Nick Sirianni explains Jalen Hurts' biggest strength many fans ignore about Eagles quarterback and was key for Super Bowl win
Jalen Hurts is used to being underrated. Now a Super Bowl MVP, perhaps that changes for the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback. Doubters will find a way to keep criticizing his play but the truth is he's got what it takes to win and he's proven it. Simply put, he's a dangerous dual-threat that forces defenses to account […]
Jalen Hurts is used to being underrated. Now a Super Bowl MVP, perhaps that changes for the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback. Doubters will find a way to keep criticizing his play but the truth is he's got what it takes to win and he's proven it.
Simply put, he's a dangerous dual-threat that forces defenses to account for him every week in the run game. Additionally, he has a good arm to take deep shots to his receivers when the opportunity comes up. And when the stage has been the brightest, he's given the Eagles his finest quarterbacking.
But what separates him from the pack is often ignored and overlooked by fans: How he approaches the position from a mental standpoint. Hurts' savviness and pre-snap work was at full display on Sunday's win over the Kansas City Chiefs, when he made multiple checks at the line of scrimmage to adjust to Steve Spagnuolo's defense.
One of those moments was caught by the replay crew at FOX.
Early in the second quarter of Super Bowl LIX, the Eagles faced third and seven at their own 46-yard line. Before the snap, Hurts made a hand signal to A.J. Brown, presumably telling him to run a go route as he was one-on-one against Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie. The drive resulted in a successful field goal a few plays later.
Though cameras zoomed in for that one, it isn't the only time Hurts made a check at the line of scrimmage. But it's a perfect example of how the little things go a long way.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about Hurts' checks on Monday morning and he provided some insight into how the offense operates.
"Sometimes it's, you have a check, and it's play to play," Sirianni told reporters. "Sometimes, it's this play versus this look, and this play versus that look. Sometimes it's, 'Hey, Jalen, if you get this look, check to this play.' Sometimes it's something that he's feeling in the moment that he's checked to in the past that he gets to sometimes, there's a lot of different things for it, but it all takes the preparation that Jalen (goes through), we can prepare as coaches all we want and try to put them in position succeed. But then it comes down to him recognizing the look from his film study all week and all two weeks, in this case, and getting to the right play."
One thing is to win the chess match on a regular season Sunday. But Hurts did so with the Lombardi Trophy on the line and against one of the top defensive wizards in the NFL. Spagnuolo is a master at confusing quarterbacks left and right but at Super Bowl LIX, he lost the match to Hurts.
"(Hurst) did an unbelievable job of that yesterday, multiple occasions, on all the different things that I just said, every different type of check that we can have, man," Sirianni added. "He was on top of it, that's because the way he prepares and his football IQ and everything that goes involved in that he sees the game outstandingly, and can help us getting it out of place on a consistent basis."
Hurts totaled 293 yards of offense and three touchdowns to win Super Bowl MVP. But his work at the line of scrimmage, though not on the stat line, was crucial in getting the franchise its second ring in history.
Patrick Mahomes admits Eagles forced him into a corner and it fueled one of the most dominant Super Bowl wins ever
The one thing about Patrick Mahomes' game is the dude is never out of a play, no matter how dire things can look in the moment. His ability to consistently make plays when things break down are one of the several traits that make him so special. Just when a defense thinks it has him, […]
