Card Round.

After all, they were in the Super Bowl last season and brought back many of their primary contributors. They seemed to be well on their way to another Super Bowl appearance with a 10-1 start that included victories over the Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.

But then the bottom dropped out with losses in five of their final six regular-season games.

With a chance to wipe the slate clean, the vibes stayed the same in the playoffs.

The running game figured to be important with Brown out with a knee injury, but it never found its footing. DeVonta Smith did what he could with 148 receiving yards, but other pass-catchers struggled to create separation as nobody else had more than 32 yards.

Philadelphia’s defense kept the visitors within striking distance by holding the Buccaneers out of the end zone on three field-goal drives in the first half alone, but the offense failed to rise to the moment. Even when the Eagles scored with a deep ball to Smith to set up a Dallas Goedert touchdown, their typically unstoppable tush-push play was stopped on the two-point conversion.

The biggest sequence came in the third quarter when Hurts took a safety on an intentional grounding in the end zone to push the deficit to nine.

That defense could only hold up for so long after that, and Trey Palmer took a short pass, broke a tackle and sprinted to the end zone for a 56-yard touchdown. Just like that, the Buccaneers were in full control as they put the finishing touches on the win with another touchdown to Chris Godwin.

Bleacher Report @BleacherReportBUCS GO UP 25-9 ON PHILLY 🔥

(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/Ym6JU1vEtB

NFL @NFLTD GODWIN! @Buccaneers putting this game on 🧊

📺: #PHIvsTB on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/rFlj59UzNi pic.twitter.com/YYuieKDTBK

Tampa Bay advanced and will face the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round, while Philadelphia will be left wondering just what went wrong this season.