Eagles Week 2 Recap: Jalen Hurts Is Your Team MVP
The Eagles beat the Titans, just like most of us thought. It took some late-game heroics, unlike what most of us thought.
While things didn’t go the way many of us fans wanted, I’m not going to complain about a win. This win also falls directly on Jalen Hurts’ shoulders.
We had a weird week around the NFL, so a win feels better. Can’t say many people expected teams like the Raiders, Cardinals, Browns, and Saints to win. This is why you should never take a win for granted in the NFL. A lot of injuries showed up, too. We saw our own Dallas Goedert and Saquon Barkley, but also starting QBs like Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Jaxson Dart. By the way, if I was ever seriously injured playing football, I’m going thumbs down.
Last week I talked about your average Eagles fan, Carl. Losing to the Titans would be Carl’s doomsday scenario. Even an average NFL fan knows the team that won a Super Bowl two years ago shouldn’t lose to a team with only six wins in the last two years. Luckily for our dear friend Carl, his quarterback is Jalen Hurts.
Let’s get the detractors’ stance out of the way. Jalen Hurts did not play a perfect game. Turns out when you play a game with people, human error can pop up. He had two picks, though the second was more due to the pressure Hurts faced, which took something off the throw.
The first was more troubling, but Hurts responded beautifully with a 6+ minute drive that ended in a touchdown run by Tank Bigsby.
The game conditions weren’t doing the players any favors either. We had the reverse of the big thermometer in cold-weather situations with the heat. The field reached up to 157 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cleats were literally melting on the field. It did lead to this funny video that looks like the cleat got stung by a jellyfish.
Still, none of that matters to Jalen, and after about three hours in those conditions, he stepped up for an incredible drive.
Speaking of that game-winning drive, there’s something I haven’t seen pointed out. Jalen Hurts moved the ball down the field strictly using his arm talent. Okay, if you look deeper, the receivers didn’t generate many extra yards after the catch. This was simply Jalen working his way downfield in a must-score situation.
He also spread the ball out, completing passes to three different receivers on his six completions.
Turns out the quarterback can play better if they aren’t forcing the ball to a receiver; hypothetically, of course.
That’s what you want out of your quarterback. When the pressure is on, big players step up. Jalen Hurts is already putting together quite the year even if the stats aren’t gaudy.
He’s driven two game-winning drives. The running game and offensive line are still figuring it out.
Luckily, they’ve been able to lean on Hurts, despite the media saying it’s been the reverse. When you look at the MVP acronym, it stands for Most Valuable Player. If you look at who has been the most valuable player on the Eagles, it’s Jalen Hurts.
I do want to give a quick shoutout to the other most-important Jalen, Carter.
If he doesn’t get that sack in the red zone against Cam Ward, the Titans could’ve scored a touchdown, which changes the situation entirely.
I also want to shout out Zach Ertz, who just re-signed. He’s only 10 receptions away from tying the all-time record, so 11 to pass him. Also a quick shoutout to DeVonta Smith, who’s going to make all of those numbers irrelevant in no time.
The Eagles’ next game is against the Chicago Bears. As I mentioned earlier, their quarterback is hurt. Now how hurt is he? That’s been subject to scrutiny, given the injury and how it was handled. Will Caleb Williams play this week? I doubt it. He was lucky enough to avoid a major injury, it seems. Will Tyson Bagent play? Also looks unlikely.
That said, I’m still expecting a win for the Eagles. With Jalen Hurts, anything seems possible for this team right now. I truly believe he’ll get national MVP attention if he keeps this up.
Next up: take down the Chicago Bears. I’m so confident, in fact, that I’m running back the bet from last year.
Should the Eagles lose to a backup-led Chicago Bears, I will put my finger in a mousetrap.
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