You’d be hard-pressed to find a more likable guy in football than Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. He is a fine example of class, work ethic, leadership, and the competitive spirit. It’s why so many of us who watched him during his time with the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Oklahoma Sooners root for the guy. Proving people wrong has become a defining trait of his – some analysts thought he’d never even sniff the NFL, much less get a starting gig. Some of those questions have been amplified because of Hurts’ performance in a 31-15 loss to to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers yesterday.
I don’t think it’s fair to put that loss squarely on the shoulders of Hurts. From the top down, the Eagles offense was putrid, and I’m not sure what the philosophy even was for such a game plan. Hurts isn’t absolved here – at times, he showed some flashes of a big arm and the dynamic play-making ability that got the Eagles to the playoffs in the first place. But, he also missed Dallas Goedert high on several occasions. He overthrew receivers several times, including a bad one directed at Quez Watkins that would’ve been a game-breaker. It was as if he wasn’t even looking at DeVonta Smith. When he finally did, he threw to him in the end zone, but didn’t see the safety coming over, and the play resulted in an interception. The Buccaneers had absolutely no respect for the Eagles passing game. They were giving Smith 12-yard cushions in one-on-one coverage, and Hurts STILL wasn’t throwing him the ball. Maybe that part is on Nick Sirianni and the coaching staff, but if you didn’t draft Smith to look at him in those situations, I don’t know what you did draft him for.
“Definitely coming back hungry.” – @JalenHurts pic.twitter.com/6MJiXiZf0D
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 16, 2022
It was a dud, and there’s no two ways about it – with it happening under the magnifying glass that is the NFL postseason, people are now asking whether or not it’s time for the Eagles to move on at quarterback. While I think it’s completely unfair for fans to say that one game defines Hurts, I think it’s a valid question because I’m not sure of just how committed the Eagles were to Hurts to begin with. Did they really want him? Or, was he just the best of what they had in 2021? Aside from being picked over in the NFL Draft, he sat behind Carson Wentz in 2020, the Eagles went out and grabbed Gardner Minshew this offseason, and they were rumored to have been in on the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes. Maybe that’s telling of how this organization views Hurts, and maybe it can use this game as the reason for moving on from him. That’s reckless speculation, of course, but I mention it just to say that I wouldn’t be surprised to see them make a change at quarterback because of it.
I don’t think you can fairly say that Hurts undid all of the good he manifested in 2021 because of one bad game. The Bucs are a good football team with a lot of talent on defense. We didn’t necessarily see that lately, but as they showed during their 2020 Super Bowl run, they can turn it on in the playoffs. A myriad of things went wrong for the Eagles – Hurts or not, they absolutely have to get better in the passing game. During the postgame coverage, you heard Antoine Winfield, Jr. talking about how they knew the Eagles wanted to run the ball and if they could stop them, they’d have a good shot of winning. Why do you think that is? Because they were never afraid of the vertical passing game.
How much of this falls squarely on Hurts? And, was it bad enough to undo all of the good he did this season? Well, that’s what the Eagles organization will be tasked with evaluating. But, it’s obvious that at least some of his teammates want to see him get another crack at this thing.
#Eagles Jordan Mailata on Jalen Hurts: “I want to follow that dude. He wants to fix his mistakes. When I see my captain doing that, I want to do the same thing.”
— Josh Tolentino (@JCTSports) January 16, 2022
They’ve had an adequate sample size of Hurts’ work. Maybe we’ve seen what his NFL ceiling looks like. Maybe there’s still room for him to continue to develop. Regardless, that was a bowling shoe ugly game yesterday that has buried positive memories of the good the Eagles did this season under a sour, disappointing taste in Eagles fans’ mouths. It was the kind of loss that has people wondering what’s next for the franchise. If you’re an Eagles fan, there’s no doubt that this one *ahem* Hurts.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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