Jalen Hurts gets his Eagles teammate Quez Watkins fired up with a pep talk, hopefully
Time sure has a way of dragging by when you're looking forward to something, doesn't it? Birthdays... Christmas... A day off or a vacation from a job you can't stand performing. Here's something else that we haven't been able to get off of our minds. The Philadelphia Eagles play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night in the Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs. We can't wait for that one, but wouldn't you know it? Time feels like it's at a standstill.
Speaking of waiting... We waited all week for the Eagles to inform us that A.J. Brown would be ready for the Wild Card Round. That announcement never came. We probably should have known when he sat out of three practices, but we're allowed to hang on to hope, right?
We have said all of that to say this. Quez Watkins is in the spotlight again, and that has Birds fans a little worried. QB1 Jalen Hurts offered a Hirts-esque pep talk to his teammate. The message was this. "When the phone rings, be ready to answer".
That will make the list of classic Jalen Hurts quotes. We won't lie though. It's tough to be confident.
Jalen Hurts has made the call to his Eagles teammate (and it sounds like he could make another). Will Quez Watkins be ready?
Quez Watkins is the sole survivor of an Eagles 2020 draft class that added three wide receivers to the nest. He was also a sixth-rounder and the third wideout taken. Guess who else was a part of that group. That's right! Philly found Jalen Hurts.
Jalen has thrown the ball to Quez a lot, whether that be in earlier practices where both were trying to climb the ladder or in games that affected the win loss total. There have been good times. The screen pass to Quez that went for six points in Arizona during their rookie seasons stands out. So do bombs to Quez in games versus the Carolina Panthers (2021) and the Minnesota Vikings (2022), but Quez is more remembered in Philly for what he hasn't done.
There was the fumble versus the Commanders. There was also the drop in the Super Bowl, and who could forget those interceptions that were thrown in his direction during the Christmas Eve showdown with the Dallas Cowboys in 2022 and the Week 15 game versus the Seattle Seahawks this season.
We're asking that guy to fill in for A.J. Brown?
The next time Quez Watkins fights for a football or plays a little 'defensive back' to prevent a bad pass from becoming an interception will be the first time it happens. He has to be better in that area, but that isn't all.
Right now, in the Wild Card Round of the NFC Playoffs, the Eagles NEED him to step into some large cleats left by A.J. Brown for at least one game, and while we know Quez isn't A.J., the Birds need his best effort.