Missing a key piece
Loss of TE Goedert could hamper QB Hurts’ MVP candidacy
With few exceptions, the NFL seasaon has been a wakeup call for veteran quarterbacks used to dominating games.
Aaron Rodgers, the league MVP the last two seasons, is so far out of the running this year it’s comical. He’s not going to enjoy turning 38 the first week of December.
With seven toiuchdown passes, five interceptions and a 3-6 record, Russell Wilson is playing like he’s about to turn 34. Matt Ryan is 37, going on 47 if you watch him try to evade pass rushes. At least 45-yearold Tom Brady is making a comeback.
It’s hard to imagine what Rodgers will be thinking when he and the Green Bay Packers oppose Jalen Hurts and the Eagles Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field. Hurts is one of the leading MVP candidates this season along with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Tua Tagovailoa and Lamar Jackson.
There are people who think Hurts is the leader although unofficially Mahomes is atop most MVP projections. Hurts has thrown 15 touchdown passes against just three interceptions while rushing for eight scores. Above all, the Eagles are an NFL-best 9-1.
Subtly biased as he is, Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen has seen enough football over the years to have no problem putting Hurts in the MVP conversation.
“The way he’s playing right now, absolutely,” Steichen said. “I mean, even with that game, not all games are going to be perfect. But when we needed to come up with big plays, he did it for us and that’s what great players do. He’s continuing to grow and get better every single day. But we’ve got to keep grinding away. It’s week by week and we’ve got to continue to grow.”
The other MVP candidates have much to offer as well. Mahomes is tearing it up with the Kansas City Chiefs (8-2), who have played a tougher schedule than the Eagles and battled against better quarterbacks. Mahomes has thrown 28 touchdowns and just seven interceptions for the Chiefs.
Allen after a fast start including a win over Mahomes has been turnover prone, the big guy entering the MVP conversation with 21 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and four rushing scores for the Buffalo Bills (7-3).
Jackson has sparked the Baltimore Ravens (7-3) to four straight victories on the way to 16 TD passes, seven interceptions, 666 rushing yards and three rushing scores.
Tagovailoa has 18 scoring passes against just three picks and is 7-1 as the starter for the Miami Dolphins (7-3). The numbers do not begin to tell the value of his go-to guy, Tyreek Hill (81 catches, 1,148 yards, four TDs). Receivers don’t win MVPs, though.
Hurts’ candidacy going forward is interesting in that the Philly offense must evolve to offset the loss of elite tight end Dallas Goedert. The Eagles’ 17-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts Sunday was predictable in that Hurts was going to use his legs more than he’s been operating in the pocket. Hurts had 16 rushes for 86 yards and above all, the winning touchdown in the last two minutes. He also threw a TD pass to Quez Watkins.
In essence, the passing numbers could suffer without Goedert, who almost always was open and is a vital cog in the pass offense. The Colts doubled A.J. Brown and basically didn’t cover the three-headed tight end composed of Jack Stoll, Grant Calcaterra and Tyree Jackson, who replaced Goedert.
Barring the stunning emergence of another weapon, Hurts likely will have to use his legs more. That’s not going to help the pass numbers.
“Any time you lose a player like [Goedert], it’s not going to be as easy as you think,” Steichen said. “You’ve got to adjust things as you go throughout the week. Everyone’s got to step up. … When you lose a really good player everyone around you has to step up.”
The good news is the Eagles stabilized the run defense with the addition of veteran tackles Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh, and if that duo keeps showing up, Hurts’ read option skills and some tweaks to the run game (even if it takes an offensive lineman to seal the edge the way Goedert did) may be all the Eagles need to keep winning.
Hurts is very popular among NFC players. He was voted a Pro Bowl alternate last year and then added to the team although he didn’t participate in the game due to injury.
The MVP voters are writers and media types, a chunk of the latter former players. So, there’s that chance.
The Goedert effect also could help, for the Eagles scheduled more designed runs for Hurts against the Colts, and when he hit them, the coaches followed the adage, run it until they stop it.
“There definitely were more designed runs than there have been in the past,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said. “The plays we felt we would call yesterday would be successful. Sometimes you go through the game, and you build confidence in a call, and you call it again. We just felt in that game, especially that last drive, it was kind of what happened. … And sometimes you go through the game and build confidence in a call and you call it again, right?”
Hurts completed 18 of 25 attempts (72%) for 190 yards, the TD and a 107.1 passer rating. They’re much better against the pass than the run, and rank 14th overall in defense, allowing 328 yards per game.
The Eagles average 370 yards per game, fourth in the league. The Chiefs (429 ypg), Bills (417), Dolphins (392) and Cleveland Browns (378) all average more yards.