I’m not one to say I told you so. Oh wait, yes I am – O.K. so since the Eagles’ disastrous loss to the Bucs back on September 29th I’ve been coming to the defense of Philadelphia Eagles’ Quarterback Jalen Hurts in light of his mostly unwarranted and unrelenting dose of outside criticism on a weekly basis. I find it laughable when I hear a growing number of analysts and so-called experts on the tube or on the inter-webs maintain that wins and losses aren’t a quarterback stat.
Um, what?
That’s funny because I was just wondering – do they give out the Lombardi trophy to the best-dressed quarterback in February each year? The most fiscally sound? Most consecutive games played without a concussion? Fewest felony arrests? Best mechanics in a meaningless game? Most Super Bowl half-time performers shagged? The last time I checked I’m pretty sure they usually give it to the quarterback who led his team to a perfect post-season. How can you tell who the Super Bowl MVP is? He’s the one left standing after the game on the trophy presentation dais in his new t-shirt and hat with confetti falling all around him while contractually obligated to answer the same dumb questions the guy before him was asked.
The issue that most Eagles fans have had with Hurts is that he appears to leave plays and points on the field from time to time. Hey, I get it, believe me I do and some of that criticism is justified. Does he sometimes pitch games that make you scratch your head or want to pull your lungs out? Does he hold the ball too long or take a bad sack from time to time? That’s affirmative. But if you are expecting to see Hurts put up Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson numbers on a weekly basis, you’re just going to be left disappointed, especially when you know he’s been gifted with two dynamic thoroughbred receivers, a very good tight end, the top offensive line in the league and perhaps the biggest star in the game in running back Saquon Barkley.
So if you are a Birds fan you just have to ask yourself this question. Would you rather see Jalen put up Joe Burrow or Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson statistics and be lauded and debated on by the professional NFL desk-jockeys as to who is the league MVP this year, while he sits home on his leather couch a couple weeks early into his off-season, or would you rather watch your quarterback, cloaked in doubt, go toe to toe with the best on the planet in a winner-take-all game, two of the last three seasons, while those other wandering wannabes are having their tux’ pressed and making family vacation plans and coordinating tee times?
If you want gaudy, sexy, passing stats that make your lower loins tingle and jump off a game sheet then Jalen Hurts is not your guy. But if you’re a fan that likes to watch good, clean, mistake-free, efficient and sometimes dynamic football in January on the snowy tundra of Lincoln Financial Field and games that butt up to the Lover’s Holiday that can be seen in over 130 of the world’s 195 countries then I’m pretty sure you found your man because all he does is win (cue DJ Khaled music).
Blue Chip on His Shoulder
Hurts is a lot like a blue chip stock. He’s not a high flyer. You buy Hurts long. If you’re running to your computer five times a day to check the price you’re going to drive yourself crazy because you’re just putting yourself on the day-trading roller coaster with a long term investment. When you go long, the only thing that matters is how the stock performs over a period of time and right now Hurts is paying huge dividends while showing high value, reliability and long term growth. All he does is win and that’s the only thing that matters in the NFL (cue music again).
With Hurts at the helm this year the Birds went 17-2 and won their second Super Bowl in the last eight seasons. Over all the Eagles won a franchise record 18 games and lost just three and ended up on the Super Bowl dais in New Orleans amidst a hail of green and silver confetti, getting ready to party with Lombardi.
Double Birds of a Feather
They used to say that former University of Miami head coach Jimmy Johnson coached his team with his middle finger in the air, primarily aimed at the establishment and his critics alike. Johnson was brash, emotional, outspoken and cocksure.
The only thing that Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts remotely has in common with the Hall of Fame coach is that he plays with both middle fingers in the air, and he’s been doing it all his life.
The most recent Super Bowl MVP was last seen on the Tron Lightcycle roller coaster at Disney World yesterday. But his emotional steadiness resembles anything but a sine curve and it’s one of the main reasons why he’s been so successful as a college and NFL quarterback. Hurts comes from “the scoreboard never lies” school of let your play do your talking and he’s been doing that for the last 10 years. All of this while saddled with his eighth different offensive coordinator in nine years as it was just announced that former Eagles O.C. Kellen Moore has officially been named the new head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
At Alabama Hurts led the Crimson Tide to back to back National Championship games, a loss to Clemson and a win over Georgia. But in the Georgia game Hurts was benched at halftime in lieu of back-up Tua Tagovailoa, who had never started a game in college. Tua brought the Tide back from a 10-point deficit and he tossed the game-winning touchdown to Hurts’ current teammate Devonta Smith in overtime for the walk-off title winner.
The following year Hurts lost his starting job to Tua and ended up transferring to Oklahoma. He chose the Sooners because of then head coach Lincoln Riley, who had developed back-to-back Heisman winners and No. 1 overall picks in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
Riley, known for his high-powered offenses, also returned many important pieces, including eventual first-round pick receiver CeeDee Lamb, which also played a role in Hurts’ decision.
“It’s been a fun ride,” the Eagles quarterback said at the Super Bowl postgame news conference. “I’ve embraced every step. I took great pride in never backing down from a challenge. Always turning my negatives into positives. Turning my weaknesses and making them my strengths. It’s taken a great effort to evolve my game over time and just continue to grow and improve.”
Including last Sunday’s 40-22 demolition of the Chiefs, Hurts went 14-0 in his final 14 games that he started and finished with 35 touchdowns and just two interceptions, a completion percentage of 71.6% and a QB rating of 115.6.
Keepin’ His Foot on the Clutch
Far and away Hurts’ best attribute is that he’s got the clutch gene and its almost always on display in big spots. When the outside noise starts to elevate along with the doubt that gets rained down upon him by the so-called experts and fans alike, once again calling his abilities and football acumen into question, Hurts in his own quiet, understated manner, will find a way to quell the naysayers with his play on the field, which is his way of flipping everybody not in his camp, off, with double-fisted barrels.
After a week 13 win over the Carolina Panthers, his main go to guy A.J. Brown questioned the passing game publicly and a week full of drama, scrutiny and unanswered questions ensued.
Seven days later Hurts came out firing and torched the Steelers with his most prolific game of the season, going 25/32 for 290 yards, a pair of touchdowns, one each to Brown and Devonta Smith, and a QB rating of 125.3 in a 27-13 win over Pittsburgh.
After the game Hurts quietly and confidently walked to the podium, sat down and said, “Is that what you all wanted to see?” And he did it with a hint of a wry smirk and a subtle, yet implied “bleep you.”
Put a Hurtin’ On
After a 28-22 win over the Rams in the Divisional round where Hurts’ numbers through the air were a paltry, 15/20 for 128 yards and no touchdowns, out came the noise-makers once again like it was New Year’s Eve, questioning whether the Birds could win the Super Bowl if their bell-cow back, who scorched the Rams for 205 yards and two scores, doesn’t continue to carry the team.
So all Hurts did was hang a 55 spot on the Washington Commanders the following week in the NFC Title game going 20/28 for 246 yards and one score while adding three more touchdowns on the ground. All told in the two biggest games of the season, the Conference Championship game and the Super Bowl, Hurts led the Eagles offense to an astounding 89 points. He also made the Commanders and Chiefs pay dearly for their sins turning seven combined turnovers into 42 points and a Super Bowl victory for the ages.
Hurts makes mistakes here and there but when the stage is biggest and the lights are brightest he’s the guy you want out there slingin’ it for you, commanding his troops and running the offense, while keeping his teammates confident and calm.
You Win or You Learn
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who had one of the worst games of his career in Sunday’s Super Bowl, said he knew Hurts would eventually find redemption.
“I have a lot of respect for Jalen,” Mahomes said after the game. “I said after the last Super Bowl we played (Super Bowl 57) that he’ll be back. He was, and he got the better of me today. I’m sure we’ll face off again at some point in our careers in a big game like this.”
Asked about Mahomes’ comments, Hurts reflected on what he learned from the previous loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl 57.
“In the end, things come right on time. The last time around, it wasn’t our time. It wasn’t my time. Sometimes you have to accept that you have to wait your turn,” he said. “Dealing with everything that came with the last Super Bowl, you still kind of leave empty, because as great of a performance it was, it wasn’t enough to win. I think going through those emotions and processing those things and processing that experience lit a great flame in me and enhanced my desire to win significantly.”
The reason why the 26 year old fifth year quarterback is invaluable to his team is that he isn’t about personal accolades or statistical achievement. He just wants to win and likes to give credit where it’s due. “Defense wins championships.” he told one reporter on the field after the game, flashing his keen self-awareness and paying homage to the league’s number one defense, a defense that forced three turnovers, including a 38-yard pick-six by rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean, while making life miserable for Mahomes, sacking him six times, the most in his career.
In a game where the Chiefs rendered Saquon Barkley basically a non-factor, holding the league’s leading rusher to just 57 yards on 25 carries, Hurts stepped up and took over a game that Kansas City dared him to. Hurts finished his Super Bowl masterpiece 17/22 for 221 yards, two touchdowns, an interception and a quarterback rating of 119.7. He also devastated the Chiefs with his legs rushing 11 times for 72 yards, including explosive runs of 16, 14 and 17 yards in the third and fourth quarters. He also scored on a tush-push in the 1st quarter to open the scoring. His 77.3% completion percentage ranks fourth all-time in Super Bowl games behind Phil Simms, Drew Brees and Mahomes.
There were numerous records Hurts set and matched in last Sunday’s Super Bowl victory. Here were some of the notables per CBS Sports Research:
- Most total touchdowns in a quarterback’s first two Super Bowl starts (seven)
- Sixth player all-time with 3+ total touchdowns in multiple Super Bowls
- Second quarterback with a 70% completion rate and 3+ total touchdowns in multiple Super Bowls (Tom Brady is the other)
- Most rushing yards by a quarterback in Super Bowl history (72), breaking his own record of 70 in Super Bowl 57 . Hurts has the two highest single-game rushing yardage totals by a quarterback in Super Bowl history.
- Fourth quarterback to win the Super Bowl after losing his Super Bowl start (Len Dawson, Bob Griese, John Elway)
- Third quarterback to start and win a college football national championship and a Super Bowl (Joe Namath, Joe Montana)
- First quarterback to defeat Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs not named Joe Burrow or Tom Brady. Mahomes was previously 15-0 against quarterbacks not named Burrow or Brady.
- First quarterback to win Super Bowl drafted after Patrick Mahomes (2018 or later)
- Only quarterback drafted in the last 10 years to win a Super Bowl other than Mahomes
Hurts was also the first quarterback to win a Super Bowl rematch between opposing quarterbacks, as the other three quarterbacks who won the first meeting won the second one. He was also the quarterback of the team that scored the most points in a conference championship and Super Bowl combined in NFL history (95).
He certainly isn’t afraid of the moment. In two Super Bowls vs Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs Hurts has been arguably the best player on the field and his numbers reflect that, 44/60 for 525 yards, three touchdowns to go along with 142 rushing yards and four touchdowns, a fumble and an interception. His completion percentage is 73.3% and a combined QB rating of 111.6. Not too shabby.
“I find it funny when it’s, like, ‘Jalen is good, but he’s got a good team around him.’ That’s football. You cannot be great without the greatness of others,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said after the game. “Jalen can’t do it by himself. He needs A.J., he needs that offensive line, he needs Saquon, and vice versa. The reason Saquon was this special year is not only the offensive line, but the attention that Jalen commands for the run game. He’s special. Jalen’s special.”
At the podium late Sunday Hurts was as steady and stoic as if he had just beaten the Jaguars in October. “I think in the end, it comes down to how people look at you. I’m always going to be the same guy,” he said. “I was telling someone earlier, I’m that same kid that went to the national championship and lost. Went back and got benched and had to transfer and had to go through this unprecedented journey. That kid always kept the main thing the main thing and always was true to his vision.”
That same kid’s vision is now coming to fruition and he’s put the league on notice that he might just be getting started.
