Jalen Hurts tapped into an unusual source of insight ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles' Wild Card playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Wink Martindale, formerly a New York Giants coach who spent years scheming against him.
Martindale was the Giants' defensive coordinator for the past two seasons. He faced Hurts four times in the regular season and once more in the playoffs, sending blitzes his way constantly. It's his calling card as a coach, yes, but also something that left Hurts feeling shaky as the Eagles approached last season’s playoffs.
Martindale and Hurts spent half an hour discussing the Giants' game plan and where the Eagles' protection was vulnerable, according to Jim McManus and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
“I've been doing this for 40 years and it's the first time I've had an opposing quarterback call me up,” Martindale said to ESPN. “I thought it was pretty cool that the guy called. It shows you what kind of pro he really is. He's just looking at every angle that he can to get better…It was very effective and he knew it, and he just wanted to know why we did certain things that we did. Then he went to work on that.”
Jalen Hurts called Wink Martindale for advice before Eagles' playoff game
The call with Martindale only helped the Eagles minimally, if at all. But by that point in Philadelphia's season, nothing short of divine intervention could have saved the team. The Bucs, seen as one of the weakest teams between both sides of the NFL playoff bracket, clobbered them 32-9.
Despite a roster littered with talent, the Eagles sputtered down the stretch of the 2023 season. Hurts' level of trust with head coach Nick Sirianni has been under the microscope all offseason. Sirianni is shouldering the blame for the way his team folded but the pressure remains massive.
The Eagles now boast Saquon Barkley in their backfield as they try to get back on track and compete for the Super Bowl again, though they’re now without the stewardship of Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox.
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