Jalen Hurts Won Even When He Wasn't Running
Quarterback Jalen Hurts hasn’t been much of a factor in the Eagles’ run game since before he sprained his left ankle on Nov. 28 in the first meeting against the New York Giants.
The Eagles won, anyway, beating two NFC East rivals in a span of five days to claw their way into a wildcard position with two games remaining.
The Eagles started slowly in both victories, falling behind 10-0 to Washington before winning 27-17 last Tuesday, and settling for only a first-half field goal against the Giants on Sunday before dismantling them in the second half to win, 34-10.
Hurts ran a season-low twice against the Giants for a mere seven yards and had just eight carries for 38 yards against Washington, though he had two 1-yard touchdown sneaks.
On Monday, head coach Nick Sirianni admitted that part of the low rushing output was out of caution for a sprained ankle suffered last month.
“A little bit is what the defense was giving us, and a little bit was just being extra careful with his ankle, but I think we're past that point,” said Sirianni. “I think we're able to be able to do anything he needs to do for us to win the football game...I don't see there being any restrictions moving forward.”
That’s good news for the Eagles, since their backfield got banged up pretty good in the win over New York.
RELATED: Boston Scott's Role will Grow With Miles Sanders Out, Jordan ...
Miles Sanders will miss Sunday’s game against Washington, and maybe longer with a broken hand.
That’s a big loss in its own right, but Jordan Howard could be out as well with a stinger, though Sirianni said he was “hopeful” Howard would be able to play Sunday in a game where the Eagles could clinch a playoff spot with a victory and some other scenarios playing out in their favor.
While Hurts’ running has been mostly off the table the last two weeks, Sanders was able to surpass the quarterback as the leader of the team in rushing with 754 yards to Hurts’ 740.
The duo is a reason the Eagles have led the NFL in rushing, with more than 163 yards per game, for the past couple months.
So, having Hurts back and threatening to run again would certainly be beneficial.
As it is, the Pro Bowl alternate showed he can win without his legs. Not only win, but post passer ratings above 100, which he did the past two games.
“With how he played having two quarterback ratings over 100 and not doing it a lot with his legs, I think it says a lot about his development and what he's done,” said Sirianni. “But no surprise there. Jalen works like crazy to get better and he's just getting better each week.
“You're going to have some down games here and there. I know he'll always want that first Giants game back, but these last two games have been really good for him.”
What Sirianni said he liked, too, was the quarterback’s resiliency.
He didn’t get off to good starts in either of the last two wins, but he kept on doing what he needed in order to turn things around, despite not only the pressure of trying to keep the Eagles afloat in the playoff chase but with quick-to-boo home crowds.
RELATED: About Booing with a True Confession - Sports Illustrated
After watching the tape of the Giants win, Sirianni he didn’t think Hurts played as bad as it looked in the first half.
Hurts was just 3-for-10 with 11 yards in the first quarter, with a couple of passes batted down at the line of scrimmage, a fumble that Dallas Goedert recovered, and an interception that was overturned on replay.
The second-quarter numbers looked like this: 4-for-7 with 83 yards.
His second half looked like this: 10-for-12 with 105 yards and two touchdowns.
He ended 17-for-29 with 199 yards and a passer rating of 102.5
Against Washington, he was 20-for-26 with 296 yards and a PR of 110.4.
“He's able to fight through and stay in the moment,” said Sirianni. “…having those things that happened early on in the game with the football where we were a little careless with the football, and then put that out and being able to move on, and he did the same thing in the Washington game.
“Again, we can't have that situation, but he has rebounded nicely. And then it goes back to his last game before these two games, these two 100 quarterback ratings plus, the last two games were his worst games, right? We all know that.
“The game he played against the Giants was his worst game of the year and see how he's rebounded from that. So, it speaks so much. The guy has great character, great football character. Just what you want out your quarterback and one of your leaders.”
MORE: Another How-Did-He-Catch-That Moment for DeVonta Smith
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
