Jalen Hurts will walk into Lambeau Field on Monday night as the reigning Super Bowl MVP. He’ll arrive for a primetime NFC fight between the Eagles and Packers as the franchise quarterback of one of the best teams in the NFL.
It’s safe to say quite a bit has changed since the last time Philadelphia played in Green Bay.
On Dec. 6, 2020, the Eagles took a Lambeau leap of their own. In the middle of a lost game in a lost season, they benched Carson Wentz and threw their rookie backup into the fire.
It turned out to be a pivotal move, one that altered the course of the franchise forever — and one that could have Hurts feeling “a little nostalgic” on Monday night.
“When you get an opportunity like that,” Hurts said last week, “you don’t want to look back.”
And to his credit, Hurts hasn’t. Ever since that leap of faith, Hurts has won 52 regular-season games. He’s gone 6-3 in the postseason. He’s reached two Super Bowls, played spectacularly in both and won it all nine months ago in Super Bowl LIX.
Going into “Monday Night Football,” Hurts and the Eagles are 6-2, poised for another NFC East crown and among the favorites yet again to win the Super Bowl. But the Eagles’ last trip to Lambeau came under starkly different circumstances.
Asked what he recalled from that game, Hurts smiled: “No one was there.” Yes, that was during the COVID pandemic, when stands were empty and TV broadcasts pumped in crowd noise.
Jalen Hurts
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts shake hands after an NFL game on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis.AP Photo/Mike Roemer
Things were different for football reasons, too. Hurts was drafted 226 days earlier. Wentz, the former No. 2 overall pick and one-time MVP contender, was the franchise QB. But his hold on the starting job was shaky at best. And so was the Eagles’ season to that point.
The Birds were 3-7-1 and lost three straight coming out of a bye week. Then, they fell in a 20-3 hole to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. They were in desperate need of a spark.
So, then-head coach Doug Pederson made the call. With 7:39 left in the third quarter, he benched Wentz and inserted Hurts, hoping for something to change.
Pederson got the jolt and Hurts, who had 33 snaps in the previous 11 games, got the chance they each yearned for. Hurts’ first completion went for a 34-yard gain. He threw his first career touchdown pass, a 32-yard strike to Greg Ward on a fourth-and-18. The Eagles trailed by only seven points until a 77-yard run by Aaron Jones iced it with two minutes to go.
“I remember not winning the game. We should have won the game,” Hurts said. “... Hopefully it can be different this time.”
Of course, this time the Eagles are in a far better place than they were five years ago. Including playoffs, Hurts has won 20 of his last 22 games. He’s thrown for 4,548 yards, 34 touchdowns and three interceptions while adding 22 rushing touchdowns in that stretch.
Hurts knew back then — even before his first extended action at Lambeau Field — that he would reach the level that he’s at now.
“I knew that from practice,” Hurts said. “Just really putting the work in and staying patient for when my opportunity came, and it came.”
Hurts capitalized on that opportunity in Green Bay — and he’s capitalized ever since.
“I’m fortunate, we’re all fortunate to have done a lot of winning since that point. So I think that is a key point for my career as it’s gone,” Hurts said. “I’m appreciative of that and the opportunity that Coach Doug and that staff gave me to go out there and kind of start a little era.”
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