Jalen Hurts seems to play his best when the criticism is loudest and the Philadelphia Eagles need him most.
Hurts delivered an almost flawless performance in a 28-22 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, completing 19 of 23 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns with a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
So much for the naysayers who still say he’s not a good passer.
Hurts hit A.J. Brown in stride on a beautiful throw on fourth-and-4 for a 37-yard TD and a 7-0 lead.
He threw an even prettier deep ball to DeVonta Smith for a 79-yard TD pass in the third quarter.
Then, with the Vikings mounting a comeback, trailing 21-19 and needing a stop to swing momentum in their favor, Hurts did what he does best. Facing a third-and-13 at the Eagles 27 with 9:09 left, Hurts escaped pressure in the pocket, scrambled to his right and connected with Brown for a 13-yard gain near the sideline to extend the drive.
He finished it off with a 28-yard strike over the middle to Brown for another TD.
Despite leading the Eagles (5-2) to a Super Bowl victory last season and earning MVP honors in a dominant victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, Hurts didn’t get much of a grace period.
Even when the Eagles started 4-0, Hurts and the offense were called out for being inconsistent and predictable. After losses to the Broncos and Giants, the detractors piled on.
They blasted first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo’s scheme and play calling, questioning the team’s inability to get Saquon Barkley and the run game on track and the failure to involve star wide receivers Brown and Smith in the game plan.
Hurts got his share of the blame, of course. Analysts said he’s not reading defenses well. He’s not following his progressions if his first option is covered. He’s not giving his talented receivers enough opportunities to make plays. He’s a great athlete but he’s not an elite passer.
It’s time to give Hurts the credit he deserves. He was spectacular against the Vikings (3-3) just like he was in both of his Super Bowl appearances and other big games throughout his career.
“You don’t have a game like that without the guys around you so I give a lot of credit to them,” Hurts said. “It’s team football in the end so happy to come out here and figure out a way to win a football game. That’s a really good team, a really good defense and it was a challenge. They presented a ton of challenges but we were able to endure and I’m very thankful of that.”
No lead is safe
NFL teams continue finding ways to overcome big deficits or waste large leads, depending on the perspective.
Bo Nix led the Denver Broncos to an improbable comeback from a 19-0 deficit to start the fourth quarter and finished with a 33-32 win over the New York Giants in a game that featured two lead changes in the final 40 seconds.
Nix became the first player in NFL history to throw two TD passes and run for two scores in the fourth quarter. Nix and the Broncos rallied from a 17-3 deficit in the fourth quarter in Week 5, handing Philadelphia a 21-17 loss.
Despite the loss, there’s plenty of reason for optimism among Giants fans. Rookie QB Jaxson Dart has invigorated the team. A pair of missed extra points cost them a chance for an upset.
Wasted act
Patrick Mahomes pulled off a brilliant ruse, tricking the Raiders into thinking he was upset that his attempt to draw them offside wasn’t going to work on fourth-and-1 at the Chiefs 40.
“This (bleeping) never (bleeping) works, man,” Mahomes said at the line of scrimmage, fooling the defense into thinking he was about to take a delay of game penalty to set up a punt.
Instead, Mahomes took a snap and handed to Kareem Hunt for a first-down gain. The Chiefs finished the drive with a touchdown to take a 14-0 lead on their way to a 31-0 victory.
It was an excellent call by coach Andy Reid and perfect execution by Mahomes. But the Chiefs (4-3) didn’t need to resort to trickery against Las Vegas (2-5). They should’ve saved it for the playoffs.
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