‘That one is on me:’ Kellen Moore blames himself for Jalen Hurts safety originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Not Jalen Hurts’ fault. That was the message from Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore Tuesday.
Moore blamed himself for the ugly 3rd-quarter safety that Hurts took, a play that could have been awfully damaging when the Rams cut the Eagles’ lead to six in the final minutes and then got the ball back.
The Eagles led the Rams 16-13 in the final seconds of the third quarter and the combination of a leg injury Hurts suffered earlier and the snow falling made it impossible for Hurts to move. And Moore called a five-step drop that left Hurts a sitting duck in the pocket, especially after Cam Jurgens missed a block that allowed Neville Gallimore to rush unimpeded.
“Yeah, that one is on me,” Moore said Tuesday. “That one is simply on me. Chasing a particular look that’s more traditional in the open field, and we were backed up. That’s one that, hey, I’ll call something different in that situation based off just the way it played out.”
That was the sixth of seven Rams sacks, the most Hurts has ever been sacked in a game and the 2nd-most in Eagles postseason history.
The other really ugly one was the next one, on the Eagles’ ill-fated final drive after the Rams made it a 28-22 game with 2:51 left. Saquon Barkley picked up three yards on first down, but on 2nd-and-7 from the Eagles’ 33, he was sacked for a 12-yard loss by Kobie Turner after a play fake to Barkley and a long, slow, roll-out to his left. Once again, sitting duck.
“Yeah, those are two situational calls I’ll dig really deep into,” Moore said. “If you’re in that situation again, you’d probably give yourself a better opportunity. I’d lean that way, just going back through it, everything, being backed up and playing that situation out.
“Then in the four-minute offense (on the final sack), we had had some success on some movements, and they played that one really, really well.
“My No. 1 focus is to put the guys in the best position to be successful, and didn’t feel like I did.”
Those play calls are ideal for a healthy Jalen Hurts on a dry field, but it seemed like Moore either didn’t consider his knee issue and the weather or misjudged how much those factors affected Hurts’ ability to move.
It’s certainly fair to wonder if the time Moore spent doing virtual interviews with the Jaguars, Saints and Cowboys late last week affected his own ability to prepare for the Rams – and the weather. But he said that was not the case.
“It’s really the same process we normally take,” he said. “Nothing changes in our preparation for a game. You know, I missed a 4th-grade basketball game on Friday night. That’s about it. Other than that, it’s the same process.”
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