The Philadelphia Eagles‘ 18-game win streak in games that Jalen Hurts started and finished over the last two seasons might have been filled with too much sunshine and roses for the star quarterback.
Hurts and the Eagles appear to have gotten back on track following a recent skid that saw them lose two straight games. After defeating the Minnesota Vikings last week, the Eagles picked up their second straight victory by picking up a decisive 38-20 win over the New York Giants on Sunday.
Now heading into the bye week at 6-2, some of the concerns about the Eagles’ offense might start to quell. But Hurts didn’t mind playing through adversity over the last few weeks. In fact, he relished it.
“I like it that way,” Hurts told Brady with a smile when asked about how Sunday’s performance might quiet the Eagles’ top naysayers. “I like it that way. You just smile and accept the challenge that comes. We’ve got a great team, we’ve got great guys with great competitive character and we just want to continue to build.”
Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts 🏆 Week 8 DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE
Tom Brady awards Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts with the LFG Player of the Game after his big performance against the New York Giants in Week 8.
While the Giants entered Sunday’s game with one of the league’s worst defenses (29th in yards allowed), the Eagles struggled offensively against them just two weeks ago. Philadelphia only put up 17 points on a defense that allowed over 25 per game in the 34-17 loss.
On top of that, the Eagles were without top wide receiver A.J. Brown on Sunday due to a hamstring injury. Even though Brown hasn’t been as productive as he’s been in years past, he had a pair of big touchdown grabs in the Eagles’ win over the Vikings last week as he went for 120 receiving yards.
But that didn’t matter as Hurts and the Eagles’ offense had one of their most efficient days of the season. Hurts completed 15 of 20 passes for 179 yards and four touchdowns against the Giants, with the Eagles putting up 427 yards of total offense.
As Brady was impressed with Hurts’ ability to flourish without his top receiver, the quarterback gave credit to a different element of Philadelphia’s offensive unit.
“I think, more importantly, we were able to run the ball,” Hurts said. “We almost ran it for 300 yards. It allowed us to play efficient in the pass game.”
Saquon Barkley rushes for 65-yard TD, giving Eagles early lead over Giants | NFL Highlights
Saquon Barkley rushed for a 65-yard TD, giving the Philadelphia Eagles an early lead over the New York Giants.
After an underwhelming start to the season, Saquon Barkley might have gotten off the schneid against his former team on Sunday. He ran for a season-high 150 yards, with his 65-yard touchdown run on the game’s second play from scrimmage setting the tone for the Eagles. That run was only nearly a quarter of the amount of rushing yards the Eagles had on the day (276), as Barkley ran for 10.7 yards per carry.
Barkley also made an impact in the passing game, receiving a touchdown pass from Hurts in the second quarter. But Dallas Goedert showed out on National Tight Ends Day with two touchdown grabs, DeVonta Smith had 84 receiving yards and little-used Jahan Dotson made an impressive 40-yard touchdown grab that helped seal the win.
“We’ve still got things out there that we want to take advantage of and play a little cleaner, but those guys stepped up in a big way,” Hurts said. “Jahan, that’s a hell of a catch to kind of put a dagger in the game. Smitty taking advantage of his opportunities. Those guys just being in the right sports and doing what we prepared to do. So, just a lot of love for the way they prepared for this week.”
Even though Hurts threw for four touchdowns, Philadelphia’s dominance in the ground game on Sunday was more in line with the Eagles team we’ve grown to know over the last two seasons. They certainly played within their identity against the Eagles, which was what they were looking for in Week 8. But Hurts knows that there might be weeks down the line when they might have to change it up a bit.
“We wanted to come out here and play our brand of football,” Hurts said. “That looks different from week to week. You know as well as anyone, it’s about winning. So, coming out here, being efficient, trying to stay ahead of the sticks, capitalizing on situational football — win that, and then be good on third downs. Everybody did a good job today and we want to continue to improve off that.”
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