PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Hurts offered a solution for anyone calling to bench the franchise quarterback: He played so effectively, and the Eagles built such a sizable lead, that the starters were pulled early in the fourth quarter of the Eagles’ 31-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
That might not have been what those pushing a quarterback controversy had in mind. It was Hurts responding in the way Philadelphia should be accustomed to from the reigning Super Bowl MVP.
“Everybody’s watching. It just comes with it, and it hasn’t changed,” Hurts said. “I think everybody needs to remember where I come from and how I’m built. I just want to lead in the right way, set the right example. I’ve done the same thing since I went to University of Alabama and everything that has been in front of me, so it’s no different now.”
In the minutes after Hurts threw a career-high four interceptions on Monday, Hurts explained that the performance would be marked by how he responded. That concept of a response was “absolutely” on his mind last week, he said.
Hurts quipped earlier in his career that bad performances were flushed away like feces. That doesn’t seem to be true. He doesn’t forget, and he’s remembered by how he weathers a storm. After his first Super Bowl loss, he explained that he didn’t “walk through the fire just to smell the smoke.” In Week 15 last season — by coincidence, the same week as this year — he rebounded from his worst game of the season and a turbulent week on talk radio with his best performance of the regular season. Hurts came to the postgame podium that afternoon and asked, “So that’s what y’all wanted to see, huh?”
There was no such made-for-social soundbite as a public response on Sunday afternoon. Hurts even pushed back on the similarities between the two Week 15 games. He was notably succinct this week, and especially matter-of-fact about how he thought he responded.
“We responded with a win,” Hurts said.
The Eagles did not necessarily need a sterling performance from Hurts, given that their defense held the Raiders scoreless (the first Eagles shutout since 2018) and limited them to 75 total yards (the fewest by an Eagles opponent since 1955). They received one of the most efficient games of Hurts’ career, though. He finished 12 of 15 for 175 yards and three touchdowns, and that could have tied a career-high four touchdowns (and one fewer incompletion) had Dallas Goedert not just dropped a touchdown in the end zone. Hurts’ 154.9 passer rating was the second-best of his career, trailing only his perfect rating against Minnesota in October. He had an EPA/dropback of 0.78, which was the best in his career. He also rushed for 39 yards, his most since Week 4, and moved the chains on four runs.
The counting stats might not make this one of his best performances, but the fact that it came after one of his worst games and to break a three-game losing streak was critical. The criticism on Hurts might not have been louder since his first year as a starter, making his response emphatic — and, to use coach Nick Sirianni’s word, “resilient.”
“Just consistency, man,” Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata said. “Didn’t matter what happened last week. Just attacked his work week the same way — win, lose or draw. His consistency is reassuring.”
“You control your own confidence. You control your own joy when there’s a lot of noise out there,” Sirianni said.
It was Sirianni who slapped down a question about whether he would consider benching Hurts, calling it “ridiculous” on sports-talk radio. Hurts did not run from accountability in his public comments, although there’s a reason why he struts. It’s not just the locker room’s confidence in him that matters. It’s how Hurts views himself.
“I think he’s got the most confidence in himself, too,” said Goedert, who caught two touchdowns. “So I don’t think it’s a surprise he was able to play well. But after a game like that, you always want to have a good rebound, for sure.”
Jalen Hurts rebounded in a big way to help the Eagles snap their three-game losing streak. (Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)
Hurts pledged to be more “detailed” and “focused.” That would also suggest there was a change. Rather, it was Hurts even more emboldened to do what was needed to win. He did not put the ball in harm’s way against the Raiders, barely throwing a pass askew. Sirianni lauded the decisions Hurts made.
The Eagles were versatile on offense, incorporating more under-center runs (23 of 47). That set up under-center play-action passes. Hurts attempted four passes from under center — all from play-action. He was 4 for 4 for 66 yards on those plays. They remained from ahead of the first-down sticks, with a season-best average overall distance to first down (6.9 yards), season-best average to first down on second down (5.1 yards) and season-best average to first down on third down (5.1 yards). The Eagles have lamented third-and-long situations, so the productive early downs (and avoidance of negative plays) was a key factor in the victory. Only 19.4 percent of the Eagles’ plays went for zero or negative yards — also the best mark of the season.
“I think it was just a step today,” Hurts said of how this fit in the offense’s search for an identity. “You have to treat every game individually and treat every day individually in pursuit of our best self.”
Hurts also responded to curiosity about when his legs would become more of a factor with a higher rate of designed rushes (21.7 percent) than any game this season and his highest scramble rate since October. This was the Hurts that the offense needed, and he’s a different player — and more of a difference-maker — when he plays this style. Hurts deferred the reason for the play calls to offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. After weeks of questions about Hurts’ legs, the response finally arrived.
“He’s dynamic of being able to be a passer. He is dynamic to be able to be a runner,” Sirianni said. “He is a dual-threat quarterback, and we had some good designs there today, and he did a great job of reading things and seeing things and getting the yards that he needed to get a couple big third-down conversions. He did a nice job.”
Hurts was slow standing up after taking a hit while bracing for cover on a run at the end of the third quarter. His stroll to the sideline prompted onlookers to wonder whether he required medical evaluation.
“Just shook it off and came back and responded the next play,” Hurts said.
Sure enough, he roped a 27-yard strike down the middle of the field to A.J. Brown for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. He celebrated with emotion, slapping his teammates and pumping his arms. That was his final play of the game. No. 2 quarterback Tanner McKee entered in relief — but not in the way Sirianni was asked about earlier in the week.
The sequence exemplified Hurts’ week. You can focus on when Hurts is down. He’s focused on the response.
“It’s just a step in that direction,” Hurts said. “Not barriers, it’s just bumps in the road. It’s about how you respond to it, step over it and overcome.”
