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PHILADELPHIA -- Jalen Hurts logged onto Zoom for a production meeting with Tom Brady on Saturday after the Philadelphia Eagles' walkthrough. Chatting on a computer screen, the two Super Bowl MVPs discussed quarterbacking. Some of the conversation focused on the parts of the position that require no special talent: ensuring the team is in the right call with the right protection on a given play, or the type of mental requirements before the ball is even in his hands.
Those things are especially important in the first game with a new offensive coordinator and system. But there are moments when it doesn't matter whether Hurts is under center or the receiver is in motion or what new concepts were implemented this summer. There are moments when the ball is in his hands and it's up to him to take over.
"Yeah," Hurts said after taking a few seconds to consider whether it's true. "But it's not something that's forced."
That's what occurred in the Eagles' 24-22 season-opening win over the Washington Commanders. Hurts finished 14 of 25 for 203 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 46 yards. It was an uneven afternoon for the offense, which went three-and-out five times and failed to cross midfield on seven of their first nine drives. Yet the Eagles also totaled 318 yards and 6 yards per play, and they had five plays of 20-plus yards.
Most important, they won their sixth consecutive season opener in the Hurts/Nick Sirianni era and there were enough Hurts highlights to leave Eagles fans encouraged about what's ahead.
For all the discussion about Hurts acclimating to this new offense and adding elements to his game that were not featured in previous systems, there were times when he leaned into areas in which he's always excelled. He pinpointed a deep ball. He improvised with his legs. He made winning plays when they were needed.
"It's just about meeting the moment when your opportunity comes," Hurts said.
The most obvious example came in the fourth quarter. Washington had just narrowed the Eagles' lead to 17-16, and the Eagles were backed up into a third-and-18.
"We should never be in … third-and-18," Hurts said.
Hurts dropped back, hopped twice in the pocket and then tucked the ball and ran through a seam in the middle of the field for a 22-yard gain. On the broadcast, it was noted that Hurts figured he would "just do it myself." It looked that way.
It was a moment when Hurts didn't need to follow the script. He wrote his own.
"That's probably the play of the game right there," tight end Dallas Goedert said.
Two plays later, Goedert caught his second touchdown of the game. Goedert said Hurts killed the play late in the play clock, a testament to what Hurts observed before the snap that echoed part of his Saturday conversation with Brady. The Eagles took the eight-point lead they needed to win the game. It wouldn't have happened without the scramble.
"It's the beauty of having Jalen Hurts as your QB," offensive tackle Jordan Mailata said. "He can make plays when plays are there."
Or when the plays aren't there.
The takeaway from Hurts' performance was less about the consistent, down-to-down quarterbacking and more about the high-water marks. Hurts has been exceptional with the deep ball throughout his career. In the first half, he connected with Dontayvion Wicks on a 64-yard pass deep down the right sideline on a play that was apparently supposed to be a clearout route for the new receiver. Hurts recognized the matchup and placed the ball in a spot for Wicks to make a play.
"Jalen has worked extremely hard at that portion of his game," Sirianni said. "He really can throw. He just puts the ball on the money in those situations, which helps you be explosive."
Later in that drive, the Eagles scored their first touchdown when backed up on a third-and-goal at the 17. They ran a play that makes fans shudder: A version of the "four verts" that was the ill-fated final play in the playoffs last season, albeit against different coverage. This time, Hurts fit the ball into a tight window to Goedert at the perfect moment.
"Incredible job by Jalen, putting it high in the back of the end zone," Goedert said. "Splitting like the red sea."
Those highlights overshadowed the stalled drives, which marked much of offensive coordinator Sean Mannion's debut. Part of the problem was ineffectiveness on first down that forced the Eagles to play behind the sticks. Their average distance to a first down on second down was 9.9 yards. Only the Miami Dolphins had a longer way to go among teams that have played in Week 1. The Eagles are tied for the highest three-and-out percentage in the NFL this weekend thus far. But they also did not turn the ball over, and 9.4 percent of their plays resulted in gains of 20-plus yards -- a better percentage than all but one game last season.
"I thought he did a good job of getting the play in. The operation's the first thing you always look at," Sirianni said of Mannion. "I thought we were pretty balanced in our situations of the way we kind of break it down. I thought we were able to be explosive. We would've liked to finish the third one in the red zone because those are always big, but we were two-for-three in the red zone. Even in some tough situations, we got behind the sticks in the red zone on both of our first two scores, and I thought he did a good job calling it on that one to try to get us back."
There's a survive-and-advance element to season openers. The Commanders had a first-time coordinator and new personnel. Teams are trying to learn themselves, not to mention their opponents. The blocking must improve. The run game must avoid negative plays. There were also misfired passes by Hurts.
Knowing this, you seek what sticks. That's why Hurts' performance should not be dismissed. The two big scrambles (23 yards and 14 yards), the deep ball to Wicks (as well as a fadeaway touchdown pass to him), the tight-window passes to Goedert and DeVonta Smith are all moments that can carry over. Further, they were evidence of times when Hurts can take over the game when the moment calls for it. It's happened before with Hurts. It will happen again.
Hurts is now the third quarterback since 1950 to win his first six season openers, joining Hall of Famers Roger Staubach and Johnny Unitas. Sirianni reviewed those wins this week in search of trends. He noticed that Hurts has made plays with his legs in those games, too. In fact, Hurts averages 55 rushing yards per game in season openers -- nearly 14 yards more per game than his average in all other weeks.
"I think one of the things that makes Jalen such a special quarterback," Sirianni said, "is that he can do it through the air. He can do it running the show. He can do it with his legs when he needs to make plays, and obviously, that was a big play, and you need those."
It's a good reminder about the quarterback who once called him a "triple-threat." There's so much to the position that he discussed with Brady that only quarterbacks can understand. There are parts of his game under scrutiny in the new offense. But there are times when the Eagles must trust that their franchise quarterback will make a play in ways that defy explanation, that somebody who defines himself by winning will make the winning plays.
"It's just playing ball," Hurts said while considering more details before smiling and nodding his head. "Going out there and playing ball, yeah."