Why does Jalen Hurts take so many sacks? Nick Sirianni discusses

He kept taking sack after sack and by the time the game was over Jalen Hurts had thrown just 20 passes and been sacked seven times.

Which is the most sacks in NFL postseason history by a quarterback throwing only 20 times.

It looked bad. It was bad. Hurts only threw for 128 yards and he gave nearly half of it back with 63 sack yards.

The Eagles beat the Rams 28-22 mainly because Saquon Barkley was unstoppable and the defense came up huge in key moments. 

But Hurts’ reluctance to get rid of the ball when he was under pressure is concerning. One of the sacks was a safety, and those two points seemed huge when the Rams were down six and driving toward the end zone in the final minutes.

Nick Sirianni insisted Monday he’s not concerned with the sacks Hurts has been taking, explaining that Hurts’ ability to extend plays while leading to sacks also creates opportunities for the offense.

“Jalen has a unique ability that when something happens within the play concept, whether that is a breakdown in protection, whether that's somebody not getting open, whether that's a coaching error of not getting guys open in a particular spot, whether it's a misread, whatever it is, he has this unique ability to get out of trouble and create plays,” Sirianni said.

“I think what you see is, it's easy to look at, 'Oh, he got sacked this many times,’ or, ‘He got sacked that many times,’ and not account for all the rushing yards that he's had when he's been able to extend. It happened three or four times (Sunday), when one of those things happened that I mentioned.”

Hurts only threw for 121 yards, but he did rush for 70 yards against the Rams, with 44 of them coming on a 1^st-quarter touchdown run. He also converted a 2^nd-and-8 in the second quarter with an 11-yard scramble. 

But part of the cause for concern is that Hurts continued taking sacks in the second half as the conditions deteriorated and he was slowed after banging his knee. He was sacked three times in the second half, including that 3^rd-quarter safety. He couldn't move but he didn't adjust the way he was playing.

After the game, Hurts said he couldn’t address the sacks and the way he responded to pressure until he watched film. 

“I’ll need to watch the film to be able to assess it better,” he said. “But rhythm is everything. Rhythm is everything, and we just have to be able to find our rhythm in what we do.” 

The seven sacks were the most in Hurts’ career and the 2^nd-most in Eagles postseason history. Donovan McNabb was sacked eight times by the Packers in 2003 in the 4^th-and-26 game.

Hurts has been sacked 47 times in 449 dropbacks this year, one every 9 ½ dropbacks. Only six quarterbacks have taken more sacks this year than Hurts, and every one threw at least 140 more passes.

But then there are the positives: The Eagles are 14-2 this year when Hurts starts and finishes, including 12 straight wins going into Sunday. He’s thrown 178 consecutive postseason passes without an interception, the 3^rd-longest streak in NFL history. He’s got four career postseason wins, and only six quarterbacks have had more before their 27^th birthday.

“Again, whether it was a breakdown, whether it was a coaching error, whether it was a receiver not getting open, whatever it was … you're going to have a little bit of that balance that there will be times where they finish on the sack as well,” Sirianni said.

“And it’s got to be a balance, right? But I know how many plays he's made with his feet. That doesn't mean you just extend and make a play running. It's also the ones that he extends and throws and finds the guy down the field.

“Conditions (Sunday) were sloppy, as we know, with the way the field was. Both teams had to play in it. Their pass rush did a good job, too. I thought our o-line did a really nice job protecting. We had a couple breakdowns here and there. 

“But … just like when you make a big play, like Saquon's run, it's not just on Saquon. It took everybody. It’s the same thing when there is a sack. It's on everybody. It's every part, coaches, players. It's just the greatest team sport there is. You can't pin it on any (one) thing.

“I know he takes some heat sometimes about taking sacks, but we don't account for all the times he makes big plays out of it as well. It's just a unique ability that he has. There are not a lot of the guys that have it. He's unique in that and has an unbelievable feel of how to extend plays. 

“And the efficiency that he's playing quarterback with and the way he's taking care of the football gives us a chance to win every single week.”

Tune in to Mission 59 specials all playoffs long on NBC Sports Philadelphia, presented by Toyota.

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