Jalen Hurts visibly stunned by Kevin Patullo’s final play call vs 49ers as Eagles fans call for OC’s firing

The defending champions have fallen.

On a windy and wild night at Lincoln Financial Field, the San Francisco 49ers took down the Philadelphia Eagles with a 23-19 win.

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Any hopes Philly had of securing back-to-back world titles at Super Bowl LX are dead in the water, and it’s the Niners that advance to next weekend’s Divisional Round.

In a fitting end to a tight game, Brock Purdy threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey late in the fourth quarter, which left the Eagles 2:54 to go down the other end and win it themselves.

Given what had unfolded in the 57 minutes prior to that though, meant San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan probably wasn’t too concerned on the sideline.

Jalen Hurts stunned as lackluster Eagles offense crumbles in Wild Card round

Despite having a talented cast around quarterback Jalen Hurts, which includes two 1,000-yard receivers in DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, as well as star running back Saquon Barkley, the Eagles stuttered again behind offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo’s playbook.

Against the Niners, Hurts threw for just 168 yards and a touchdown, while Barkley added 106 yards on the ground — only 35 of them came in the second half.

Down by four points with less than three minutes to play, Philly needed to mount one final drive to save their season, but fell flat.

With time running out, the Eagles ran 10 plays as they tried to move the ball from their own 35-yard line to the end zone.

On four different occasions, Patullo called the same play, or copied a previous play, from the series.

Unsurprisingly, Philly’s offense stumbled, and the season ended when Hurts went incomplete on a last-gasp 4th-and-11 attempt with 43 seconds left.

The quarterback appeared bemused as he took instruction from Patullo — who stepped into the OC role to replace Kellen Moore this season — on the sideline before that final play.

Fox

Fox

Hurts, who was named Super Bowl MVP just 11 months ago, exchanged a look with head coach Nick Sirriani as his OC outlined the call.

He then took the snap, and launched the ball into triple coverage towards Dallas Goedert, where it was nearly picked off.

Philly’s season ended there, and it wasn’t long before fans turned their anger to Patullo, with plenty arguing all the Eagles’ offensive talent was going to waste.

Fans fume at Kevin Patullo play-calling as Eagles crash out of playoffs

“Kevin Patullo get out of this city. Absolutely cost the Eagles their chance at a repeat. A lost season in a lot of guys’ primes, and it’s because the offensive coordinator never had a clue. I want him gone,” one wrote on X, having watched Philly’s Wild Card loss.

“Again, Kevin Patullo is truly like absolutely atrocious. It’s not as if he’s a 6.5 out of 10 and we want a 8-9-10 out of 10. He’s a ZERO. He’s actually insanely horrific at the job,” another said.

“Working in pro sports, you learn to be so cognizant that these are people with families when you lobby for them to be fired. But Kevin Patullo never once demonstrated he deserves to be an NFL offensive coordinator this season… He needs to be gone, soon,” a third wrote.

Getty

Getty

“Never in my life have I seen such an incompetent offensive scheme from start to finish, regardless of level of football. F*** you with all my heart,” a fourth posted.

“Kevin Patullo should be charged for the crimes he committed against this year’s Philadelphia Eagles team,” a fifth concluded.

Jalen Hurts shoulders blame for final drive failure

While Philly’s OC caught plenty of heat from fans after the playoff disappointment, Hurts stepped up to take accountability as he spoke to reporters postgame.

Asked if he was caught out by the Niners defense on fourth down, he responded: “No, no. They played a cover 4 structure.

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“I didn’t make the play. I own it. I own it all.”

Hurts, though, can only go out there and execute to the best of his ability on the plays that are called.

In the eyes of many, those plays simply haven’t been good enough this season, and the Eagles could soon begin an offseason search for a new OC.

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