Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (Post-Game Transcript)
On whether he thinks this team just seems to have a knack to win and where it comes from:
“I think it comes from the band and the familiarity within the building. You’ve heard me talk a lot about those Georgia guys on the other side of the ball and how familiar they are with one another. I think they bring a special energy to the defense and into the team. You see it out there today with all those guys making plays. The defense was playing lights out, it was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. So a really, really big time game on that side of the ball and to be able to do what they did on fourth down against a really good offense or a potent offense that’s capable of doing really, really special things and I have a lot of respect for that.”
On whether Head Coach Nick Sirianni’s message to the team was to win the turnover battle and not do too much outside of your job:
“That’s always a philosophical staple and what he believes. It’s always been that. It’s been that over the years, and we’ve lost some games when we’ve lost the turnover battle. Some games have been closer than what they’ve needed to be because of that. Usually, you look at that as one of the key factors and it has held true.”
On the Lions having this game circled on their calendar and whether he feels like teams are giving their best shot because of what the Eagles have accomplished:
“Absolutely. Absolutely. And what more do you expect, that’s exactly how it’s going to be. When you accomplish the things that you’ve accomplished, everybody wants to take your place and we just have to continue to improve so we can maintain where we are.”
On whether there was an effort to get Eagles WR A.J. Brown the football:
“Yeah, just going with the flow of the game, how it was called and trying to go out there and execute. That may be a [Eagles OC Kevin Patullo] KP question.”
On the defensive line deflecting passes:
“It’s very disruptive and it’s something that you see them do often in practice. They’re very skillful. They kind of got a knack for when the rush has kind of come to a halt and being able to jump up and time it up and make a play on the ball. So I wouldn’t be surprised if [DT] Jalen Carter catches one of them here soon.”
On if the defense takes anything from his personal mentality:
“That’s not something that I could take ownership for. I just try to lead with an example and bring a certain level of energy to it. But, it’s just a mentality thing and I think you have to have a level of grittiness to see things through and figure things out. In a game like tonight, I mean they played lights out and they held things down, they held things down. So, we just have to continue to improve so we can elevate the level of complimentary football we play. When I look at five stops on 4th-down, as an offense, we have to be able to capitalize on all of those opportunities in short fields and when the defense is playing like that. So that’s an area of growth for us.”
On if running quarterback sneaks have become more difficult:
“No, I have to watch the film to really be able to answer that question, but I got to get a good push off the ball and got to drive a bit. They’re honing in on it, very strict on the guard and the center and how they operate and they got their eyes on it. So, we just have to be as clean as possible and then go out there and find ways to convert it.”
On what he can take away from the offense’s performance:
“My main takeaway is that we have to score points. We have to be more efficient. We have to take advantage of opportunities when they are there and we have to control the things that we can control. It’s the same in M.O. it’s been this whole entire time.”
On if he feels the offensive struggles is a result of team itself or the defenses they’ve faced:
“Always going to give a lot of respect to the opponent we play. It is always going to come down to us and what we do. So we have to do a bit of identifying who we are, so we can find consistency in something and go out there and execute at a high level. I think there’s a lot of encouragement coming into the bye-week, where we were still with a ton of room to improve. But you know what I feel about momentum, it can begin to end at any moment. But as I told you guys last week, is it half full or half empty? Everybody’s got to be all hands on deck and trying to improve that. Nothing takes over the precedent of winning. That’s what it’s all about. With winning in mind and with winning being the number one thing that doesn’t dismiss, we got some work to do. Work to do and we need to improve. So it’s a collective takes everybody being on the same page, takes everybody being truly committed to winning and winning itself and not being any buts behind it.”
On whether the team can learn more from facing playoff caliber teams:
“Absolutely. Not necessarily reading into it, but it’s something that you feel, it’s something you sense as a team that you’re being tested on these things. So, how we went out there and found a way to win a lot of those games are like that. I think the most important thing is to stand together throughout the journey of it.”
On how his opinion on the team doing well considering the strength of the schedule:
“I think it could, considering that you face some really good opponents and you know what they’re capable of on that side of the ball. I think in the end, it’s always going to come down to what you do, holding yourself to a standard and looking yourself in the mirror on those things. So it all starts internal. It all starts internal, and that’s every individual themselves and then that’s as a team collectively. So, I don’t want to make it too much about the opponent. We just have to look in and grow ourselves.”