After all the criticism during the regular season, Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense had the opportunity to change the narrative by capitalizing on a duct-taped 49ers team. But they couldn’t. They fell 23-19 to San Francisco, and the quarterback has now cleared his stance on the offensive struggles.

“We didn’t make plays when we needed to make them. And we are looking internally first,” the quarterback said during the post-game presser. “Obviously, you want more consistency. There is a desire to improve steadily throughout the year, but hard to look at it from a big-picture perspective right now.

“Having an opportunity to go make something happen and not doing so for whatever reason, those are the things that we all have to improve on.”

What we saw from the offense tonight is something that we’ve seen all season. After a first quarter where the Eagles piled up more than 100 total yards, the offense managed just 119 yards and six points after halftime.

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Sure, they had 19 first downs during the game. But they couldn’t move the chains. Out of three trips to the end zone, two ended with points while having more than 11 minutes of possession, more than the Niners.

But Hurts took all the blame upon himself.

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

The inconsistency between the two halves isn’t something that we’re seeing for the first time this season. Think back to the Eagles’ 13-12 win over the Bills in Week 17. Yes, they got the win, but all 13 of Philadelphia’s points came before halftime. In the second half, it was nothing but punts after a first down on the opening possession.

What makes this loss sting more is who it came against. This was a San Francisco defense held together by tape. Midway through the second quarter, the 49ers lost George Kittle to what looked like an Achilles injury. They were already without linebacker Tatum Bethune, who tore his groin the week before against Seattle.

Over the full season, the offense never really found a steady rhythm. Philadelphia finished 19th in points per game at 22.3 and 24th in total offense at 322.7 yards per game. Hurts threw for 3,224 yards, 25 touchdowns, and six interceptions during this regular season.

One of the reasons behind this mediocre production was his connection with receiver A.J. Brown. The two never seemed to be on the same page all season, and that’s exactly what a reporter brought up in the post-game presser.

Jalen Hurts deflects when asked about A.J. Brown

The disconnect between Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown wasn’t hard to spot this season. It came up again after the loss, when a reporter asked Hurts about the slow starts, the lack of yardage, and the state of that connection. Hurts didn’t take the bait and steered the conversation elsewhere.

“I think competitively, everyone on out team had a great desire to win and achieve the ultimate goal. It was about winning. It’s something that we didn’t collectively do, and it starts with me. I take it very personally,” he said.

Brown had a difficult day. He declined to speak with reporters after the game and had to be separated by Dom DiSandro, senior advisor to the general manager, during a heated moment with head coach Nick Sirianni during the game. Frustrated after a drive stalled and ended in a punt, Brown ripped off his helmet and shouted toward the sideline.

On the field, the issues showed up again. Brown finished with three catches for 25 yards on seven targets. In the first half, there was a telling sequence: a catchable ball on first down that hit the turf, a brief injury scare, then a return on third down followed by another missed opportunity.

The second half didn’t look much different. Hurts went back to Brown on a deep throw on a key third down, and again the ball slipped through his hands. That frustration has been building.

Yes, Brown still topped 1,000 receiving yards for the fourth straight season. But body language matters in this league, and his has been speaking loudly for months. The connection with the quarterback feels strained, and the bond with the team looks fragile.