Eagles fans should be furious at Doug Pederson for waiting so long on Jalen Hurts

Philadelphia Eagles fans can’t be thrilled with Doug Pederson after watching Jalen Hurts start off strong against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

The Philadelphia Eagles fanbase was excited for the 2020 campaign due to their active offseason, with many thinking they were fielding a better overall team than the 2019 squad. However, the first three months fo the season were frankly unwatchable, as the Eagles owned an ugly 3-8-1 record. While many could point to the injuries on the team, one aspect that couldn’t be looked over was the play of starting quarterback Carson Wentz.

Even with his regressed play and lack of confidence, Wentz was still given the proverbial thumbs up by head coach Doug Pederson on a weekly basis, despite the Eagles faithful calling for rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts. It was only until the New York Giants and Washington Football Team jumped to first place in the NFC East that Pederson finally decided to give Hurts the start under center for their huge Week 14 game against the New Orleans Saints.

On Sunday, Hurts had an impressive start against the Saints, making Pederson look even more foolish for not making the move sooner.

Better late than never to start Hurts

In his very first start, Hurts had his way with a stout New Orleans defense and did so with a shorthanded offensive line unit. On Philadelphia’s second drive of the game, Hurts showed his accuracy and toughness by connecting with receiver Alshon Jeffery for a 15-yard touchdown while getting crushed by Saints linebacker Kwon Alexander.

Hurts also made a variety of plays with his feet, especially his 26-yard run in the final drive of the first half to bring the Eagles in field goal range. Sadly, that rush was all for naught, as kicker Jake Elliott sent his field goal attempt directly into the left upright of the goalpost, ruining the team’s chance to enter the locker room with a 20-0 lead.

In his first half, Hurts completed 12-of-21 of his passes for 129 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 75 yards on seven carries. Again, this all came against a Saints defense that allowed just 288.8 yards of total offense per game.

Pederson was obviously banking on Wentz to play his way out of his struggles. But after watching the $128 million quarterback record 19 turnovers in 12 games and sensing that his seat was growing hotter by the week, Pederson finally decided it was time to bench Wentz, even though it should’ve happened weeks ago.

The head coach should consider himself lucky that they play in the wide open NFC East. If Hurts continues to play at this impressive level, the Eagles could fall backwards into the division title. Hey, anything’s possible in 2020. But Pederson shouldn’t be shocked to hear Eagles fans complain that he took way too long to make the switch to Hurts following this game.