PHILADELPHIA — The debate about Jalen Hurts was supposed to be over.
The Eagles quarterback put “The Dagger” in it late in the third quarter of Super Bowl LIX when former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore dialed up a deep call and Hurts launched a perfect pass to DeVonta Smith for a 46-yard touchdown.
Game over.
Before that throw, the Kansas City Chiefs were filmed on their sideline trying to convince themselves that they could still win a game that they were never in.
Before that game, Hurts was just the other quarterback playing in New Orleans that week, a guy blessed with a great team but not nearly the same talent as Patrick Mahomes.
But in that game, it was Hurts who made all the big plays, completing 77.3% of his passes for two touchdowns while time and time again burning the Chiefs’ defense with his legs.
He was the superstar quarterback and the Super Bowl MVP who so many doubted he could ever become.
Hurts had been so good during the Eagles’ playoff run that it was easy to believe his career was about to be launched into another stratosphere.
Instead, we are back to the debate with some new questions added to the list by the doubters.
_Is Hurts one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL?
_How much is he responsible for the offensive issues that have the Eagles ranked 30th in the league in that department?
_Is it his fault the offense is slow in getting to the line of scrimmage, leaving little time on the play clock?
_Is he too cautious with the football?
_Can the Eagles possibly win another Super Bowl with this guy?
Let’s start with the last of those questions first. Of course the Eagles can still win a Super Bowl with Hurts at quarterback. They are 4-1, which is tied with six other teams for the best record in the NFL and they have three winnable games in front of them before their Week 9 bye.
One of Hurts’ best qualities is that he acknowledges when things aren’t going right and he works to improve upon them. He was asked Tuesday about his inability to connect on a deep pass with A.J. Brown during the fourth quarter of the Eagles’ loss Sunday to Denver.
“I think it’s bigger than just one play in the game,” Hurts said. “One play in the game doesn’t define the entire game. I think about this way: In the end we had the ball as an offense and we had a chance to go win the game and we didn’t. Being a quarterback, I take that personally. I had the ball in the hands and I didn’t get it done. We didn’t get it done. It gives us an opportunity to improve and see how we can grow going forward.”
Hurts is correct about the one failed pass connection that traveled more than 40 yards in the air. Next Gen Stats gives those plays between a 20 to 30 percent chance of being completed.
It was easily forgotten that a false start penalty on Brown put the Eagles in a first-and-15 situation to start that drive or that Brown slowed up some on the play.
The Eagles’ next offensive series again started behind the chains when a holding penalty on Brett Toth negated a seven-yard run on first down by Saquon Barkley, leaving offense in a first-and-20 scenario and it became the second of three straight three-and-out series.
The third one occurred after an illegal man downfield penalty on Tyler Steen negated an eight-yard first-down catch in the flat to Smith. The Eagles appeared to recover from that penalty when Smith caught a 30-yard pass on a fourth-and-four play, but that was negated by an illegal motion penalty on Barkley, resulting in a fourth straight punt.
Hurts took blame for the Steen penalty, saying “I could have very easily handed the ball off and I threw the bubble (screen).” He said the illegal motion penalty was the result of not getting the play off faster. He also took blame for that, saying “when you have a motion tagged to a play, I put that towards operation as a unit and that starts with me. So I own that. I can play smarter in that and make it work given what we’re doing.”
The quarterback revisited the missed opportunities Tuesday.
“We’re looking at controlling the things that we can,” he said. “We need to master the ordinary. Little things have gotten us.”
There were a bunch of little things in the fourth quarter that could have changed the outcome and allowed the Eagles to go into Week 6 as the NFL’s only unbeaten team.
But it’s impossible to ignore that Hurts has also been brilliant in spurts. He could not have played any better than he did in the first half against the Bucs or the second half against the Rams. He was really good in the first half against the Broncos and Cowboys, too.
Yes, the Eagles have the league’s 30th-ranked offense and Hurts would be the first to admit that he deserves some of the blame. But the fact that the Eagles, one year after setting a franchise record for rushing yards, are 25th in rushing yards and 29th in yards per carry should be a far greater concern.
Hurts’ numbers through five games aren’t all that much different than his four previous seasons as the team’s starting QB. His 889 passing yards are the fewest he has thrown for at this point in a season, but his seven TD passes and 11 total TDs are the most. His 101.3 passer rating is the highest of his career after five games and is 12th in the league. His ESPN QBR of 64.1 is 13th in the league.
His 182 rushing yards are fourth most in the league among QBs and his four rushing TDs are the most.
It’s fair to say that Hurts has not taken his game to another level so far this season, but unfair to think he has slipped at all. He needs to be better and so does the Eagles’ entire offense. It was about this time last season that Hurts, Barkley and the entire offense went into a higher gear and the result was a Super Bowl title.
That scenario remains well within the realm of possibility.
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