If it's not one person, it has to be someone else who wants to disrespect Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
This week has brought criticism of Hurts after an ESPN report revealed that he was changing plays, showing poor body language, and was not as good a teammate as some on the outside believe. Recently retired Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David opened up about his team preparing to play the Eagles and had some choice words about Hurts.
"Jalen Hurts was never a guy who we were worried about when we played the Eagles,” David said via The Arena: Gridiron. “Our game plan was just like, ‘We going make Jalen Hurts beat us.’ We’re going to keep him in the pocket, make him make his reads, understand what defense he’s seeing, and make him beat us."
Buccaneers didn't worry about playing Jalen Hurts
The Eagles have historically not been great about the Buccaneers. Hurts is 2-4 against Tampa Bay, with the Buccaneers winning six of the last eight matchups against Philly that date back to 2015.
To put all of that on Hurts would be completely unfair since this is, as everyone should know, a team sport. It's a credit to the Buccaneers for being able to stop the Eagles' biggest strengths and slowing down Hurts and the passing game.
Even in the Eagles' 31-25 win over the Buccaneers last year, Tampa Bay did a good job of coverage and slowed down both the run and the pass. The 2025 matchup was more about former offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo's play-calling, but it didn't help that Hurts struggled in the second half.
Tampa Bay's defensive game plan might have worked for them, but ask the same question of the Kansas City Chiefs over the last two Super Bowls and see what their response is about how they game-plan for Hurts. That will be a much different answer.
Read more: Eagles' 2026 offseason workout schedule has officially been revealed
Everyone continues to pile it on Hurts despite his three Pro Bowls, two Super Bowl appearances, one Super Bowl win, and one Super Bowl MVP. All of this doesn't matter to him, though, because this is just fuel he can use to have a breakout 2026 season. If the rest of the NFL wants to continue doing that, go right ahead because Hurts is ready to prove the rest of the league wrong.