It was a disappointing Monday for the Philadelphia Eagles after suffering a heartbreaking loss of 21-22 at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons. But following the game, Jalen Hurts once again stepped into the shoes of the leader and offered some words of encouragement to lift his crew’s spirits. Seeing the quarterback lead from the front, even head coach Nick Sirianni felt no need to add his input.
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During an appearance on the 94WIP Morning Show, Sirianni relayed how Hurts dealt with their loss after the game:
“Jalen is an awesome leader. I’m sitting there looking through what I was going to say after the game. He spoke from his heart. I thought his message was right on, dead on. We’ll always keep in-house things in-house, but at the end of the day, Jalen talked about the details.”
“I just thought he was spot on with what he said; his passion was awesome. When a player is saying everything that you would say, there is no reason for me to speak afterwards… Man, that was perfect,” the head coach continued.
Sirianni also shared that the team took a knee after Hurts’ impactful speech and prayed. The head coach appreciated the signal-caller’s efforts in helping his team deal with the defeat by highlighting how they still had things to be grateful for.
He, therefore, believes that Hurts is “preaching the same message” as the leader as he would, which is “huge.”
That said, while the QB didn’t shy away from taking accountability after the Eagles’ loss, his mentor feels the blame is not all on Hurts.
Sirianni appreciates Hurts’ “unreal” play
The Falcons won by a hair’s breadth on Monday. It seemed that Philadelphia was well in charge of the ball until RB Saquon Barkley dropped a pass, forcing the team to settle for a field goal.
With the ball in Kirk Cousin’s hands, Atlanta then managed to execute a 70-yard drive, eventually clinching a score-tying touchdown. And with an extra point kick by Younghoe Koo, the Falcons secured the win. After concluding his Week 2 outing, Hurts walked off the field with one touchdown, completing 23 of 30 passes for 183 yards.
Sirianni understood that his quarterback was very close to winning the game. So, he lauded Jalen, adding that he wasn’t solely accountable for the loss. When asked about Hurts’ progressions, the HC added:
“I thought he [Jalen] played a really really really good game. You know I hate that we got that pick the last play. Other factors go into it. It’s not just Jalen accountable for that.”
He further said that Hurts played an “outstanding game,” making some “unreal” plays with his legs.
Fans will be hoping that Hurts’ pep talk helped the Eagles as they fly to New Orleans for their Week 3 matchup.
