PHILADELPHIA — Eagles coach Nick Sirianni compared Jalen Hurts to Michael Jordan when asked about the emotional lift the quarterback gave his team in Saturday night’s 38-7 game against the New York Giants in an NFC divisional round playoff game brought.
“I know that’s high praise, but having him out there is like — I shouldn’t even go there — it’s like having Michael Jordan out there,” Sirianni said. “He is your leader. he’s your type
“Hopefully that’s the most respect I can give him comparing his ability to be on the field to a Michael Jordan guy. This guy leads. He brings that calmness to the whole team. He plays great football . He’s as tough as she is.” come. For me, no one has played better football than him this year.”
Editors Favorites
Hurts threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, despite playing through a sprained sternoclavicular (SC) joint in his throwing shoulder, an injury he sustained with the Chicago Bears on December 18 that sidelined him for two games.
According to the Fox show, ahead of Saturday’s competition, Hurts said he was “nowhere near 100 percent,” adding that he also contracted an illness by the end of the week.
“Good enough,” Hurts said when asked how he was feeling physically during the game.
The Eagles largely stayed away from scheduled runs on Hurt’s return from injury in the regular-season finals against New York, but according to ESPN Stats & Information they picked six scheduled runs for him in Saturday’s first half alone. The offense returned to explosive form, and Philadelphia amassed 268 yards and three touchdowns on the floor.
The roster’s mindset settled during the week, Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert said, as Hurts addressed the players during a team briefing, telling them, “I’m not hungry;
“He sets the tone with everyone in the dressing room and we follow him. Whatever he says applies. He’s the leader of this place,” said Goedert. “He had it all, so we’re all following.”
After losing two of their last three games to end the regular season, the Eagles are back in action just in time for next Sunday’s NFC Championship game. They meet the winner of the divisional round game between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers.
Regarding this Eagles team, Hurts said there’s a “special kind of togetherness that we have and I don’t think I’ve experienced anything like that — at least at the NFL level.”
“We’re not just hungry for it; we hunger to grow, to get better and to learn from our mistakes,” he added. “I think that’s a nice thing and that was a bit of motivation as a team. We wanted to come out and play our best ball.”