QB Jalen Hurts had no time to lament the Philadelphia Eagles' first loss of the season on Sunday. Instead, he was ready to capitalize on it.
Following his team's shocking 20-14 loss to the New York Jets, Hurts immediately began to spin the letdown into a potential good. “This is an opportunity for us to grow. The great ones turn negative situations into positives,” Hurts told reporters after the game, per the Delaware News Journal's Martin Frank.
Hurts is no doubt a great quarterback. And Sunday was no doubt a negative situation for the Eagles' dual-threat. Facing a Jets defense heavily compromised by injuries to its secondary, Hurts posted his first three-interception of the 2023 season. It was just the second such game of his career; the other also occurred at MetLife Stadium, but against the New York Giants back in 2021.
Holding a 14-12 lead late in the fourth quarter, Hurts' third pick of the game doomed Philly. Jets safety Tony Adams took the interception back 45 yards. On the next play, RB Breece Hall gave the Jets the lead with an eight-yard TD run.
The Birds got the ball back down by six points with a chance to steal a late victory and improve to 6-0. But Hurts' deep shot to WR DeVonta Smith on fourth-and-eight fell incomplete.
There's no shame in losing to a Jets defense that downed Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, gave Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs offense fits in Week 4, and totally shut down the Denver Broncos' Russell Wilson last week.
But this was Jets-lite, with starting CBs Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed out with concussions. Next man up CB Brandin Echols missed the game with a hamstring injury. Special-teamer and CB Justin Hardee is on IR because of a hamstring issue.
Sounds as if Jalen Hurts won't dwell on the negatives around the loss. Instead he'll get back to work ahead of an intriguing matchup versus the Miami Dolphins in Week 7 in Philadelphia.
Follow Us
Subscribe