Jalen Hurts’ concussion shows why he’s so important as his absence and C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s ejection doom the Eagles

LANDOVER, Md. — This is what the Eagles look like without Jalen Hurts:

Nineteen points in 54 minutes, against a pretty bad defense. Twelve points, really. No discipline. No leadership. A collapse. A loss. The end of a 10-game winning streak.

That comprised the entire production Sunday for the 11 drives begun by backup Kenny Pickett after Hurts left slightly more than five minutes into the game. He suffered a concussion. Saquon Barkley broke a 68-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second drive Pickett began, so Pickett shouldn’t get credit since, after that, the Commanders adjusted their defense, loaded the box, and dared Pickett to beat them.

On his first seven carries, Barkley gained 109 yards. On his next 22 carries, he gained 41 yards.

“That messes some things up,” right tackle Lane Johnson admitted. “The run game was different.”

So was the leadership, even though Hurts sometimes is criticized for his silence and reticence.

» READ MORE: DeVonta Smith’s late drop costs Eagles, who nearly clinched the NFC East with backup Kenny Pickett

“Whenever things, like, go down or the momentum changes — he wasn’t there to speak up. Jalen speaks when he needs to,” wide receiver A.J. Brown said. “When things kind of go left, you were kind of looking for him.”

As he spoke, Hurts emerged from the trainer’s room. He was fully dressed and wore dark sunglasses indoors, not unusual for recent concussion victims.

In Hurts’ absence, the Commanders dared Pickett to beat them. He did not beat them.

He didn’t exactly lose the game, either. Not by himself. Barkley dropped a deep ball midway through the fourth quarter that might have mattered, and DeVonta Smith dropped a short ball with 2 minutes, 2 seconds to play that might have iced the game. On defense, the ejection of safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson after two unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties (for taunting, according to referee Shawn Smith) led to three Washington passing TDs, the last with six seconds to play, and a 36-33 Commanders win.

Such selfishness was not appreciated by his teammates, who had to deal with a hurry-up offense in his absence.

“Once he left, they went ‘tempo,’ ” said defensive tackle Milton Williams. “It was tough. It made a difference. Just got to harness that [exuberance] between the whistles. Talk a little bit, but don’t get no flag.”

Gardner-Johnson fled the locker room before the press arrived, but offered a tepid defense on X/Twitter:

So blame Pickett, or Smith, or CJGJ, or picky refs who don’t like mouthy defensive backs.

The lesson remains the same: Be grateful for Jalen Hurts.

He’s the main reason the Eagles are 12-3. He’s the main reason the Birds made it to the brink of the NFC’s No. 1 seed, a most unlikely goal now.

Pickett failed, but then, that’s not why Pickett’s in Philadelphia. Not really. He’s being paid to babysit whenever Hurts can’t play. And when Hurts can’t play, the Eagles offense is not good. At all.

For anyone lulled into a sense of indifference regarding Hurts by the presence of Barkley, Brown, Smith, and an offensive line with three slam-dunk Pro Bowlers, Sunday should serve as a reminder for that which they should be thankful; namely, Jalen Alexander Hurts.

It cuts both ways.

It was Hurts’ poor play more than anything else that cost the Eagles eight losses in 11 games after a 10-1 start in 2023.

And it was Hurts’ smart play, and his occasionally brilliant play, that led them to 10 straight wins entering Sunday. This is with all due respect to Barkley, the best running back in franchise history, and Brown, the greatest receiver in franchise history. Hurts was the MVP favorite in 2022 before he got injured, and he was that because his dual-threat dynamism makes every player on the field better every play.

He occupies a defensive spy, which means Barkley, Brown, and Smith effectively face 10 defenders instead of 11. He is the second-best running quarterback in the game, behind Lamar Jackson, a two-time and reigning MVP. When Hurts trusts his protection and his receivers, as he did against Pittsburgh last week, he’s a top-five quarterback, worth every penny of the $255 million extension he got before the 2023 season.

His blessing is also his curse. As in 2022, when he hurt his shoulder, he suffered the concussion Sunday on a designed run. These plays are the necessary evil in a scheme contingent on defenses fearing his legs; he has to use them, but that puts other, more fragile body parts at risk. Like his head.

» READ MORE: A.J. Brown might be a diva but he told the truth about the Eagles. So did Brandon Graham and Jalen Hurts.

Hurts was spotted by an NFL concussion spotter, removed from the game, examined in the sideline tent, and tried to reenter before his handlers snagged him, confiscated his helmet, and escorted him to the locker room, from whence he never returned.

He was missed.

His calm pervades the sideline. Without Hurts around, combustible Gardner-Johnson was penalized twice for unsportsmanlike conduct, the second time earning an ejection. The Commanders scored three times through the air in his absence. Rowdy defensive tackle Jalen Carter got an unnecessary roughness penalty and was involved in at least four dustups. There was plenty of pushing and shoving all day, and it distracted the Birds.

“It was a nasty game,” Johnson said. “There’s a need, definitely, for poise.”

That’s the hallmark of Hurts’ brand: poise. Such is Hurts’ magnetism that he keeps everyone in line. Good leaders do that. Good quarterbacks do that.

Pickett is not that sort of leader. He’s not that sort of quarterback. He finished 14-for-24 for 143 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, but he was worse than his numbers. Pickett’s most effective play Sunday was seeking pass interference calls on Marshon Lattimore, who was trying to cover Brown. It worked three times.

Late in the game, facing third- and fourth-down conversions, Pickett misfired to Brown three times. Brown managed to catch one of them to extend the drive, which ended in a go-ahead field goal by beleaguered kicker Jake Elliott.

The Commanders turned the ball over six times: three fumbles, two interceptions, and a failed fourth-down conversion. The Eagles turned four of those turnovers into points. The sixth, a ball tipped by Darius Slay into the hands of Reed Blankenship with about three minutes to play, led to a short field goal from Elliott.

They just needed more from Pickett. Consider:

Hurts’ average passer rating during the 10-game winning streak was 115.5, which was third-best in the NFL over that span. By contrast, Pickett has never finished any of his 29 games above 108.5.

That’s not a drop-off.

That’s an abyss.

The Eagles can only hope that Hurts can play again sooner than later.