Jalen Hurts Shakes off Two Interceptions, Makes Another Case to be MVP
CHICAGO - The sheep were no doubt bleating at halftime.
“Oh look, Jalen Hurts threw two interceptions, no way he can be the MVP,” they probably whimpered.
Maybe they were still caterwauling afterward when Hurts left Soldier Field without throwing a touchdown pass.
“He isn’t a traditional quarterback if he isn’t throwing touchdowns, and his passer rating was a season-low 64.6, no way he can be the MVP,” the sheep maybe whined.
If anything, what Hurts did in beating the Bears 25-20 in what were meat-locker conditions on Sunday further cemented his MVP status.
First of all, it should be noted he doesn’t care about winning the MVP.
“I just want to win,” he said in the aftermath of yet another Eagles victory, this one their 13th to tie for the most wins in team history with the 2004 and 2017 teams with three games still left.
Second of all, it is Hurts who called his critics sheep two weeks ago, so, really, he couldn’t care less about them, either.
Are you listening Micah Parsons, how about you Chris Simms?
“I know this is a time where this team, everybody is trying to break it up or see how can they -everybody waiting to see you fail,” he said. “And I think we just want to continue to stay together and (win). And I know that's what's important to us. We want to win. We want to find ways to win.”
Hurts did that, and isn’t winning valuable?
Every NFL team has at least three losses this season. Not the Eagles. They have one. ONE.
And if Hurts isn’t a big reason for that, then MVP voters should disqualify themselves.
When all was said and done, Hurts put those two picks behind.
He ran for three touchdowns and has now accounted for 35 total TDs – 22 passing and 13 running. The 35 touchdowns are tied with Randall Cunningham in 1990 for the team’s single-season record.
His first touchdown was a checkdown on third down, and it was the perfect check as he coasted in untouched from 22 yards with 43 seconds in the second quarter to give the Eagles a 10-6 lead at halftime.
“We try and go out there and trust our vision and trust what we see,” he said. “They gave us a feasible look to make the play we made. It was a big-time play in the game, gave us some momentum going into the half.”
He completed 22 passes for 315 yards. That’s 14.3 yards per completion.
He had completions of 68 yards, 45, 38, and 29.
His 68-yarder to A.J. Brown came on third-and-six and put the Eagles at the Bears' 3 with 5:18 to play and Philadelphia still clinging to a 17-13 lead.
“I’ve known that guy so long, I feel like he faced tougher stuff in his life than going out there and throwing two picks,” said Brown. “When he does stuff like that, I think that’s simple from what I see from him. He’s a tough guy. He’s not going to let bad times humble him.”
On a day that wasn’t made for throwing, with gusty winds and temperatures so cold that Hurts said his hands were numb, he lofted enough nice throws deep to put two receivers over 100 yards – Brown with a career-high 189 and DeVonta Smith with 126.
Hurts did all this while absorbing several molar-rattling hits but getting up each time. Except once, when he laid on his back after one particularly jarring tackle.
“Wasn’t the first time I was slow getting up, it won’t be the last,” he said matter-of-factly when asked about it. “They play a really physical game, and it was real cold, too. Happy we were able to find a win in the end, find a way.”
Yes, the cold.
Hurts tried a glove on his throwing hand during warmups but threw the ball poorly with it on. So, he took it off.
Of course, there will be more cold games in January when the Eagles open the playoffs, most likely as the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
Then what, Hurts was asked.
“It ain’t Chicago,” he said, referring to the well-below-freezing temperatures that feel even colder with the wind that rolls in from Lake Michigan right across the street from Solider Field.
He did say he will have to prepare a little earlier before kickoff to get used to the cold.
You know Hurts will do whatever it takes to win because that is what he really cares about – not being the MVP, even though he deserves it.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
