There may not be a lot of happy Philadelphia Eagles fans with quarterback Jalen Hurts right now, but everyone has to respect the fact that he is facing it head on.
Hurts is experiencing the most challenging part of his NFL career after five turnovers in the 22-19 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14. It has pushed Philly sports media to start considering Tanner McKee and even begin asking Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni whether Hurts will still be the starter for their Week 15 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
When he spoke with the media, Hurts wasn't afraid to face those criticisms head-on. In fact, he knows what he has to do to get past this rough patch in his career.
"Success and greatness aren't linear. You have your ups, you have your downs. It's about how you respond to it. I've got a lot of confidence in how we'll respond and a lot of confidence in how it'll go."
There's still time for Hurts to turn things around
It's been covered ad nauseam, but Hurts' last five games have been a key indicator for the start of an Eagles collapse and the star quarterback's decline. Only once in the previous five games has he completed more than 60% of his passes, and he has turned the ball over eight times in that span.
With that being said, Hurts is going deep more often on his passes and seems to have rekindled his working relationship with wide receiver A.J. Brown. Brown has gone for over 100 yards receiving in three consecutive games. Unfortunately, that has led to three straight losses.
Hurts showed early in the season his accuracy, completing over 70% of his passes before the bye week, with just two turnovers. If he can get back to that quarterback, the offense might be able to get back into rhythm.
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Things are not perfect in Philly as it is downright a nightmare, but Hurts has been to two Pro Bowls, two Super Bowls, and won a Super Bowl with an MVP that same game. If anyone can figure out how to get out of a rut, it's Hurts.