‘Ridiculous’ indeed: Jalen Hurts is nearly perfect in an Eagles bounce-back blowout

When Jalen Hurts hit A.J. Brown in the end zone with the exclamation point touchdown Sunday, he turned to the Eagles’ sideline and, with unusual enthusiasm, he jumped up and down, waved his arms with emphasis, and said several things that seemed out of character for a young man who usually behaves in such a godly manner.

Maybe he was saying, “Bench me? Bench me?!? That’s ridiculous!”

Probably not. But you couldn’t blame him if he was.

After the game Hurts declined to divulge what he said, or even what he felt, after that, his last play of the game.

“Just a natural reaction,” he offered.

Hurts declined to divulge much of anything, in fact. It is part of his personality: When he plays well after a spate of poor play, he retreats into himself.

“Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” said Brandon Graham, unlikely Shakespeare paraphraser. “Everybody thinks they want it until they get it.”

Hurts was benched in the 2018 College Football Playoff Championship Game, was a second-round draft pick projected as a gadget quarterback, and is routinely maligned for his arm strength and decision-making when things go badly. A three-week slump isn’t going to derail his career.

“Everybody needs to remember where I come from,” he said, “and how I’m built. ... [Losses] aren’t barriers. They’re just bumps in the road.”

The high road, in Hurts’ case.

Naturally reticent and having long borne the burdens of doubt, demotion, and disappointment, it is all Hurts can do in these moments to not gloat. Small clues provide the only window into Hurts’ world. Like a master gambler, he has few “tells,” but you can always sense the smoldering passion when, after playing under water, he burst to the surface for air.

It’s how he has survived. It’s how he survived the past week.

“You control your own joy when there’s a lot of noise out there,” coach Nick Sirianni explained.

It was impossible for Hurts to not hear the noise.

Hurts’ seven turnovers and 69.9 passer rating were the most apt and most significant barometers of the three-game losing streak the Eagles rode into Sunday’s snow-frosted walkover contest against the visiting Raiders.

Hurts’ slump raised the question about whether, if he continued to struggle, he should be benched. This, despite having gone to two Pro Bowls and two Super Bowls, the most recent of which he was crowned MVP. Still, playing without stars Lane Johnson on the offensive line and Jalen Carter on the defensive line, the Eagles had slipped from 8-2 to 8-5 and had gone from being the No. 1 seed in the NFC to No. 3, with the Cowboys lurking in the weeds of the NFC East race.

The question in question was posed by the Eagles’ flagship station, 94WIP, during its weekly, contracted interview with Sirianni that follows the most recent game. Hurts had five turnovers in the most recent game, a Monday Night Football loss at the Chargers.

Sirianni’s response: “I think that’s ridiculous.”

The question wasn’t ridiculous. It was legitimate.

» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni: Sitting Jalen Hurts ‘ridiculous’? Hardly. Bench him if he struggles Sunday.

It sure seems ridiculous now.

Hurts rebounded from the worst game of his career with one of the best. He completed 12 of 15 passes for 175 yards and three touchdowns. Two went to tight end Dallas Goedert, who led the team with six catches for 70 yards. The third went to Brown, only his second official target of the day, a 27-yard dime into triple coverage — by far, Hurts’ best throw of the day.

It was not, however, his best play. That came a few minutes earlier.

Midway through the third quarter, a holding penalty put the ball on the Raiders’ 27 and presented Hurts with third-and-12. At stake: a dagger touchdown or a field goal that would preserve for the Raiders a sliver of hope.

Hurts, in the shotgun formation, saw the middle of the field utterly undefended. He appeared to audible at the line of scrimmage, but later said the play was run as called by offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. Either way, it was the sort of play that only a handful of quarterbacks can make.

Hurts received the snap, took a half-step backward, tucked the ball, and darted up the middle. He then scooted to his left and outraced defenders to the sideline, exiting the field a yard beyond the first-down marker.

Three plays later, he hit Goedert from 4 yards and the Eagles led, 24-0.

The Brown TD was little more than garnish, but might serve the team well. Brown spent the first half of the season complaining that he was being underutilized. He then was targeted 45 times in the next four games, but the offense struggled and the team lost three of four.

On Sunday, Brown was underutilized again, but he did catch the TD pass. Stay tuned.

At any rate, Hurts thrived in a game that unfolded in the proper design for the team’s composition.

He threw just 15 passes, but none were thrown into harm’s way. None were forced to Brown. Hurts’ 154.9 passer rating was the second-best of his 89 starts, including playoffs. He has not thrown more than 28 passes in any of his top four.

Hurts benefited from an absence of offense from the Raiders, who used backup quarterback Kenny Pickett in place of injured Geno Smith, who’d been piloting the league’s worst scoring offense, at 15.1 points per game. The Eagles’ defense was great, but it was playing a warm-weather dome team in 20-degree weather with 25-mph wind gusts on Pacific Coast time.

Hurts also benefited from a pointed effort to feature running back Saquon Barkley, who ran 22 times for 78 yards and a touchdown. He averaged 14 carries during the losing streak.

Finally, the Eagles incorporated a handful of designed runs, and Hurts ran on his own. His 39 yards on seven rushes were his most since Game 4. He averaged 44.8 rushing yards in the first four games, all of which were wins. The Eagles went 4-5 in the next nine games.

Hurts needs to run. Saquon needs to run. Goedert needs the ball.

If A.J. gets some looks, great. If not, live with it.

“It’s a good formula,” said Brandon Graham, who had two sacks in Game 14 of his 16th season. He’s seen some stuff. “It’s definitely a good formula for us.”

Sirianni understands the formula but wouldn’t commit.

“Next week we could come out and it could be a completely different game,” he said.

Why?

This is how these Eagles can win.

Any other method would be ridiculous.

» READ MORE: When Jalen Hurts started forcing the ball to A.J. Brown, the Eagles stopped winning