By Jordan Long
On Sunday the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New Orleans Saints 24-21, improving their record to 4-8-1. In the win, the Eagles started rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts. Head Coach Doug Pederson won’t say if Hurts has earned the starting gig next week or for the rest of the year.
The Eagle’s offense looked a lot better with Hurts under center against one of the top defenses in the league, the New Orleans Saints. They were moving the ball downfield and Hurts kept drives alive. The offensive line protected Hurts even when the Saints brought pressure. He wasn’t sacked at all in the game. Hurts finished the game 17 of 30 passing for 167 yards and 1 touchdown not forcing the ball downfield into double coverage with no interceptions.
Even when the Saints brought the blitz, Hurts was able to run around in the pocket to have more time to throw the football. He even used his legs to gain yards finishing with 106 yards rushing, second on the team behind running back Miles Sanders. Those runs kept the Saints’ defense off balance because they never knew if Hurts was going to keep it or throw the football.
It is expected Hurts will start against the Packers, but nothing has been made official. Head Coach Doug Pederson won’t say for sure. According to ESPN, Pederson said, “I’m going to take a look at [the Saints film]. I’m going to look at a lot of different things before I make that determination this week.”
The Eagles should go with Hurts. The offense was better this week with him. Hurts seemed to read the defense. He avoided awful throws into double coverage which could have been easy interceptions, something Carson Wentz has failed to do. Hurts is a more mobile quarterback than Wentz. Wentz can scramble, but Hurts is faster with his legs to gain yards to keep drives going.
Pederson can review the game tape as much as he wants. He will see Hurts gives the Eagles the best chance to win. The Eagles still have an outside shot at making the playoffs. They sit two games back of the Washington Football team with 3 games left. If Hurts can lead them to victories over Arizona and Dallas and Washington falls to Seattle and Carolina, the last game of the year should decide who wins the Division. The future is now for the Eagles. They need to go with Hurts to see what he can do for the rest of the season.
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