If The Eagles Want To Bounce Back, They'll Have To Start With Jalen Hurts

It's not that he was terrible. He doesn't have that. It's just that he wasn't the Jalen Hurts we all expect.

And when Hurts isn't at his best, it's difficult for the Eagles to perform at their best.

Hurts was rattled for the second straight game on Sunday night in the Eagles' 33-13 loss to the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

For the first time this year, Hurts didn't run or throw for a touchdown. He had a costly fumble at the Cowboys' 20-yard line when it was still a one-possession game. He converted just one of his first six 3rd-down passes. He only targeted three receivers. He was significantly outclassed by Dak Prescott.

This was the first time in Hurts' career that the Eagles failed to score an offensive touchdown, the first time ever since a 17-9 playoff loss to the Seahawks at Linc in 2019, the first time in a significant regular season. Season game since a loss to Washington at FedEx in mid-2016.

Hurts' ability to rise above the mediocre play around him made him an MVP candidate last year and again this year. But he hasn't been able to do that over the past two weeks, and the Eagles have suffered a pair of lopsided losses as a result.

“We all need to get better,” Hurts said. “It starts with me. That starts with me as a quarterback. This starts with me as a manager. The tone I set. And so I accept this challenge.”

Hurts was also okay, but nothing special in the 49ers loss. He threw for 298 yards, ran for a TD and threw for a TD in a game that was largely uncompetitive. Most of his production came after the game got out of hand.

On Sunday in Dallas, he managed just 197 yards. He threw as many completions of 25 or more yards as punter Braden Mann. Although he didn't throw an interception, he lost a fumble for the fifth time this year.

AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith also lost fumbles deep in Dallas territory, although their fumbles didn't come until the second half after the Cowboys had built a significant lead.

“They talk about doing something every week and how important that is,” Hurts said. “I felt like a lot of times we were in good position to get into the high red zone area and when we got there we turned the ball over.

“So I have to protect the ball better and create that energy for us. I just have to get better at that.”

It had been more than two years since Hurts lost two straight starts. You have to go back to Weeks 6 and 7 of 2021, his first year as a starter and the losses to the Bucs and Raiders.

The Eagles haven't scored a touchdown before halftime since the Bills game and just two in their last four games. Hurts hasn't thrown a first-half touchdown in the last five games. The Eagles trailed by at least a touchdown at halftime in four straight games.

“It’s always a self-assessment – win, lose or draw,” Hurts said. “It's always a self-assessment of how I can be better for my teammates and what I can do to help us become a better football team, how I can do my job better.” It just starts with an honest assessment of that and then with leadership, taking action and setting an example. And then bring boys with you.

“I think it's a nice opportunity for us. You must be hungry. You have to have a will, a want, and I think we have the right people for that.”

The good news is that the Eagles finish the season with four straight teams that currently have a losing record, starting with the Seahawks on Monday night in Seattle. If they win all four, they win the NFC East and, in a worst-case scenario, are the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

But they have to play much better than they have in recent weeks. And Hurts has to lead the way.

“You don’t win without losing,” Hurts said. “You don’t win without some kind of adversity. That's just the name. We would love to come here and be perfect. But perfection is just an illusion. It's about challenging yourself, learning from mistakes and getting better.

“There will be bumps in the road. There will be adversity that you must overcome. But it all depends on how you react to it. The beauty of this is that we can control how we react to it. We just have to keep pushing to win. As simple as that.”