It's a Matter of Trust Between Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts
PHILADELPHIA - The NFL plays 17 games these days so you can no longer say the Eagles are perfect at the quarter pole with a 4-0 record, but you can express with confidence that the league's only remaining unbeaten team has been the best in the business through four weeks.
With a tough road game across the country in Arizona next, Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni wanted to send a message about the MVP-level play he's been getting from his quarterback Jalen Hurts.
And the coach used his aggression on fourth downs during a 29-21 win over Jacksonville Sunday to do it.
"I trust Jalen. I trust Jalen. I trust Jalen," Sirianni repeated like a mantra during his Monday afternoon press conference, "because he's going to be touching the ball every single time."
The Eagles weren't all that effective on third downs against the Jags in difficult weather conditions, finishing 4-of-15 (26.7%) but that all changed in the 'gotta have it' moments on fourth down when the Eagles finished 3-of-5 (60%) and by most accounts should have been 4-of-5 if A.J. Brown was able to bring in a well-thrown Hurts ball late in the fourth quarter that would have sealed the game.
Sirianni offered up a deep dive into the third- and fourth-down dynamic at his Monday afternoon press conference.
"In a situation you know you're going for it and you say, ‘Hey, it's third-and-six, let's get a couple yards here and try to bust one out here, and then let’s see what happens after that,’ knowing that you're comfortable making that call," the coach said.
Trust is paramount when discussing potentially game-changing plays on fourth down.
The Jags validated that thesis when Doug Pederson trusted his young quarterback Trevor Lawrence a little too much with the weather worsening.
Leading 14-0, Pederson went for it on 4th-and-3 from the Philadelphia 34-yard line, thinking the worst-case scenario would be the Eagles starting with a little better than average field position.
An unforced error by Lawrence after being forced out of the pocket with a slick football resulted in a big loss and a short field that Hurts and Co. took advantage of, the start of 29 consecutive points for Philadelphia in the game.
The Eagles' two fourth-down failures sandwiched three successful conversions that put tremendous stress on the Jacksonville defense, the most important of which was a Hurts 3-yard scramble for a TD on fourth-and-goal in the ensuing drive after the Lawrence flub.
"The very first thing of why we go for it on fourth down, or why we went for it on fourth down (Sunday), I trust our guys," said Sirianni. "Who do you trust? I trust Jalen to make the right decisions with the football. I trust Jalen if it's a pass. I trust Jalen that if it's a run that he creates an extra gap for the defense.
"I trust the heck out of our offensive line and I trust our guys on the perimeter to make a play with the football in their hands. I trust our defense if we don't get it that they're going to get a stop."
Sirianni then emphasized the most important part of this Focker-style circle of trust - his QB.
"You heard the first guy I mentioned, right?" Sirianni smiled.
Later when asked by SI Eagles Today on that trust in Hurts evolving, Sirianni admitted that's been the case.
"Sure," he said. "I think trust grows as your relationship grows, as your reps with each other grow. I think that’s like any relationship. Your trust grows based off past experiences.
"I think I said this to somebody earlier (Monday), it's not just a blind trust. It's not a blind faith. It's reps built up, it's built-up trust."
Hurts has earned lengthier reins with his play.
"Obviously, when I say it like that, it is, it's built up over the past year because [Hurts] just continues to make the plays necessary when they need to be made," the coach said. "Does that mean we're going to be 100% in those scenarios? No. We were, what, 60% (Sunday), right? But I still have that trust in him, and of course that is built through practice.
"That's built through the reps you have at practice, that’s built through the reps you've had together in games, and that's built through the conversations that you have throughout the week and throughout the months and throughout the years that you have together."
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
