Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (Post-Game Transcript)

On the response in the second half to win the game after the Jaguars made a run:

“I think it was a great effort. It ended the game. I think it came down to that. I have to watch the film to really assess it. I think, situationally, we could have been better. I think we could have executed better in some situations, handled some situations a little better, but I just can’t get off of [Eagles LB] Nakobe [Dean] and the play he made at the end of the game. So a hell of a play. A big time moment. In my perspective, you’re kind of gearing and trying to be prepared. You play the next play, and you want to be ready for the guys out there. And it was a tough one. We had to dig deep, different challenges that we had to face. I’m just proud that we found a way in the end. I can’t say it was a complete complementary game full of complementary football, but we found a way to win.”

 

On what he thought of Eagles RB Saquon Barkley’s leap over the defender:

“God has blessed [Eagles RB] Saquon [Barkley] with some special things. I really genuinely pray he continues to use those things and the fullness of him and give him the glory with that because there’s special stuff he’s capable of doing. So we just need him to continue to be that type of player.”

 

On what he saw on the touchdown pass to Eagles WR DeVonta Smith:

“Sometimes, I think people don’t take notice of how much of a lack of vision a quarterback does have in certain situations. And I didn’t have great vision on him, but I think it’s the number of times that we’ve repped those types of routes. [I] have a feel for him. I think it’s a thing of connection as well. And then put it in a spot where he can only get it, and then him making a hell of a play. I think about something similar where we had that same type of play versus Dallas last year. On the other side, something very similar, where he was able to get his toes down and secure the catch. And I think out there tonight, we saw three outstanding plays by three different individuals. It all helped us win the game. I’m happy that it gave us momentum, it gave us spark, and I think we just need to continue to build off of that.”

 

On the significance of Eagles RB Saquon Barkley’s performance on the night former Eagles RB LeSean McCoy was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame:

“I can’t give you too much on that one. It is a great game for [Eagles RB] Saquon [Barkley].”

 

On why the QB sneak has was not working:

“I gave them a lot of credit this week when you guys didn’t want to ask me questions about the defense. So it was a really good defense, and they challenged us, and they showed up situationally up front. I said they had a great front seven. They have really good edge rushers, and they affected the game. They posed a challenge for us, not only on that play, but on a lot of other plays in the game too.”

 

On what specifically he is referring to when he mentioned situationally it could have been better:

“Fourth down. How we execute those moments and how we manage those moments. Then obviously, we want to end the game on our terms. I don’t think we did that. I think that’s something that you don’t want to deal with. Not as a quarterback, and not as an offense when you have an opportunity to do something. So we just need to learn from it. I think the biggest takeaway for me – it’s an encouraging thing because to this point, we’ve been able to learn from our mistakes. We’ve shown that we’ve grown, and we’ve continued to excel. And I think there’ll be a lot of takeaways and other opportunities to learn from what we experienced today, good, bad, or indifferent. So I think that we can’t be foolish about it and let it be what it is. That’s not the approach. There’s no satisfaction in anything. I’m not satisfied by anything. We had some great moments out there today, but there’s more for us to do. Don’t be a fool and learn from mistakes. Let’s learn from them, and be intentional about that, and give your best to put your best foot forward to continue to progress and win.”

 

On his vantage point on not having great vision on Eagles WR DeVonta Smith:

“They can play one high or two high, and it’s a different variation. With the two high, they can play quarter quarter half, or just cover two, or just straight quarters or as a bracket, essentially. Kind of something like man, but they were in quarters and had one-on-one outside, and a lot of double moves are similar in the sense of timing, vision where your eyes are, and that type of ball you want to throw when you’re in that fringe area, like 20 to 30.

 

I don’t remember what, but I think it’s 20 to 30 range, somewhere around there, some of those balls got to get up and down. So, it was a ball that I got up and down. I didn’t have great vision on [Eagles WR] DeVonta [Smith], but I knew where he was going to be. I have to see if it was a ball that maybe I could have gotten up earlier, but I threw it to a spot where only he could get it. And that’s a hell of a play he made. That’s a hell of a play he made. I’ve seen him make that play in practice. I’ve seen him in the back of the end zone, stick one hand out there and make that same very play. And so that’s what I’m most excited about.

 

I’ve experienced those same things with [Eagles WR] A.J. [Brown], where he catches a back shoulder ball, one hand, in Washington last year. Well, I saw him do that that same Thursday. So there are a lot of things that we go out there and we rep, and it’s off the field, off of time. And then there’s sometimes where the vision isn’t there. Sometimes you have a tackle, you have a guard in your face, or you have pressure, or you don’t have the greatest vision on it. But those are the things that I have to overcome to go out there and execute, and that’s the challenge that I’m faced with. But I think, in a moment like that, to overcome the flag before the game, to overcome everything, I think that’s just great team ball. I think that’s great trust. I think that’s great continuity between [Eagles WR] DeVonta [Smith] and I. I’m just happy. I’m happy it was a big play in the game that helped us win.”

 

On how much trust and continuity positively affects passing plays:

“Trust, continuity, these are words that I’ve said 1000 times, and they’re not foreign to you guys. Those things are important. Those things are important for success. We go to UCF, or we go to Houston, we’re working these same routes. And so that’s a hell of a play by him on a safety. You got a back matched up on the safety. Some may say that’s not a favorable matchup, but he made a play. It’s a thing of continuing to build in your repertoire. And I know there’s a lot made up about a lot of different things. But ultimately, you saturate yourself with something, and you just continue to build. You can continue to build. And I think for that example, that’s something that he came out the gate in Week 1, he made a great play like that. You guys remember the stadium practice where [Eagles RB] Kenneth [Gainwell] made the same play down the sideline in a two-minute situation in the stadium practice. And now [Eagles RB Saquon Barkley] had a chance to make – and that was a hell of a catch. It’s a play that he’s made, but that’s a play that we’ve repped. It’s a play that he had confidence in, and I had confidence in. And so it comes down to that 1000 kicks rule. Do you fear the man that has practiced 1000 different kicks, or do you fear the man that has practiced the same kick 1000 times? We want to be a team that can be multiple, attack teams in different ways, but also be really, really good in whatever we choose to do. And so we just have to continue to navigate what it looks like to continue to get synchronized in those things so we can play to the fullness of what we’re supposed to be.”

 

On the 46-yard completion to Eagles WR DeVonta Smith:

“So that was one that I struggled with in practice all week. I had an opportunity to [Eagles WR] A.J. [Brown] in practice, had the opportunity to [Eagles WR DeVonta Smith] Smitty in practice. And I didn’t hit it right, you know, it just wasn’t clicking. But we repped it and we talked about it, and we put time into it, and we were able to execute it in a crucial moment. I think [it was] just a great overall effort from everyone; Smitty, trusting the ball to get to him, and creating that separation and making a play, and then making another amazing play in the red zone. I just think it took us all from protection, to how we blocked the front in the run game, how we protected, how we made plays at the wideout position. I think this one took everybody. When one man was down, it was tough, but the next man stepped up. And I think that’s the exciting thing. Like I said, I’ll bring it back and wrap it up here. But, in terms of playing complimentary football, I think it was one of the cleanest games in that realm. But I think we had each other’s backs, and I think that’s the thing that matters the most; guys showing up and having their teammates’ back. And we just want to continue to build off of that, and have everyone accept that, accept their roles in each given game. And, you know, keep moving forward and keep pressing along. But we aren’t satisfied. There’s a lot to learn from. We’ll put a 24-hour rule on it and enjoy it for this time being. And we know we have a big one on the road that we need to go get.”

 

On him having a knack for throwing the deep ball:

“That’s the first time that I’ve heard that. You know why? They said I can’t.”

 

On who said he couldn’t throw the deep ball:

“They.”

 

On the deep touchdown pass to WR Devonta Smith:

“It was a play that I struggled with in practice all week.  I had an opportunity to [Eagles WR] A.J. [Brown] in practice, I had an opportunity to [Eagles WR] DeVonta Smith in practice. But I didn’t hit it right and it just wasn’t clicking. But we repped it and we talked about it, we put time into it, and we were able to execute it in a crucial moment. I think it just was a great overall effort from everyone. [Eagles WR DeVonta Smith] Smitty trusting the ball to get to him and creating that separation, making a play, and then making another amazing play in the red zone. I just think this game took all of us. It took the protection, how we blocked the front in the run game, how we protected, how we made plays at the wideout position. I think this one took everybody. When one man was down, it was tough, but the next man stepped up. And I think that’s the exciting thing. Like I said, I’ll bring it back and wrap it up here. But in terms of playing complementary football, I think it was wasn’t the cleanest games in that realm. But I think we had each other’s backs, and I think that’s the thing that matters the most. Guys showing up and having their teammates back. And we just want to continue to build off of that and have everyone accept their roles in each given game. And keep moving forward and keep pressing along. But we are not satisfied. There’s a lot to learn from. We’ll put a 24 hour rule on it and enjoy it for the time being. And we know we have a big one on the road that we need to go get.”