While the Eagles have arguably been one of the NFL’s most disappointing teams this season, their quarterback Jalen Hurts has been their engine, for better or for worse.
The former Alabama and Oklahoma star’s story is no secret. He had to fight tooth and nail to get to where he’s at now as one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
While he could do no wrong during last year’s Super Bowl run, this season shows that Hurts is indeed human. His decline is not blatant, as statistically Hurts has had plenty of career highs this season.
Career highs in passing yards, passing touchdowns, rushing touchdowns, game-winning drives. On the flip side, he’s also had a career-high 14 interceptions, which has led to a less effective offense, with coordinators who are less eager to let Hurts wing it to his two All-Pro-caliber receivers.
For a quarterback that is growing, learning, and progressing with the full support of the organization, it’s expected that Hurts would be defended by his teammates and the organization would publicly reassert their belief in him.
But with the large number of interceptions that he’s thrown, questionable losses against the Arizona Cardinals, Jets and Seattle Seahawks, and the Eagles’ 1-4 record in the past five games after starting the season 10-1, there has to be some concern.
Eagles Let NFC East Division Slip Away
That slip led to them surrendering the first seed in the NFC, and first place in the NFC East. The Eagles were soaring high, expected to get that Super Bowl ring after losing a heart-breaker to Patrick Mahomes last season.
Now they’re looking doomed to be an early exit in the playoffs.
The offensive play-calling under Nick Sirianni and Brian Johnson has been questionable, the offense has been stagnant, boring and uncreative.
Almost all of Jalen Hurts’ rushing touchdowns have come from the signature “tush-push” play, and his decision-making has looked panicked at best. The smooth operator doesn’t seem to have a grasp of the offense that’s comparable to last season.
There are plenty of people to point fingers at for the Eagles’ recent failure and their collapse in the season. But Hurts has put together a decent season overall.
Eagles Invested A Record $255M In Jalen Hurts
Last summer the franchise made him the highest paid player in NFL history (at the time) with a contract of $255 million over five years, after he led the Eagles to the Super Bowl. Based on his numbers, the contract was warranted, and it seemed like Hurts was on his way to becoming a top 5 NFL quarterback.
After becoming a very wealthy man, Hurts became a sports icon, appearing on plenty of magazines and becoming another face for the Jordan Brand, and he’s been rocking some beautiful cleats on the field.
But with his and the Eagles’ success came an expectation of greatness, and even though the Eagles have won 11 games and already locked up a playoff spot, fans have been disappointed in Hurts’ lack of dominance and ill-timed mistakes.
Has Jalen Hurts Gotten Worse?
Some are saying that Hurts has regressed, and that the poor coaching and play-calling have Hurt him as a passer and a game manager.
In order for Hurts and Philly to get back on the right track, it will take a combined effort of players and the coaching staff to regain the magic that they had last year.
According to Hurts, everybody has to hold each other accountable, and everyone has to execute.
“It’s as simple as taking ownership for the things you can control,” Hurts told the media in a press conference. “Committing to giving your best self, and being your best self, the daily process, the daily routine of that, and giving it your best, that’s what it’s all about.”
Eagles fans have noticed that Hurts, and Sirianni have been known to give, un-insightful, media-trained responses throughout the season, saying all the things fans would want to hear from their struggling team. The problem is nothing has changed.
The NFL is no picnic, and teams go from contenders to pretenders quickly. There’s surely enough blame to go around. The conservative play-calling, the mistakes of the QB, complaints from diva wide receivers.
At the end of a day, this squad looks like a group of immature players who got big heads and started feeling themselves after a sniff of success and some mega contracts. The head coach lost a grip on his team in less than a season.
Maybe that last press conference can serve as a turning point for a desperate, but highly talented Eagles team struggling to fix themselves before it’s too late in the playoffs to do so.
