You asked for a more emotive Jalen Hurts. You got it.
Last week, Hurts was seen on the sideline cussing out officials and doctors for making him take a concussion test during the game. Backup quarterback Andy Dalton threw an end-zone interception while Hurts was off the field. Hurts was cleared almost immediately.
Then, on Sunday, he was caught screaming at receiver Elijah Moore for lining up improperly before a first-quarter snap: “Get off the [bleeping] ball!”
Hurts, in his sixth full season as the starter, typically has been cryptic and protective when asked about teammates’ mistakes. After Sunday’s loss, he did not hold back.
Before the most crucial play of the game — a failed pass attempt on fourth-and-goal from the 2 in the fourth quarter — second-year center Drew Kendall and Hurts botched a routine, under-center snap. It appeared that Kendall fired early. It looked like the play call was a handoff to Tank Bigsby, and it looked like there was a lane to the end zone over the right guard. But the botched snap threw off the timing and Hurts ran, for no gain. It also appeared that left guard Can Jurgens might have bumbled his way into the play early and further doomed it.
As such, Hurts was hot.
“We had a bad exchange on the snap the play before,” Hurts said, unprompted, when asked about the fourth-down play, not the third-down play. “It comes down to very little things. Executing at a high level.”
This isn’t skewering teammates at the Aaron Rodgers level, but it’s not nothing, and it’s a good thing.
This is the sort of leadership most folks expect from a franchise quarterback. Perhaps now, with renegade receiver A.J. Brown gone, Hurts — who was (as usual) critical of himself as well — feels more comfortable wielding a heavier hand. Maybe he feels safer showing us how he really feels.
Will we see more of it? More on-field command? More off-field honesty?
Were this Sunday, and last Monday, milestone moments in Hurts’ maturation as a leader?
Let’s hope so.
Bright spots
Between the injuries and the penalties, failing to convert any of their 12 third downs, not scoring in the second half for a second straight loss, and blowing a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter to an undermanned Rams team playing in a time-zone deficit, Sunday’s 24-20 collapse by the Eagles, headlined by two failed and foolish fourth-down attempts, landed like an anvil on the hopes of a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
Still, amid all the raindrops and ball drops, there were a handful of encouraging signs.
Two touchdown catches from second-year backup receiver Darius Cooper resonated most obviously, the first plucked over the back of an intercepting defender — the best airborne maneuver by a Cooper since D.B. jumped out of that plane with the money he took.
The catches might indicate unanticipated depth at a position left decimated when Brown forced a trade in June. Cooper, an undrafted FCS player last year, started in place of DeVonta Smith, who missed the game with a hamstring injury. Cooper also caught the game-winner in Tennessee, and his overall game demonstrated the capacity for further contributions.
He was not alone.
The most scrutinized performance belonged to Markel Bell, the 6-foot-9, 346-pound, third-round rookie who stepped in for right tackle Lane Johnson, who missed the game at the last minute for personal reasons. Bell did not know he would be starting until about two hours before the game. He was little noticed, which is the best indicator that a tackle did not struggle; even the sack he surrendered on the Eagles’ penultimate play was a coverage sack.
The most alarming (and probably the most popular) performance came in the middle of the defense, where Jeremiah Trotter Jr. replaced linebacker Zack Baun. Trotter is the son and namesake of the Eagles’ legendary linebacker, who was nicknamed the “Axe Man” and who was the heart and soul of the Eagles defenses Brian Dawkins captained more than 20 years ago.
Even the Axe Man might not be as good as Baun, the captain of the defense and the best player on the team for the past three seasons. Baun suffered a concussion in Chicago and failed protocols before Sunday’s game.
A fifth-round pick in 2024, Sunday was Trotter’s first start in a fully meaningful game. He showed up.
Trotter had 15 tackles, which matches Baun’s career high, and 10 solo stops, one shy of Baun’s best day.
This might matter more at family reunions: Trotter Jr.’s 15 tackles are three more than his daddy ever had, and the 10 solos are twice as many as Senior’s best day.
Falling stars
Nine of the Eagles’ top 23 players missed all or part of Sunday’s loss due to injury, including receiver DeVonta Smith, running back Saquon Barkley, Baun, edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, and cornerback Quinyon Mitchell. While the Eagles might be the team with the most injured front line players, they are not alone.
Stars keep falling.
Lamar Jackson, a two-time MVP and the league’s most dynamic quarterback, missed the second half of the Ravens’ 24-18 home win over the terrible Titans. The Bengals have the AFC’s best receiving tandem but both Ja’Marr Chase (concussion) and Tee Higgins (groin) were injured in a 22-17 loss to visiting Jacksonville. Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, injured his ankle at the end of the first half of a 24-14 loss at San Francisco.
Add these marquee losses to Rams defensive end Myles Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year who underwent knee surgery after Week 1, and defensive tackle Aaron Donald, the unretired former DPOY whose aged back kept him out of Sunday’s win in Philadelphia. Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, who dislocated his left elbow for a third time in a year, already was on the shelf, where he was joined Sunday by backup Marcus Mariota (knee).
On the other end of the spectrum, Puka Nacua (groin), the NFL’s best receiver the past two years, missed the last two games but rejoined the Rams in time to catch nine passes for 125 yards and score a rushing touchdown.
Extra points
In the Battle of Insufferable Signal Callers, Deshaun Watson and the Browns beat Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers on Thursday night. Since a pedestrian season-opening loss, the Browns are 3-0 and Watson’s passer rating is 102.0. A suspension relating to accusations of sexual misconduct by massage therapists, along with a series of injuries, cost Watson most of the past four seasons. … John Harbaugh and his Giants are atop the NFC East at 3-1 after a win over the visiting Cardinals, punctuated by a last-second pick-6. … Kyler Murray, understudy Carson Wentz, and the Vikings are 4-0 after a win over Miami, but the QBs are almost coincidental; the Vikings allow a league-best 12.8 points per game. … In a battle of unlikely unbeatens, the Chiefs won at the Raiders. … Dak Prescott logged his 20th career fourth-quarter comeback with the Cowboys and his 27th game-winning drive and CeeDee Lamb caught 17 passes for 189 yards and the winning touchdown with 40 seconds to play to beat DeMeco Ryans and the Texas, now 0-4. … The Jets ended an NFL-record 20-game interception drought but still lost to the Bears, who got 146 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries from Kyle Monangai. … Tetairoa McMillan, last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, caught 14 passes for 192 yards and two TDs for the Panthers, who beat the Lions. Both teams are 2-2.
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