Jalen Hurts has become the game manager. That’s a good thing for the Eagles.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Jalen Hurts is a game manager — not that there’s anything wrong with that.

In some quarterback circles, to be labeled as such would be blasphemous. But Hurts probably doesn’t mind the characterization as long as the Eagles keep winning. And they won on Sunday with a convincing 37-20 win over the Rams at SoFi Stadium.

Saquon Barkley was once again the hero. He rushed for a career-high and franchise-record 255 yards on 26 carries, scoring from 70 and 72 yards to open the game in the second half. The Eagles’ commitment to the ground game was once again crucial.

But Hurts also contributed, and for the most part, he didn’t have the hesitant moments in the passing game that have often plagued the offense in the first quarter. He had better pocket awareness and he had better field of vision — even though he only had 22 pass attempts overall.

Hurts still had to make important throws. He still had to make sound decisions beforehand. He still had to contribute in the running game. And he still had to touch the ball on every play and not make the kind of mistakes that would disqualify him from even being called a playmaker.

“He was efficient,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “Made plays with his legs. He made plays with his arm. Took care of the football. And then I thought he was super efficient.

“Our running game was really cooking, but when we had to pass it, he had some big finishes to AJ (Brown).”

Hurts had no turnovers. He was fired only once. And he rarely forced the ball into bad places. But for the seventh straight week since the Eagles decided to emphasize the running game in the bye week, the game plan revolved around Barkley.

The Rams tried to limit his effectiveness. They had relatively early success. But Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore never wavered from what has brought the Eagles into the NFC seeding game No. 1 and the Super Bowl conversation.

They kept feeding Barkley, and when the running back finally hit a 70-yard touchdown to open the second half and extend the lead to 20-7, the Rams were unable to mount a comeback.

» READ MORE: Saquon Barkley reaches historic heights as Birds march to seventh straight win

The Eagles’ run-heavy formula, complemented by a stingy defense, has made them seemingly invincible from the front. But there will come a time when they need Hurts and the passing game to carry the load.

“Obviously we have more ways to attack teams,” Hurts said. “It will hit at a time when we are called upon to do some of these certain things. But duty has not called for some of those moments yet.

“When that happens, I’m confident we’ll be ready for it.”

Hurts has done it before. The Eagles believe he is still capable. But by switching their offense, they reduce the percentage of the quarterback potentially hurting them. The change in running pass numbers since the bye is staggering.

In the first four games, the Eagles averaged 36.3 pass attempts to 30 rushes for a 55-45 split. In the seven games since, they’ve averaged 24.7 passes to 41.3 runs for a 37-63 differential.

Hurts has been more effective as a result. In the first four games, he completed 68.1 percent of his throws, averaged 232.5 passing yards and threw four touchdowns. He also had four interceptions, two fumbles and was sacked 13 times.

In the last seven games, he has a 69.9 completion percentage, averages 206.5 yards through the air, has thrown nine touchdowns and had just one interception and one fumble. He has still taken a relatively high number of sacks (16) over that span.

But he was sacked once Sunday when he appeared to stare down Brown on a second-quarter third down. The Eagles stalled in the red zone, settling for field goals on two of their first three possessions.

On their fourth drive, however, Hurts was at his best after Barkley opened the drive with three carries for 28 yards. On a critical third down conversion, the quarterback scrambled for 5 yards.

Two plays later, he was flushed out of the pocket but kept his eyes downfield and found Barkley near the sideline for a 13-yard completion. Two more plays later, he connected with Brown for a 6-yard touchdown and the Eagles’ first lead at 13-7.

Brown led the Eagles with six catches for 109 yards — with 47 yards after the catch. He was only targeted seven times, matching his average per game for the season. A year ago, the receiver was targeted 9.3 times a game.

“It was a heck of a game from him to be able to show up in some of those moments,” Hurts said. “And to be able to do it without our guy, DeVonta Smith.”

Smith, sidelined with a hamstring injury, has averaged just 6.2 goals. Both receivers want the ball, but they’ve had the right answers when asked about the Eagles’ offensive development away from the pass.

Winning is what ultimately matters and they just need to make the most of their reduced number of opportunities. They will concede that Barkley makes it more unlikely that the Eagles will suffer an implosion like they did last season at this point.

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: Saquon Barkley might just be the NFL’s MVP after dominating the Rams

But some defense — perhaps the Ravens on Sunday — will keep the NFL MVP candidate at bay. Right?

“It works until it doesn’t,” Eagles tackle Lane Johnson said. “Every week is a challenge. We know that we are playing against teams that are coming up, that have a really good defense. So it will be a challenge. They will try to stop it.”

According to Johnson, the Rams tried. He said they moved defensive linemen around to shed the Eagles’ combination blocks. But they countered with multiple man blocks, and on the first play of the second half, center Cam Jurgens and guard Landon Dickerson opened a big hole up the middle, and Barkley did the rest.

He punted again in the fourth quarter during the four-minute drill.

“I think back to moments where we might have lost the game in the past, or maybe mishandled a four-minute situation where he really makes things easier for us,” Hurts said.

When asked about Barkley taking some of the running game off his back, Hurts joked, “He’s giving me some time on the back end,” but he’s running as much now (10.4 carries a game) as he was before the bye (10.5) .

» READ MORE: The Eagles made it clear Sunday night: They are a Super Bowl-caliber team

The burden that has been lifted has been as a bystander. But what happens when defenses sell out to stop the run? Or what happens when Barkley, on pace for a career-high 50 carries, just doesn’t have it? Or when Vic Fangio’s defense can stall and the Eagles offense has to play from behind?

Get hurt and the passing game has to carry the weight. He knows it’s coming.

“We’re not satisfied,” Hurts said. “In the past we weren’t satisfied. I’m not satisfied now. We have last year to learn from.”

Can Hurts handle a pass-heavy offense better than he did a year ago? Time will tell.