The Philadelphia Eagles had not lost a game that Jalen Hurts had played all the way through since Week 4 of the 2024 season. That is no longer the case as the Denver Broncos took down the reigning Super Bowl champions in Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season.
The Eagles had a 17-3 lead heading into the third quarter, but they watched as the Broncos responded by scoring 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win the game. The Eagles definitely have some things to work out after the collapse. NFL analysts and fans pointed out quite a few plays that seemed to be missed by the refs, especially in the fourth quarter.
NFL Fans, Analysts Not Happy With Refs After “Bad Calls” End Eagles’ Winning Streak
While Philadelphia is responsible for letting itself get into the position of trailing late in the fourth quarter, there was a decisive non-call as they attempted to score another touchdown to take the lead. With nine seconds left in the game, quarterback Jalen Hurts and the offense had driven down to the Denver 29-yard line. Hurts targeted a streaking Dallas Goedert near the goal line, but he could not snag the pass, forcing a Hail Mary.
However, as the video below shows, Broncos safety JL Skinner had a fistful of the tight end’s jersey, questioning whether or not there should have been a holding, illegal contact, or pass interference penalty.
JL Skinner was grabbing Dallas Goedert on this pass, no flag, Eagles lose.
WOW! pic.twitter.com/h8mFmhQohW
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) October 5, 2025
Skip Bayless agreed with the missed call on Goedert, as well as pointing out a number of other missed calls, saying, “The Eagles just got robbed at home. The overturned grounding. The late hit on Baun as ball carrier fought for the 1st. The 2nd-to-last play uncalled pass interference at the goal line on Goedert by a jersey-grabbing Skinner.”
Th Eagles just got ROBBED at home. The overturned grounding. The late hit on Baun as ballcarrier fought for the 1st. The 2nd-to-last-play uncalled pass interference at the goal line on Goedert by a jersey-grabbing Skinner.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) October 5, 2025
ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky agreed with Bayless on the questionable late hit call on linebacker Zach Baun as Broncos running back RJ Harvey fought for extra yards, saying, “That’s an absolutely horrifically bad call against the @Eagles.”
That’s an absolutely horrifically bad call against the @Eagles
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) October 5, 2025
The refs blowing the game in Denver’s favor in the fourth quarter was a massive theme, with this fan saying, “Refs lost the Eagles the game today three different times.”
Refs lost the eagles the game today 3 different times
— Qualè (@Quale_13) October 5, 2025
Some fans even said this was a coordinated effort to make Philadelphia lose, as some continue to push the idea that football games are somehow fixed. One fan said, “It has never been more evident that the refs have been told to force the Eagles to lose.”
It has never been more evident that the refs have been told to force the eagles to lose
— Andrew Dryden (@drydensdesk) October 5, 2025
No matter the case, Philadelphia is now 4-1, and the Buffalo Bills are the only undefeated team in the 2025 NFL season.
While Hurts and the passing game looked much better than the past few weeks, the patented rushing attack fans have come to know struggled mightily. It will be interesting to see how Philadelphia brings this together as they look to defend their Super Bowl title.