PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles have succeeded in keeping Jalen Hurts healthy heading into the playoffs. Now, with everything on the line, a dimension of his game that has largely been absent is likely to make a return: the quarterback run.

No one on staff has explicitly said so on the record, but it’s the feeling inside the building.

“Really up to this point, our whole goal has just been to win games and that’s what we’re trying to do is win as many games as we can,” offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who has been under fire all year, said at NovaCare Complex on Tuesday.

“Obviously, now it counts even more. So as far as game-planning going forward, it’s whatever we need to do is what we’re going to do to win the game. … We’ll just do whatever we have to do and keep pushing forward.”

Coach Nick Sirianni also didn’t explicitly say to expect more QB runs, but he intimated they’re on the table when it’s win or go home.

“You’ve got to have your players available, and you do different things to make sure that happens throughout the year,” Sirianni said a day earlier. “Jalen, his ability to run, pass, get us in and out of plays, I think he can do a lot of things really, really outstanding. Some of those runs that we’ve done have come off scrambles, some of them have come off of designed runs.

“Each week calls for something different based off of what you’re seeing, based off of what you do. We will go through our process like we always do and find out the best way we want to attack this particular week against a really good group of players over there and great coaches (with the 49ers).”

Merely glancing at some major stats would imply the Eagles’ offense was rolling all season. Hurts threw a career-high 25 touchdowns, receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith both cracked 1,000 yards, Dallas Goedert caught a tight end franchise-record 11 TDs, and Saquon Barkley rushed for 1,140 yards. But anyone who has watched the team knows those numbers don’t tell the whole story.

The offense rarely put together two complete halves and never really seemed to form an identity. Barkley’s yardage was his lowest when playing in at least 16 games. And the offense failed to maximize Brown in most weeks.

Hurts ran 105 times — by far his fewest attempts as the Eagles’ full-time starter, and 45 times fewer than 2024 — which kept him upright but also allowed defenses to key on Barkley and Brown. When Hurts runs, it keeps defenses honest and opens up the field.

Certainly, play-calling has been an issue, vacillating between a lack of creativity and overthinking the basics. So has significant injuries to the offensive line. But with Hurts running more, and a rested and healthier line, perhaps the Eagles’ attack can finally find some consistency and versatility as their postseason kicks off against San Francisco on Sunday (4:30 p.m., FOX).

Maybe that notion is overly optimistic, but the Eagles have shown it in flashes.

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Speaking of optimism, the Eagles are crossing their fingers that Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson will play against the 49ers. He’s been out since suffering a Lisfranc sprain in Week 11 against Detroit, but has gradually been testing out his foot in recent days.

“Lane’s the best right tackle in the game, so if we get him back, it’s tremendous,” Patullo said. “He’ll add so much to everything. Just even his leadership, his play-style, ability, run-pass… It’ll be a tremendous lift for the whole entire offense and I think you’ll feel the energy if he’s out there.”

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NOTES: The Eagles re-signed DB Parry Nickerson to the practice squad, releasing CB Ambry Thomas. Nickerson, 31, appeared in five games with the Birds this season, logging a pair of tackles on 12 defensive snaps and playing 60 snaps on special teams. … The team placed rookie DB Brandon Johnson (ankle) on the practice squad injury list. Johnson was elevated from the practice squad for the final three games of the season. He made his first career start in the finale against the Commanders, finishing with two tackles and a pass defended on 23 snaps. … Now that the Ravens have parted ways with coach John Harbaugh, who got his NFL start as the Eagles’ special teams coordinator, there’s a chance he’ll end up with an NFC East rival. The Giants are reportedly very interested in him, but they’ll have competition from several other teams.

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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc for the latest updates.