Eagles QB Jalen Hurts had a spectacular game against the Atlanta Falcons, week 1 of the NFL season. He received high praise from 3x NBA champion Dwayne Wade.
Advertisement
The Philadelphia Eagles made a gamble by putting their entire faith in QB Jalen Hurts, when they traded former franchise QB Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts. In week 13 of the 2020 season, Hurts was activated to QB1 after Wentz was benched for poor play. Week 14 onwards, he was named the full time starter.
Hurts’ first game as a starter turned out to be the Eagles’ best game of the season. In a 24-21 win over the New Orleans Saints, Hurts went 17-of-30 for 167 yards and 1 TD. Not overly spectacular, but his decision making with the ball in his hand was a significant upgrade from what Wentz had given them all season long.
Hurts became the permanent starter when Wentz was traded to the Colts
This past NFL off-season, the Eagles traded Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts for a 2021 third round pick, and a conditional 2022 second round pick, that could turn into a first-rounder based on Wentz’s playing time (at-least 75% of the Colts’ offensive snaps. This move was made keeping in mind that Wentz had his best season for the Eagles with offensive coordinator Frank Reich. Reich is the current HC of the Colts and that, along with the elite supporting cast he has could potentially help him get back to his prime form.
This move clarified one thing, the Eagles organisation had vested their confidence in Jalen Hurts. They also parted ways with their Super Bowl winning HC Doug Pederson which signified a complete start-over. Former Colts OC Nick Sirriani was hired as HC and they signed Joe Flacco to back-up Hurts. They also traded for Gardner Minshew from the Jacksonville Jaguars. They clearly have unreal depth at QB if something were to go wrong.
Also Read : Aaron Rodgers seems relaxed despite embarrassing week 1 loss to the Saints
What did Hurts do to warrant such high praise from NBA legend Dwayne Wade
Hurts had an excellent first game-of-the-season against the Atlanta Falcons. He went 27-for-35 for 264 passing-yards and threw 3 TDs. He also had 7 rushes for 62 yards proving his dual-threat nature as a QB. The Eagles, even though considered underdogs heading into the game, blew out the Falcons 32-6 and proved that they are legit.
Hurts’ performance received praise from fans and media around the league. On an Instagram post that reported the rise in his jersey sales by 500%, NBA legend and future HOFer Dwayne Wade commented, “He’s a winner. Point. Blank. Period.” Clearly, D Wade is a fan. He has expressed his believe in Hurts several times before including a tweet where he advised the Atlanta Falcons to draft him.
If Hurts can keep up this type of high level play, there is no doubt that the Eagles are in contention to win the NFC East and even make some noise in the playoffs. The help he has on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball is definitely a bit suspect, but a good QB raises the ceiling of his fellow players, and Hurts is very much capable of achieving that.
