Eagles News: Jalen Hurts is “the right guy at the right time for the right team”
Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …
Mr. Right – Iggles Blitz
Jalen Hurts is not the best quarterback in the NFL. We can argue if he’s Top 5, Top 10 or Top 15. It really doesn’t matter, though. What is most important is that Hurts is the right QB for the Eagles. He led them to the Super Bowl in 2022 and has them back there again this season. Going to multiple Super Bowls isn’t easy. Lamar Jackson puts up video game numbers (41 passing TDs, 4 INTs???). Josh Allen makes plays that make him look like Superman. Joe Burrow is the best pocket passer in the league and is coming off his best season. Those three have combined for one SB appearance. But they have to go through Patrick Mahomes so that is tough to hold against them. Fair enough. Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, and Dak Prescott have been in the NFL for a combined 45 years. They have a combined 2 SB appearances. Both were wins. The point here isn’t to argue that Hurts is better. He is the right guy at the right time for the right team. Hurts is talented, but also versatile. Back in 2022 the Eagles finished the season 9th in passing yards and 5th in rushing. With Miles Sanders as the RB, Hurts threw more. The Eagles had a balanced attack.
10 highest-graded players from NFL conference championship games – PFF
1. QB Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (92.1). Hurts led all quarterbacks in PFF passing grade this weekend (91.6), completing 20 of 28 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown. Twenty of his attempts came from a clean pocket, from which he completed 17 passes with two big-time throws. Hurts gained only 16 yards on the ground as he was bothered by a knee injury, but he was more than effective, scoring three times on 10 carries and picking up five first downs.
Eagles vs. Commanders: 24 winners, 4 losers, and 4 IDKs – BGN
Hurts largely excelled as a pocket passer; he completed 18 of 20 pocket passes for 216 yards and his sole passing touchdown. He was accurate. He was decisive. He was clutch. On that last point, Hurts excelled in high-leverage situations. 4th-and-5 go ball to A.J. Brown, right on the money. 3rd-and-13 scramble with pressure bearing down on him, he got the ball to DeVonta Smith for a touchdown that was dropped but the Commanders got flagged for defensive pass interference in the end zone anyway. During his postgame press conference, Hurts talked about how Nick Sirianni “let me out of my straitjacket a little bit today.” It was pretty refreshing to see such an effective passing game. The results in this regard underscore why it’s been such a big talking point this season. Because when the Eagles can finally get their aerial attack clicking, the offense looks incredibly dominant! Totally raises their ceiling. Considering how he shined in his last Super Bowl start, there’s every reason to believe Hurts is capable of another big-time performance. The moment clearly isn’t too big for him. With Sunday’s win, Hurts joined Hall of Fame company.
What’s Jalen Hurts’ standard? Pay attention to whether he lights a victory cigar after an Eagles title – PHLY
The image of Jalen Hurts on Sunday night with an Eagles’ championship cap on his head and the victory cigar aglow would be so enduring if it hadn’t already endured. In that same corner locker nearly two years earlier, Hurts enjoyed a similar personal celebration. You can light the victory cigar when you win. “He wins,” Nick Sirianni said. “He’s a winner.” “The standard is to win,” Hurts said. “That’s my standard.”The “winner” label can cause debate, but it cannot be denied. This is Hurts’ second Super Bowl appearance in three years. He’s made the playoffs every season he’s started at quarterback in college and the NFL. It doesn’t always look the same — or even the way it’s expected — but he’s often standing in the winner’s circle. It’s hard to argue with how it looked in the Eagles’ 55-23 win in the NFC Championship game. Hurts went 20 of 28 for 246 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for three touchdowns. He did not turn the ball over.
10 of the craziest Jalen Hurts postseason stats – NBCSP
1. Closing in on an NFL record. Hurts hasn’t thrown a postseason interception since his first career playoff game, the wild-card game in Tampa in 2021. He was picked off twice in that game, by Mike Edwards in the second quarter and Shaq Barrett in the third quarter. Since that Barrett INT on a pass intended for DeVonta Smith, Hurts has thrown 206 consecutive postseason pass attempts without an INT, the 2nd-longest streak in NFL history. Drew Brees set the record of 215 passes from the 2006 through 2011 seasons, a streak that ended when he was picked off by Dashon Goldson of the 49ers.
The Eagles Are Going to the Super Bowl! Takeaways With BLG. – The Ringer
The Eagles are headed back to the Super Bowl after defeating the Washington Commanders 55-23! Sheil and Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation break down the pivotal plays that won the Birds the game. What are the biggest takeaways from the game (03:58)? How much credit does Nick Sirianni deserve for making two Super Bowl appearances in his five seasons as the head coach (12:09)? The offense scored eight touchdowns! Sheil and BLG take a deep dive into the scoring plays (28:18). How did the defense perform overall against Jayden Daniels (50:44)? Plus, Commanders fan overtook the Hard Rock Cafe?
Five factors that will determine Super Bowl LIX: Jalen Hurts’ ceiling; Eagles vs. Chiefs in the trenches – NFL.com
4) Which defensive coordinator has a better day? This game will feature two of the best defensive minds in football in Kansas City’s Spagnuolo and Philadelphia’s Vic Fangio. Spagnuolo has meant as much to his team’s dynasty as Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid. The Chiefs won their first Super Bowl in his first season calling the defense, and he’s been brilliant at concocting complex schemes to fluster opponents. Spagnuolo dialed up some well-timed blitzes to pressure Josh Allen in the conference title matchup, including the one that led to Allen forcing a rushed pass that tight end Dalton Kincaid dropped on fourth down to end Buffalo’s final possession. Spagnuolo also created a successful plan for defending Allen on quarterback sneaks, a strategy that led to the three short-yardage stops mentioned in the preceding blurb. Spagnuolo knew he had to contain Allen to win. The Eagles offer a different obstacle, as Barkley’s running, the mobility of Hurts and the dynamic weapons at receiver are something the Chiefs haven’t encountered all season. Fangio’s challenge on the other side is both obvious and easier said than done: stop Mahomes. The Chiefs made it clear against Buffalo that they’re going to ride Mahomes as far as he can take them with his arm this postseason. He came out firing against the Bills — especially after Buffalo lost top cornerback Christian Benford to a concussion — and he’s likely to do the same thing against Philadelphia. The Chiefs aren’t running the ball consistently enough to rely on anything else offensively. However, Fangio has two advantages working in his favor. One is that he faced and flustered Mahomes several times as the head coach of the Denver Broncos from 2019 to 2021, holding the QB to one passing TD or fewer in three straight games, including a 2021 matchup that remains the third-worst, by passer rating (57.3) of Mahomes’ career (including playoffs). The other is that Fangio has crafted the type of defense that can create problems for the superstar quarterback. He has dynamic players operating all over the field (including Carter and All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun) and a secondary blessed with three cornerbacks who thrive in coverage (Darius Slay and rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean). There’s a reason why the Eagles ranked first in the league in pass defense and second in points allowed. This unit can be suffocating when it’s at its best.
The Winners and Losers of the NFL’s Conference Championship Games – The Ringer
Winner: Kellen Moore. First-year Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has been deservedly criticized in Philadelphia for uninspired play calling throughout the season, but the football-crazed city may be ready to build him a statue after he served up the first 50 burger on championship Sunday in more than 30 years in the Eagles’ 55-23 win over Washington, which will send the NFC East champs to their second Super Bowl in three years. Moore called this masterpiece of a game somewhat shorthanded. Philadelphia’s typically overpowering offensive line was weakened by injury on Sunday. Landon Dickerson, the regular starting left guard, started the game at center for Cam Jurgens, who was active for the game but out of the starting lineup because of a back injury. Tyler Steen took Dickerson’s typical guard spot. But Dickerson left the game at halftime with a knee injury, forcing Jurgens back into the lineup. So the Eagles played with their backup left guard and essentially two hobbled centers. Simple downhill runs behind the left side of the line have been a cheap source of offense for the Eagles all season, so Moore had to find other levers to pull to keep Philly’s offense ahead of the chains. And he found plenty of them, including the toss play that Saquon Barkley took to the house on the first offensive snap of the game for Philadelphia.
10 surprise players who helped the Eagles get to the Super Bowl – PhillyVoice
RB Saquon Barkley: And finally, there’s Barkley, who was always a great player, but has turned into a superhero in Philly who is likely to break the all-time record for rushing yards in a single season (regular season + playoffs). He is just 29 yards behind Terrell Davis, who rushed for 2,476 yards with the Broncos in 1998. Barkley has run for over 100 yards in 14 games, and he has consistently broken off long TD runs all season. He has 7 (!) TD runs of over 60 yards this season, including three in the playoffs. He won’t be voted MVP of the league, but he should be.
Bills-Chiefs, Commanders-Eagles: Lessons from AFC, NFC title games – ESPN+
The Eagles continue to dominate the turnover battle. Forcing and avoiding turnovers is a skill, and they have a plus-10 turnover margin through the first three rounds of the playoffs. That’s the best mark any team has had since 2000, one ahead of the 2001 Rams and 2008 Cardinals. (Both of those teams coincidentally lost the turnover battle and the game itself in the Super Bowl, allowing the other team to score a return touchdown in the process.) The Eagles are forcing lots of fumbles, but they’ve run hot in terms of recovering those. After recovering 47% of their fumbles during the regular season, they have fallen on eight of the 11 fumbles that have hit the ground in their games during the postseason, a recovery rate just under 73%. They literally started their postseason by forcing and recovering a Keisean Nixon fumble on the opening kickoff against the Packers, which produced an early touchdown in a game in which they only produced one other touchdown-scoring drive the rest of the way on offense. On Sunday, the Eagles forced three fumbles on defense and special teams and recovered all three. (It also looked like Hurts came close to fumbling on a tush push, although if the ball hit the ground, the quarterback quickly recovered it.) Those fumble recoveries handed them short fields, as they took over twice in Washington territory and once on their own 49-yard line. Those possessions yielded three touchdowns.
Eagles’ 55 points vs. Commanders were most in a playoff game since 2000 – PFT
The Eagles ran wild against the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game, winning 55-23 and putting on an offensive display rarely seen in the NFL playoffs. Philadelphia’s 55 points were the most in a playoff game in 25 years. The last time a team put up more points in a playoff game was January 15, 2000, when the Jaguars beat the Dolphins 62-7. The Eagles’ total tied for the seventh-most points in a playoff game in NFL history. The most ever was the Bears’ 73-0 win over Washington in the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Jaguars’ 62 points were the second-most ever, and 13 teams have scored in the 50s in playoff games.
Nick Sirianni Postgame Locker Room Speech: NFC Championship Game vs. Commanders – PE.com
“We’ve got some unfinished business to handle,” Head Coach Nick Sirianni told the team after winning the NFC Championship for the second time in three seasons. And this was before the Eagles even found out who the Super Bowl opponent was. NovaCare Rehabilitation provides this exclusive peek into the locker room following the historic victory.
Conference Championship DVOA Ratings – FTN Fantasy
This is a little complicated because both teams sat their starters in Week 18, plus Jalen Hurts missed Weeks 16-17 and the Eagles offense definitely suffered without him. Even with Week 18 removed, the Eagles come out better in the DVOA ratings, but we know that Kansas City is peaking at the right time. In particular, their defense which had declined at midseason has rebounded in the last few games. That decline is why the Chiefs are higher in total DVOA than in weighted DVOA, because weighted DVOA is still counting those decline games in Weeks 9-13 but not their good early games back in September.
How to meet the bald eagles who soar over the Linc before the Eagles head to the Super Bowl – PhillyBurbs
As the Philadelphia Eagles soar into Super Bowl 59, the team will be kicking off festivities at Norristown’s Elmwood Park Zoo ahead of the game with the help of the team’s live mascots — two adult bald eagles. Led by legendary Eagles safety Brian Dawkins a week ahead of the Super Bowl kickoff, the zoo’s pep rally from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Feb.1 will feature the Eagles Cheerleaders, Swoop and of course Reggie and Noah, the team’s longtime live mascots and zoo ambassadors. Reggie and Noah are the stars of the game before other big names like Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts take to the field at every home game.
Fleur-de-Links, January 28: Saints complete interview with Kellen Moore – Canal Street Chronicles
The New Orleans Saints flew to Philadelphia on Monday to interview Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
5 things we learned from the Chiefs’ third straight AFC Championship victory – Arrowhead Pride
Go ahead and argue why Mahomes wasn’t very good this year and didn’t deserve to be in the Pro Bowl. Sit here and try to discredit his achievements by saying the Chiefs cannot create explosive plays down the field. Keep betting against them in favor of the flavor of the month. There is one thing that none of these stat-driven awards and narratives miss — stats are not the measure of success in a football game; they are a series of indicators of the possibility of success. But history is full of 400-yard passing days by the quarterback of losing teams. What you won’t find very often is a game played by a quarterback that was better than Mahomes’ 245 yards on Sunday night. Or a player who has made the AFC Championship game every year as a starter. Or another quarterback who is going for his third straight Super Bowl title. Stats don’t matter. Wins matter. Stats are just an attempt to quantify our perception of a player.
Commanders Vs. Eagles (NFC Championship Game) – Studs and Duds – Hogs Haven
Studs: Zach Ertz – Ertz didn’t do anything spectacular, however he was the one constant for an otherwise stagnate offense. He finished the game with 11 receptions for 104 yards. A very nice comeback season for the veteran tight end. […] Duds: Marshon Lattimore – Lattimore had another rough outing getting beat deep on a 3rd and 13, committing pass interference in the endzone, and missing multiple tackles.
Stephen Jones implied Dallas Cowboys are not in any kind of drought – Blogging The Boys
To be clear The Drought™ represents the lack of success that Dallas has had relative to the overall goal. Yes, Stephen. It is real. With Washington specifically advancing to the title game it made reality that Dallas has the longest drought of any NFC team in reaching it and by quite the margin. Dallas last played in it in the 1995 season where the second-closest is Chicago who went in 2010. Amazingly, the Bears lost to Mike McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers before McCarthy and Co. lifted the Lombardi inside of AT&T Stadium (Cowboys Stadium at the time). If you watch the video you can see that Stephen used air quotes as if to mock or diffuse the idea that any sort of drought existed. Stephen can certainly take exception to many things and can argue that the Cowboys have had levels of success in the time in question (Jerry has certainly done so), but referring it to as a drought is simply objective fact. Any absence is a drought. The San Francisco 49ers have one. So do the Detroit Lions. They weren’t just in it. This is a simple idea.
The Dallas Cowboys press conference was so bleak that light can’t penetrate its surface – SB Nation
Like them or hate them, the Dallas Cowboys are still one of the biggest, most-influential, and recognizable teams not just in the NFL — but all of sports globally. So it’s more than a little sad when the organization, which is already struggling, trots out a press conference which is so inane, so tone-deaf, that it’s impossible to have faith in the direction of the franchise. That’s precisely what happened on Monday, as Jerry Jones and his idiot son Stephen sidled up to a microphone to discuss the future, and the underwhelming hiring of Brian Schottenheimer as head coach. It was light on reassurances, heavy in disconnect, and a total mess. Quotes from the press conference are so absolutely unhinged that you’d swear it was a parody of Jerry Jones. Brace yourself.
Interesting twist possible if Mike Kafka gets New Orleans Saints head-coaching job – Big Blue View
If New York Giants offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Mike Kafka is hired as head coach by the New Orleans Saints, he could add a delicious twist to the Giants’ 2025 season. Per Jordan Ranaan of ESPN, Kafka intends to hire former Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale for that job with the Saints should he have the opportunity. Martindale, of course, left the Giants under acrimonious circumstances following the 2023 season. The Giants face the Saints in New Orleans next season, setting up yet another potentially embarrassing scenario for Giants head coach Brian Daboll.
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