How the Eagles can kickstart slumping Jalen Hurts
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Where art thou, Jalen? Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Hey Santa, can you help Jalen Hurts get his lick back?
Why it matters: That would be nice.
The big picture: Everyone has been Monday- and Tuesday-morning quarterbacking Hurts' struggles, with some even calling for him to be benched after his four-interception dud against the Chargers.
- Fans are feverishly fretting about a 2023-24-like collapse. Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo can't catch a break. A.J. Brown can't catch game-sealing passes.
Yes, but: It's Wednesday, so time for a dose of reality.
Reality check: The Birds are still pretty much a lock to win the NFC East. Because the Cowboys are still the Cowboys: a franchise par excellence in mediocrity.
- Here's what some of the region's sportswriters said about the push to put Hurts on the pine.
What they're saying: "Sure, the Eagles can bench Hurts for backup Tanner McKee. … But that's just putting lipstick on a pig," Delaware News Journal columnist Martin Frank writes.
- USA Today's Charles Curtis says making Hurts into a scapegoat obscures the bigger problems: "It's about an entirely broken offense altogether. … You bench Hurts and you're really not holding the people responsible for the issues.
Crossing Broad's Nick Piccone: "This is the Hurts we get when trying to appease a high-paid wide receiver who (rightly) knows the offense wasn't playing up to their full potential."
- Inquirer Eagles beat writer Jeff McLane writes that Hurts has "been in a free fall since the Week 9 bye. Each week has seemingly been worse, with the quarterback uncharacteristically turning the ball over at a high rate."
💠Isaac's thought bubble: Hurts and Michael Jordan could be cut from the same cloth. Let's use that to our advantage here. MJ had an unparalleled ability to turn a slight into success.
- Think about Hurts' trajectory when he played for Alabama, after he was benched against Georgia in college football's 2018 national championship. He transferred to Oklahoma, led the Sooners to a 12-1 record and finished second that season in the Heisman Trophy voting.
- Right now, he's a slumping Super Bowl champ who needs a jolt.
The bottom line: Bench Hurts for the opening drive against the hapless Raiders, then put him in.
- If he's anything like MJ, he'll turn slight into a fight. Sometimes hungry dogs need reminders.