Jalen Hurts final grades following Eagles first loss of 2022
It was a strange night. The Philadelphia Eagles‘ first two offensive drives ended in touchdowns. One was the result of Jalen Hurts using his legs. The other was the result of his relying on his arm. It looked like the Birds were off and running. Still, as has always been the case, football is a four-quarter game, and Philly just didn’t play well enough to dominate for the duration of this one or complete the come-from-behind victory.
The defense wasn’t good enough. Shane Steichen didn’t call enough running plays in the first half to spell said defense when he saw them struggling, and even though Philadelphia still had its opportunities to win this one, mistakes on both sides of the ball led to the Eagles’ first loss of the season.
We discuss ‘total-team wins’ often. This bordered on a total-team loss. Jalen Hurts played well, but something tells us that he won’t be happy with the results, especially seeing as how he’s never satisfied after a win.
Let’s get into some specifics. Here’s a look at QB1’s performance following Philly’s first loss of the season.
Jalen Hurts’ final grades and his best and worst throws from Week 9’s win
We mentioned earlier that it was a strange night. A.J. Brown slipped on a third-down passing attempt. That won’t happen often. Fingers are crossed that his early injury isn’t something that will linger though.
We don’t expect that Quez Watkins’ fumble will lead to more and become a constant narrative, and even though there were some bright spots (DeVonta Smith, Jalen Hurts, and Miles Sanders for instance), there were parts of Jalen’s game, as brilliant as it was, that were hard to quantify.
What if we told you that two of his best passes of the night resulted in turnovers? What if we told you that one of his worst passes wound up landing in the receiver’s hands for a touchdown?
Jalen Hurts best throws
Some might disagree with this. That’s okay, but we have no major issues with Jalen’s decision to toss one deep into double coverage in an attempt to connect with A.J. Brown for a big play.
QB1 placed the ball where it needed to be to allow his guy an opportunity. The ball hit A.J. Brown in the hands. Darrick Forrest just made a better play. It happens. Opposing teams have good players too.
Here’s one more look if you need it.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1592339492228059137?s=20&t=6nafXigAVMAqoe_JXJEz6w
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1592340333404094464?s=20&t=6nafXigAVMAqoe_JXJEz6w
Late in the fourth quarter, a big play resulted in a fumble. Again, Jalen Hurts went deep. Again, the throw was on the money. Unfortunately, this one would also result in a change of possession.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1592364671264096257?s=20&t=6nafXigAVMAqoe_JXJEz6w
Jalen Hurts’ worst throw… sort of
It worked out, but let’s hope the Eagles don’t make a habit of running fake quarterback draws out of 13 personnel that result in jump-throws.
Again, it worked out. Dallas Goedert scored his third touchdown of the season, but the throw was a little behind him. Then again, that happens sometimes when your quarterback isn’t setting his feet and has to jump to make the throw.
Wait a second. If he didn’t set his feet and still delivered a relatively catchable ball, maybe we should throw this one in the best throws category. What say ye?
Here’s one final look. You be the judge.
Final Week 10 grades for Jalen Hurts
Simply put, despite the loss, we still like what we saw from QB1. He hit on some throws and got bailed out by the receivers on maybe two or three tosses. He missed a wide-open Kenneth Gainwell on another occasion, but that’s okay. These guys aren’t machines.
He’s continuing his ascension. That’s all that you can ask for from a franchise signal-caller. The entire team will learn from Week 10’s loss. Here are Jalen Hurts’ final grades before we move on to the Indianapolis Colts.
- Accuracy: A-
- Vision: A-
- Intangibles: A+
- Decision making: A-
- Leadership: A+
- Overall: A-