Eagles' Jalen Hurts Is Redefining QB Play

Jordan, the NBA superstar who defines winning to Hurts’ generation, was watching from the QB1’s private suite. 

Hurts, a Jordan Brand athlete, has grown close with the six-time NBA champion, who has been a sounding board for the quarterback to tap into when it comes to the Eagles' often-stated goal of “sustained success.”

Those who don’t know what’s going on with Hurts and the Eagles point to the 152 passing yards against the Cowboys and the one target to superstar receiver A.J. Brown more than 58 minutes into the game before racing to their makeshift studios to proclaim it’s not sustainable.

Those who do know saw a maestro performance by a more comfortable quarterback, making sound decision after sound decision, buoyed by his Super Bowl success. 

The Eagles' QB Is Defining Efficiency

“I think Jalen played a really efficient game,” Sirianni said. “He made a lot of plays with his feet when things weren't particularly there. That's such an advantage that-- Jalen, there was a third-down, they took away his first read, he resituated his feet and put the ball to Dallas.

“... I thought he played really efficient and I thought he played really well, and he's a big reason why we won that football game tonight, the game that he played. Again, I know that it'll say that we threw for 152 yards. 'What's going on? Why didn't we throw [more]?' But, Jalen played really efficiently and really [well] from what I saw and made plays with his legs, his mind, and with his arm.”

The Eagles are now 5-0 in openers in the Nick Sirianni-Hurts era, and the QB moved to 53-23 as a starter in a league driven by parity. More so, Philadelphia has won 15 consecutive games when Hurts starts and finishes.

A day after the reigning Super Bowl champions kicked off the latest 272-game journey of the NFL, the narrative receded to its more comfortable form, raving about the arm talent of Justin Herbert and the magical off-platform play of Patrick Mahomes during the LA Chargers' 27-21 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Ironically, that game was televised on YouTube with a heavy dose of “content creators” on hand in South America mucking up the inaugural telecast of the streaming platform that has captured a larger piece of the viewing pie than anyone else, including broadcast networks.

In other words, the white noise isn't going anywhere, so don't bet on a more nuanced understanding of Hurts' ability to impact games.

The Eagles' superstar's superpower remains an intangible: his relentlessness. 

Eberflus put together a solid game plan designed to take away the QB’s first read and limit his access to big plays. It succeeded with the notable exception of a 51-yard strike to Jahan Dotson in the second quarter. 

However, what Dallas wasn’t able to do was maintain its discipline on the pass rush; it opened up lanes for Hurts to use his legs and beat the Cowboys in a different way,

The Terminator keeps coming. ... No matter what it takes in an almost Jordanesque-like fashion.

“When you have a special guest, special friend in attendance, there’s only one thing you can do,” Hurts said. “And that’s to win.”