‘I put us in a bad spot:' Jalen Hurts still trying to solve interception problem

Jalen Hurts wasn’t about to run from it. He wasn’t about to make excuses.

Hurts knows how bad his two interceptions were Friday night against the Packers. He knows they could have cost the Eagles an opening-day win. And he knows he’s got to stop making those kind of mistakes.

He knows. But they keep happening.

“Definitely could have avoided some of those things,” Hurts said. “I put us in a bad spot as a team,” he said.

It was a strange game all around because the Eagles struggled in a lot of areas but nonetheless got out of Brazil with a huge win over a very good team to open the season.

Nobody struggled more than Hurts, whose two interceptions in the Eagles’ 34-29 win in São Paulo weren’t tipped balls or incredible defensive plays. They were just avoidable mistakes that were the result of poor decision making.

He tried to float a ball to DeVonta Smith through about four defenders on his second pass of the year and then, after doing some good things in the middle of the game, he cost the Eagles certain points with an even worse interception on an across-the-body throw into the end zone early in the fourth quarter on a 3^rd-and-13 that had no chance to get to A.J. Brown.

What makes those plays so concerning is that they seem to be an extension of 2023, when Hurts was third in the league with 15 interceptions, matching the most by an Eagles quarterback since Randall Cunningham threw 16 in 1988. Carson Wentz also had 15 in 2020.

He's in his fifth year now. He has to know better.

What saved the Eagles is that the defense held the Packers to field goals after both interceptions.

“They showed up and had my back big-time in that moment after those two turnovers,” Hurts said of the defense. “Those are things that I control and I have to be better at and I take accountability for that. 

“But that's what it's about. You have moments where it's like, ‘Oh, well, we missed this opportunity, we didn't take advantage of this opportunity,’ but how do we respond from it?

“I'm really happy with just how we weathered the storm as a team. We've been talking about it. I've been preaching it. A lot of guys have been preaching it. What type of team are we going to be? What type of teammates are we going to be? What type of approach will we have? How do we handle adversity when it comes? We take pride in that.”

And Hurts did respond positively after both interceptions. 

After the first one, he went 18-for-30 for 251 yards on the Eagles’ next seven drives, which netted 28 points on two Hurts TD passes and two Saquon Barkley runs.

And after the second one, he engineered the clinching 16-play, 67-yard drive, which culminated in a Jake Elliott field goal, gave the Eagles a six-point lead and left the Packers with only 27 seconds to go 84 yards. He converted a 2^nd-and-8 with a tough 1^st-down run and completed a couple huge passes to Smith for first downs.

It wasn’t a total disaster. He really did some good things. The 67-yard touchdown to Brown was the 2^nd-longest of his career – he had an 81-yarder to DeSean Jackson as a rookie – there was that spectacular 18-yard TD to Barkley and a total of 14 completions for first downs.

“You’ve got to have a short-term memory, process everything that happens, but move on and play the next play because the guys next to you are needing you,” he said.  

And – most importantly - the Eagles won.

“He’s going to want some plays back obviously,” Nick Sirianni said. “But as far as … playing through and handling the adversity -- again, wasn't perfect by any means – but I thought he responded good.”

Hurts threw 20 interceptions in his first 39 career starts. He has 17 in his last 18 starts.          

He had the 8^th-best interception ratio in NFL history going into the 2023 season (minimum 1,000 attempts). He’s now 25^th.

“It's all things that you can control,” he said. “We'll continue to find our rhythm as a football team. It's always good to be able to figure it out with a win. Good to start the season off in the win column.”

Hurts is now 3-6 in his career when he throws two or more interceptions. He’s 34-14 when he throws one or none.

The Eagles got away with one Friday night, but Hurts knows that when he throws multiple interceptions the Eagles generally aren’t going to win.

“We all experienced some adversity, but we all dug deep, dug deep and kept pressing forward.

“In the end, we made some crucial plays to extend drives, crucial plays down the field, crucial plays on defense. Even showing up on special teams, as well. That's what it's all about. You're going to keep pressing forward, keep pressing forward.

“We'll learn from it. But I'm very happy. I'm very happy to get a win - good, bad or ugly. Whatever, I'm very grateful for that. I know this team is excited to continue to build.”

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