Nick Sirianni corrected the wording.

A reporter asked the head coach how his Philadelphia Eagles responded after losing franchise quarterback Jalen Hurts to a concussion.

Hurts suffered a concussion in the first quarter of a 36-33 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday, forcing Kenny Pickett to be substituted after completing just four passes.

“How about an on-the-fly adjustment when Kenny comes in?” the reporter asked. “Because he’s obviously a completely different quarterback than Jalen in terms of his upside (ability to pass and run).”

Sirianni didn’t address the end of the question. Instead, he focused on the beginning.

“We leave nothing to what we do spontaneously,” Sirianni said. “There are times where we have to adjust certain things, but we go into the game with a plan in case that happens. We go into a game with a plan in case (two quarterbacks) are out.

“This is not a spontaneous thing.”

If the reaction bordered on sensitivity, Sirianni might have a reason for it. Head coaches will rarely say out loud that losing their starting quarterback cost them a game. Instead, Sirianni repeatedly emphasized the responsibility of the entire team and especially himself as head coach.

And yet, what Sirianni didn’t say came across just as loudly as what he did say: No matter how well the Eagles plan for the loss of their franchise quarterback, their backups won’t be able to match Hurts’ dual-threat ability to reproduce.

Pickett doesn’t have Hurts’ arm and he doesn’t have Hurts’ long-standing chemistry with targets like AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. He confirmed that Pickett doesn’t get regular practice reps at either, and the quarterback also reminded reporters that offensive coordinator Kellen Moore had not previously called a game in which Pickett was in charge of execution.

The nuance is important because even if Sunday’s adjustments against the Commanders allow the Eagles to be better prepared for a Pickett return than they were in his first significant action (he had appeared in the Eagles’ first 14 games a total of three throws attempted), Philadelphia’s lofty postseason goals will suffer if Hurts’ injury lingers for several weeks.

The passing game wouldn’t be the biggest loss.

Take the Eagles’ running game with Hurts…and then without

After a pass-heavy win the previous week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Eagles relied heavily on the running game at the start against the Commanders.

Saquon Barkley’s first rush went for 19 yards and his next went for 13 yards. Fellow running back Kenny Gainwell got a carry and Hurts scrambled. In total, Philadelphia’s first drive included six carries and two incompletions. Never mind that they got through for zero yards. With Hurts in the game and the field shortened by turnovers on downs, Barkley capped the Eagles’ first series with a 2-yard touchdown run.

And Philadelphia was ready to keep it going.

Defensive tackle Jalen Carter tackled Brian Robinson on the Commanders’ first play of the next series, the fumble returning the ball to the visitors. Hurts found Smith for 11 yards and then fought his way through for 22 yards. Why shouldn’t he climb again to reduce the load to seconds and 20?

But just then, Hurts hit his head. With a zone-oriented goalie exposing a quarterback more than just a pass, Hurts suffered the concussion that ruled him out for the final 54 minutes and eight seconds of the NFC East contest.

At that point, the Eagles had scored eight times for 79 yards and a touchdown, a whopping 9.9 yards per carry.

They kept the running momentum going a little longer as Barkley followed lead blocker CJ Uzomah through defenders with 2:29 to play in the first quarter and exploded as he reached the next level en route to a 68-yard touchdown.

But what seemed like a day in the first quarter where the Eagles’ offensive lines would simply overpower the Commanders’ didn’t last.

Without Hurts, the Eagles’ average yards per carry fell from 9.9 to 4.3 yards including the 68-yard strike. Remove that outlier, and the Eagles cobbled together just 2.13 yards on their non-Hurts carries.

Barkley rushed for 27 yards on 16 carries in the second half. Without a reliable running game, the Eagles found themselves on awkward slopes and distances and unable to keep drives alive. They kicked four field goals after halftime but did not score a touchdown in the second half in a game they lost by three.

Five defensive takeaways weren’t enough to overcome a run game without Hurts’ combined lure and production.

Hurts directly, indirectly fuels Philadelphia’s best rushing attack in the league

Ask a friend who is leading the league in rushing touchdowns this weekend and you’ll probably amaze them.

Derrick Henry of the Baltimore Ravens is a good guess with an impressive 13 ground scores. James Cook of the Buffalo Bills tied Henry at 13, while a three-way tie exists at 12 between David Montgomery of the Lions, Josh Jacobs of the Green Bay Packers and Kyren Williams of the Los Angeles Rams.

Barkley is one of four players who started the weekend with 11.

But hovering above all the productive running backs with the most scores on ground incomings this week was one quarterback: Hurts had 14.

At times, the Eagles used their trademark “Brotherly Shove” to send Hurts into the end zone. Sometimes he just reads the offensive line he’s gotten to know so well and lets his athleticism and instincts follow from there.

When Barkley entered this week with a league-leading 1,688 rushing yards, he knew his skills were necessary but not sufficient to explain it. The Eagles’ offensive line is far superior to what Barkley left behind with the Giants. Brown and Smith lead a far deadlier receiving corps than Barkley’s counterparts, who captured defensive attention during his six seasons in New York.

And then there’s Hurts. His impact on the running game cannot be overstated. Just ask Barkley.

“A lot of the things we do in our running game were developed with Jalen,” Barkley said. “It’s kind of hard to keep doing the same thing when he’s not there. So we had to adjust (and) we just didn’t make the plays we needed to make.”

The Eagles have already secured their spot in the playoffs. They still control their path to the division title and a home playoff game. Hurts could still recover quickly enough to clear concussion protocol before the Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys next week, weeks before the start of the postseason.

Sirianni said he had no updates on Hurts’ health after the game or his return schedule.

“Anything that has to do with the head is out of our hands,” Sirianni said.

It’s too early to say when Hurts will return. It’s not too early to say that the Eagles’ success, particularly in the run game, will depend heavily on his availability.

“He’s our starting quarterback,” Barkley said. “Everything we do and everything he can do is why we’ve been so successful.”