by Jalen Hurts masters unique role as Eagles continue to win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Nick Sirianni didn’t wait for someone to ask him about Jalen Hurts.
He answered the question before it was asked.
In the box score, Hurts’ numbers look pedestrian. He completed 11 of 19 passes in Baltimore on Sunday for 118 yards with one touchdown, no turnovers and no completions for 17 yards. He also ran four first downs – 3rd-the most this year against the Ravens (behind Najee Harris and Saquon Barkley).
In the second half, he was 2-for-5 for 14 yards.
They may not be MVP numbers or Pro Bowl numbers, but they are winning numbers.
Hurts is now 44-19 in his career. Only nine quarterbacks in NFL history have won more games in their first 63 starts.
“I can’t say enough good things about the way Jalen played in this football game, even though the stat sheet won’t reflect it,” Sirianni said after the Eagles beat the Ravens in Baltimore for their eighth consecutive victory.
“He was panicking. He was explaining how we managed the game in the fourth quarter. He was okay with the shopping we did. He was present in the hustles he made. He was present in the checks he carried out. He was present in the third conversions that we managed and in the passes that he completed.
“This guy is a winner. He continues to play good football throughout our streak.
It’s been a pretty unusual stretch for Hurts, who hasn’t posted any gaudy numbers at any point during this eight-game winning streak, but has played virtually error-free football throughout.
Since Week 5, when the Eagles returned from their bye and started this streak, Hurts has completed 69 percent of his passes, thrown 10 touchdowns to one interception and rushed for 10 touchdowns, and his passer rating of 114.1 during this period is 4.th-the highest in the league.
And that’s an average of 15 completions, 21 pass attempts and 196 yards per game.
Game manager? Of course. But that’s not a bad thing.
“I just think it’s a term,” Hurts said. “Everyone can be called that on different days, but the reality is that everyone in a position is asked to manage a game to some extent. So it’s the quarterback’s job to go out there and do what he’s asked to do: execute, play clean football and make the plays that are called.
And Hurts did that.
The last quarterback to win eight straight starts without throwing 30 passes in any of those games? Ironically, it was Lamar Jackson in the middle eight games of a 10-game winning streak in 2019.
Sirianni said he was particularly impressed with Hurts’ work in the fourth quarter that ran the clock from 6:11 to 1:07 and resulted in a Jake Elliott field goal that gave the Eagles a lead 24-12.
“You can’t say enough good things about how Jalen handled those four minutes,” Sirianni said. “You’ll say, ‘Well, game manager,’ that’s all. BS Jalen played an awesome game. His stats will say, “We didn’t throw many.” » We were 11 out of 19. He had 118 yards.
“But this guy ran errands when he needed to.” He made good checks. He made it through the game in four minutes to run down the clock and use up as much time as possible.
In the second half of those eight games, he threw just 58 passes, 35th-the most in the league over that span, which is hilarious considering there are only 32 teams.
But he completed 40 of those 58 passes for 669 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions and a passer rating of 130.6 – the highest in the NFL since Week 5.
In the fourth quarter of eight straight wins, he is 17 of 21 for 279 yards, two TDs, no INTs and a passer rating of 150.5. With eight first downs rushing and three touchdowns.
Yes, he has thrown four incomplete passes in the fourth quarter since Week 5.
These numbers are staggering.
He may not be asked to do many things, but what he is asked to do, he does at an extremely high level.
“We haven’t added much in the fourth quarter over the last month and a half of the season,” Sirianni said. “Jalen’s stats won’t say that, but Jalen deserves – like Saquon deserves – to be (in) MVP consideration. Jalen Hurts deserves to be considered for MVP because of how clean his football game is.
“Look at his quarterback rating over the last month and a half of the season. Jalen Hurts is a winner, he plays great football. He may not have the stats, but that’s because his team wins in the fourth quarter. He fails to establish these statistics.
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