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NFL Power Rankings entering the divisional playoffs: Eagles need Jalen Hurts to do more

A.J. Brown was asked on Dec. 8 what needed to improve in the Philadelphia Eagles' offense. He said the passing game, an honest answer that got a lot of attention and was blown out of proportion.

But Brown wasn't wrong.

And in the wild-card round, we saw what he was talking about. And why he had time to read a book in the second half of the game. It's not like he or any other Eagles receiver was busy in Sunday's 22-10 win over the Green Bay Packers.

Jalen Hurts came back after missing two full games and most of a third with a concussion, and he wasn't good. Hurts had a stretch between the final minute of the first quarter to 4:41 left in the third quarter in which he didn't complete a pass. The Eagles' best pass play of the game was a poor throw from Hurts that Dallas Goedert caught when it was thrown behind him at the line of scrimmage, and then he stiff-armed his way into the end zone.

The Eagles had just 121 net yards passing. Philadelphia had a very conservative game plan, but it's not like it was executed that well either. It was OK for Philadelphia because the defense was fantastic and it beat Green Bay, but at some point in these playoffs the Eagles are going to need more than 121 passing yards to win. Given how many times Philadelphia has had quiet passing games this season — which led to Brown's gripe more than a month ago; Philadelphia has 12 games with 210 or fewer passing yards this season — it's fair to wonder if Hurts can turn it on when needed. And at some point, whether it's in a tight divisional-round game against the Los Angeles Rams, or a shootout at Detroit in the NFC championship game or in a Super Bowl, Philly will need it.

Hurts is capable of it. It wasn't that long ago that he was putting on a show and nearly lifting the Eagles to a Super Bowl win over the Chiefs. But Hurts' production over the rest of the postseason will be the difference between Philadelphia getting back to a Super Bowl or getting knocked out early.

Here are the power rankings of the eight remaining teams left for the divisional round of the NFL playoffs: