A handful of words could have sparked the firestorm Jalen Hurts set off this week. Spotlighting the effort, pride or integrity he expects from his team would have done the trick. The often-philosophical Philadelphia Eagles quarterback instead discussed their commitment.
“We’ve been talking about execution all year,” Hurts said Monday night after a 20-17 deficit to the Seattle Seahawks marked the Eagles’ third straight loss. “Being on the same page. We didn’t execute. “I don’t think we were all committed enough.” He’d again say minutes later that turning around the Eagles’ season “starts with the little things, how committed we are to doing what we’re doing.”
Then, Hurts added the overlooked part of his Monday remarks that became the rallying cry of his Thursday news conference: “That starts with me.” Context and nuance are unpopular in much of society today, so the NFL world ran with Hurts’ use of a term that challenges not ability but willingness. Many seized on his use of the plural “we,” some even seeming to interpret it as a subject that did not include himself.
Talking heads wonder: Was the always-intentional Hurts sending a public message to his team? Was he shifting blame from himself and doubling down when he declined to elaborate what he meant by “commitment”? “I don’t have a dictionary on me now,” Hurts said when asked to expound. “Excuse me. I don’t know how else to say that.” The out-of-character response (from a player whose physical illness had cast in doubt his availability and triggered a separate flight from teammates, mind you) fueled flames even more.
And yet: Just before Hurts made his initial remark that his 10-4 team needed to consider its commitment, he had said “I didn’t do my job good enough.” Let’s read that one more time: “I didn’t do my job good enough.” The No. 1 subject of Hurts’ critique, following a two-interception and 40.1 passer rating night, was always Jalen Hurts. (Hurts did rush for 82 yards and two touchdowns to offset his 143 yards and zero scores passing.) Still, if questions about Hurts’ public messaging lingered after the Eagles’ flight east, he quieted them Thursday.
As Eagles hit skid, Hurts lands on his public message
Hurts’ message wasn’t new three days later, but it was much more heavily emphasized. That “starts with me” phrase he’d dropped in Seattle? Hurts repeated those exact words not once but six times when meeting with reporters Thursday ahead of the Eagles’ Christmas Day game against the New York Giants. Other no-doubt-intentionally-repeated messages included Hurts taking “ownership” and setting “the tone” and “the temperature.”
Practice, execution and chemistry must improve to lift the Eagles over not only the Giants (twice) and Arizona Cardinals whom they face to close the regular season, but also the playoff opponents that await in a season when Philadelphia has its eyes on defending an NFC title and this time triumphing in the Super Bowl.
The Eagles arguably need even more from Hurts this season, as the team’s defense is in disarray. A year after the Eagles ranked third in defensive DVOA, second in yards allowed and eighth in points allowed, the unit has plummeted to 23rd in defensive DVOA, 22nd in yards allowed and 26th in points allowed.
Philadelphia demoted Sean Desai from defensive coordinator last week, replacing him with in-house consultant Matt Patricia. Even with Patricia’s prior experience as coordinator and head coach, the move was highly unusual for a 10-win team to make in December. It also didn’t save the Eagles from ceding a 92-yard game-winning drive to Seattle backup QB Drew Lock.
Which is why the Eagles need Hurts to step up. He hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass either of the past two games and threw just one in a 42-19 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He knows his turnovers — 12 interceptions in 14 games compared to six in 15 last year — need to dissipate. So while he explained them and his eight fumbles Thursday, he didn’t stop at a description of issues. He acknowledged a route to the solution.
“I think some of them have been unfortunate, I think some of them have been unrhythmic, bad decisions,” Hurts said. “Ball security, obviously, is coming to an issue as a carrier for all of us starting with me. “So I take ownership for all of that. It starts with me. Put it on me.” Then he reverted to that plural: “We’ll be fine.”
Eagles’ Super Bowl hopes rely on Hurts more this year than last
There’s ample reason to believe the Eagles, their offense and Hurts will be just fine, especially closing the regular season against opponents whose records currently sit at 5-9 and 3-11, respectively. Philadelphia’s defense poses more reason for concern than its offense, which held up against strong opponents in wins over the Miami Dolphins, Cowboys (at home), Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
But as a franchise quarterback who received a massive raise in the spring, Hurts knows that alone is not his responsibility. He’s no longer the second-round draft pick outplaying his contract to MVP-candidate levels. He’s a quarterback who Philadelphia needs to win because of, not just with, especially when the team’s growing pains from significant defensive turnover linger.
With all of that (gasp!) context, let’s let Hurts explain himself more fully. What was his mindset Monday night when he employed the dreaded “commitment” word? “My mind was in a place of really just trying to challenge myself,” Hurts told reporters Thursday. “It all starts with me. So when I say ‘we,’ I mean ‘me,’ because I’m the point guard out there who makes everything go, the guy everyone trusts to set the pace.
“There’s a lot to learn from and I know all of that starts with me. All of that starts with me. That’s something that I own. That’s something that I take responsibility in and I’ve never shied away from. I embrace that challenge [that’s] placed upon myself and my teammates.”
Hurts emphasized that throwing teammates under the bus is not something he enjoys and certainly not something that brings him comfort, his preferred state instead one where he sets a high standard for himself publicly and embraces any consequences that result. “One thing about leadership is you never want to tell someone else to do something you’re not going to do,” Hurts said. “So I take ownership. I try to put the hours in and do the little things that need to be done.”
Veteran defensive end Brandon Graham called the “things that was said” a “bunch of miscommunication.” “As long as we clear it up and talk with each other, I feel like that’s always the best,” Graham said. “Everybody’s heart is in the right place to want to get it right.” Head coach Nick Sirianni agreed, hinting that sometimes losing spurs a team to “grow under the surface, even when you’re not growing out in public.”
With the concerns seemingly aired out, Hurts’ Thursday media conference reverted to his trademark philosophical tint and a nod to the Giants game in which the Eagles are 13.5-point favorites, per BetMGM. This, too, Hurts believes, shall pass. “This is something we’re going through, not something we’re stuck in,” he said. “There’s beauty in all of this. And I embrace every ounce of it.”
