After the tough past month for the Philadelphia Eagles, it certainly looked as though a huge weight fell off their shoulders during the 31-0 shutout victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15.
Nothing was more evident than in the fourth quarter when Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts connected with A.J. Brown on a perfect 27-yard touchdown to seal the win. After the play, Hurts, usually a calm presence, showed off his emotions by celebrating the play, something Eagles fans have rarely seen from the quarterback.
During his press conference, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about the moment with Hurts and if he was okay with it. For Sirianni, it doesn't matter how the players express themselves.
“I want everybody to be who they are and show the personality that they have," Sirianni said via njdotcom's Cayden Steele. "This world is great because not everybody's exactly the same. That would be a boring world if everybody was exactly the same or if Jalen was telling me not to get as excited as I get, right? Same thing, I see emotion from him. I see emotion from him a lot when he makes a play or he is pumped up about a play. Everybody has their own way of celebrating things. I love when he shows emotion, and I love when he goes to the sideline and plays the next play. I am good. Show your personality, show who you are, and that goes for everybody on our team, within the rules of the game. Don't get a penalty.”
Hurts letting out his emotions should fire up Eagles fans
Even if Hurts will never admit it, that must have felt good to have the kind of performance he had against the Raiders. He only had three incompletions for 175 yards and three touchdowns to zero interceptions, adding another 39 yards on the ground.
This was the same guy who had eight turnovers in the last five games since the bye week, going 2-3 in that span. Hurts needed a bounce-back game more than any player arguably in the NFL, and he answered the call in a big way.
Now the Eagles are sitting at 9-5 with a lot more confidence and just one win away from being crowned NFC East champions for the second consecutive season, something that hasn't happened in 20 years. It feels a lot different in Philadelphia going into Week 16 than it did going into Week 15.
Read more: Jalen Hurts spilled the tea on hearing Eagles fans and media's criticism
Eagles fans would probably agree that it's about time Hurts let his emotions out, and really should do it more often.