Pederson downplays Hurts’ historic debut
PHILADELPHIA » No Eagles rookie quarterback in the Jeffrey Lurie era, certainly not Carson Wentz, had a starting debut like Jalen Hurts had on Sunday.
Hurts got the Eagles to a 17-point lead out of the gate, and even after the previously hot New Orleans Saints awoke from their slumber, he helped hold them off down the stretch.
The Eagles’ 24-21 victory was their biggest of the season. It may have saved their season. The four-game losing streak is over. The offense put up a season-high 413 yards, the most this season by a Saints defense that ranked first in the league in yards allowed, and three touchdowns. The Saints hadn’t allowed more than one TD in five straight games.
There was Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, who could have said his rookie played like a veteran, showed incredible poise and will, so worried about the fragile ego of the benched Wentz that he almost dismissed Hurts.
“I thought overall there were some good things and he kind of gave us a spark as a team that I was looking for, and I think we were looking for,” Pederson said. “But this win today was not about one guy. This win is about this team and how resilient this team is. … He obviously was a part of the win but my hat’s off to a lot of guys. My hat’s off, really, to every member of this team.”
We all know that Hurts is going to start next weekend when the Eagles hit the road to take on the Arizona Cardinals. So does Pederson. Yet he wouldn’t state the obvious, saying he wanted to enjoy this victory first.
It was a disservice to Hurts and the Eagles, who with the struggling Wentz would have had little reason to play out of their minds against a superior team and head coach. The proof is in the losses for the Eagles, who are now
4-8-1.
Hurts rushed for 106 yards, the first time an Eagles quarterback has done so since Michael Vick put
130 on the Giants nine years ago. He threw for 167 yards and a touchdown, a back-shoulder scoring pitch to Alshon Jeffery.
Miles Sanders ran for
115 yards and two touchdowns, including an 82yard sprint where he rudely stiff-armed Malcolm Jenkins to the ground.
The Eagles amassed 246 yards on the ground, the most allowed by the Saints since 2014. The Birds scored at least 20 points for the first time in five games. Did we mention the Saints (10-3) hadn’t allowed one 100-yard rusher, much less two, in 55 straight games, the longest such streak in the league?
Hurts echoed the team theme, and for good reason. He’s real. He was sure to slap high-fives or fistbump teammates coming on and off the field, offense and defense. He got the ball to 11 players. He wasn’t sacked, although the Saints brought so much pressure he had to turn up field.
And he put the ball on the ground only once, but otherwise was quick to make decisions. Afterward Hurts sounded like a coach, possibly because his father was just that, and his brother is in the profession.
“When I look back on this game, we left a lot of money on the table,” Hurts said. “A lot of money on the table we left out there. I’m very excited. We’re happy we got a W today against a really good team. But we’ve got a lot to work on, a lot to build on. And I’m excited to go to practice to get ready for the next game.”
The Eagles led from start to finish Sunday. The signature play was Sanders’ long scoring run down the sideline in front of the Eagles’ bench with 1:47 left in the first half. That made it 17-0.
Sanders burst through a hole that tight end Zach Ertz, of all Eagles, helped create. Then he effortlessly dusted off a lunging Jenkins, the last defender.
With 57 seconds left in the first half, Hurts drove the Eagles 71 yards to the
4-yard line of New Orleans, scrambling for 40 along the way. But Jake Elliott sent a 22-yard field goal attempt off the left upright.
Hurts had seven rushes for 75 yards in the first half. Sanders had eight carries for 96 yards. The Eagles rushed for 173 yards on 16 carries, an average of 10.8 yards per lug. Incredibly, there were no three-and-outs. The Eagles had five in a row to open their last game at the Linc.
The Eagles erupted for
302 yards in the first half. In the previous games, they collected 250 and 278 yards – total.
The Saints rallied, as Taysom Hill marched them
65 yards against an Eagles team that was piling
up defensive injuries. Alvin Kamara capped the trip with a five-yard run, and with the Eagles missing most of their starting secondary delivered a 37yard TD pass to Emmanuel Sanders, cutting the Philly lead to 17-14 with 7:55 left in the third quarter.
Cornerback Darius
Slay and safety Rodney McLeod exited with injuries, forcing the Eagles to go to their off-the-streets end of the depth chart.
But the Eagle defense got a stop on fourth down when Josh Sweat notched the first of his two sacks, stripping Hill, and Hurts and the Birds answered with a backbreaking 53yard TD drive, Sanders going the final yard with 6:26 to go for a 24-14 advantage.
Hurts’ lone giveaway would then lead to a late
New Orleans touchdown, and some very nervous moments on the ensuring on-side kick, but that didn’t deter from a memorable Hurts debut.
“It was a great team win,” Hurts said. “Everybody played together, believed in one another and we put an emphasis on playing together, playing as one and believing in each other. I’m excited that I was able to do it with this group of guys, this team. We’re ready to get back to work.”
Pederson has to be excited, too. With a fearless quarterback like Hurts, there should be a lot nights to savor victories.
Contact Bob Grotz at bgrotz@21stcenturymedia.com; you can follow him on Twitter @BobGrotz.