Jalen Hurts Excels in Short Stint vs. Steelers

PHILADELPHIA - An uneven training camp has many questioning whether Jalen Hurts is ready to take over the Philadelphia Eagles offense and while Thursday night's 24-16 preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers didn't exactly offer any definitive answers there was far more good than bad during the two series Hurts played.

The numbers - 3-for-7 for 54 yards and a 69.9 passer rating - hardly jumped out at you but the second-year quarterback was victimized by two drops, the first a difficult attempt at a catch by Jalen Reagor but a reception the 2020 first-round pick should have made and the other, an uncharacteristic miscue by Zach Ertz that isn't likely to be repeated too often.

The Ertz drop would have been a first down near the 20-yard line and kept the drive alive. Ss it was, the Eagles settled for a Jake Elliott 47-yard field goal and 3-0 lead.

"I was talking to a couple of the coaches after and it felt like we dropped - we had some drops on third down and they weren't routine catches, right. But they're definitely the type of catches we anticipate our guys making," head coach Nick Sirianni said.

Hurts also just missed emerging speedster Quez Watkins on what could have been a 98-yard touchdown added to the 79-yard bubble screen Watkins later took to the house after Joe Flacco entered the game.

“I’d like to have a 98-yard touchdown. Simple as that," Hurts said. "One thing I was thinking about, though, as I walked up here was [Watkins] isn’t a secret anymore. So, that’s unfortunate."

Hurts went on to explain how close the Eagles were to the big play.

"In a situation like that the worst thing you can do is take a safety," the QB1 said. "So I wanted to get the ball up, get it up and down. ... We'll hit it. We’ll hit it.”

Watkins' overall play has impressed Hurts and the Southern Miss. product is quickly becoming a playmaker for both Hurts and Flacco with the second team.

"That’s not the first time I’ve seen [Watkins] take one of those screens," Hurts said. "He’s, like, two-for-two on those screens in his career. I think he’s a great player. He knows what I think of him and he could be a really good player for us. This game is no representation of what he’s been doing and the progress he’s made from last year. [From when] we both got here until now.”

Watkins has a similar feeling as the two second-year players grow together.

"With him being the guy he is, the dude he is, and always trying to be a perfectionist, it kind of just built our relationship," Watkins said. "Built everybody’s relationship and just keeps us moving forward.”

When Hurts exited, the Eagles were up 3-0 and clearly outplaying Pittsburgh's best on the night which didn't include Ben Roethlisberger or defensive star T.J. Watt.

"I mean, I want to come on the field and complete every pass, score touchdowns every time I touch the field," Hurts said. "The competitor in me is like, ‘damn.’ But I think it was a good day. I think it was, you know, we have to be better on third down, for sure. But coming out there, for the most part, executing. There’s a lot to learn from that, always.”

Maybe the best sign of all was that the offense proved to be a smooth unit with the battery of Sirianni calling the plays and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen being the conduit in Hurts' ear.

"It was smooth, especially being out there with a new set of coaches," said Hurts. "I always talk about having a new situation. Maybe you have new experiences that come along with that. It was good to get on the grass, get on the field with them, get that coaching from them and talk about what we saw on the field. [There’s] definitely a lot of stuff we can learn from today.”

John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and 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

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