A year ago, the story was all about whether or not Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni hate each other, or if it’s just Hurts hating Sirianni. Now it’s different. Now, slack-jawed mouth-breathers are coming at Hurts, and Sirianni is telling those people that they’re dumb. It’s nice.
ESPN’s Tim McManus reported that the Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach (read: Super Bowl-winning head coach) shot down the idea that Hurts is being carried by his teammates. “... it’s bulls---.”
Sirianni, The Champion of QB1
Football is the best sport in the world because it takes everybody. For an offensive line to work, all of the dudes need to be perfect and move in unison. For a passing scheme to work, all of the receivers need to win on their routes and move their defenders, the offensive line needs to work, and the quarterback needs to deliver the ball. For a run scheme to work, the offensive line needs to work, the receivers need to do their respective jobs, the quarterback needs to make the right read (sometimes), and the running back needs to make the right reads and hit his gap, zone, or hole.
To put it dumbly: Everyone has to be consistently perfect, and last year the Eagles were the most consistently perfect team in the NFL.
I feel the need to put it dumbly because the dumbs of the world think that Jalen Hurts, who plays the most important position in all of sports, was along for the ride last season. A season, mind you, that ended with Hurts being named the Super Bowl MVP… So. Yeah.
Nick Sirianni took it upon himself to put the naysayers down: “I think that’s bullsh---”
Well put. The Eagles' CEO head coach, a coach who oversees the whole team, not just the offense or defense, knows that it takes an entire team to be great… starting with the guy who touches the ball every single play.
Sirianni continued, “I mean, he plays the most important position in all of sports. And it's the most ultimate team game there is. And what I admire about him is his selflessness of doing anything we need to do to win.”
It’s incredibly important to note that selflessness, because we know that Hurts wanted to move the ball through the air.
Jalen Hurts on the win vs. Pittsburgh 😅 pic.twitter.com/wR2HSH4p8B
— NFL (@NFL) December 16, 2024
That was after he went 25-of-32 for 290 yards and two touchdowns against the Steelers in Week 15.
That was after he went 20-of-28 for 246 yards and a touchdown against the Commanders in the NFC Championship game.
There have been quarterbacks who have had issues with how their passing game has been called. In 2012, Ben Roethlisberger had issues with how Todd Haley’s offense didn’t allow him to be explosive, and in 2016, Joe Flacco straight-up said the Ravens offense was “Definitely, definitely not fun…”
I would argue that those are two quarterbacks who know what they’re talking about, and both of those teams ended up with an 8-8 record and didn’t make the playoffs. The fact that Jalen Hurts was fine letting his teammates shine, two years after he was an MVP runner-up, and one year after his team imploded, is amazing.
Hurts clearly wants to be the highlight of the offense, but he knows that winning is the only thing that matters. And when you have Saquon Barkley, who gets to play behind the most dominant offensive line in the NFL, running the football is a much, much easier way to win football games.
Also, if you want real proof about the Eagles quarterback not being carried by his teammates, look at the Week 16 game against the Commanders when Kenny Pickett came in and stunk up the joint. He had the same people that Hurts played with, but the offense couldn’t consistently throw the ball, and Saquon didn’t get the help of Hurts’ run threat.
Sirianni concluded, “One of the reasons I love football so much is that it takes everybody to accomplish your goals. You can go ahead and start naming great quarterbacks, I'll tell you their great receivers and their great defenses. You know, whether it's Brady with Gronkowski or Brady's defenses early on, Mahomes with Kelce, Steve Young with Jerry Rice, the list goes on and on and on. I just think sometimes that's good debate, I guess. I wouldn't even say it's good debate, but it's debate that people are able to have. But yeah, I guess, my first initial thing was it's bulls---.”
The Eagles' offense is great. They have the best skill position group in the NFL, the most dominant offensive line in the NFL, and one of the most commanding quarterbacks in the NFL. Just because Hurts wasn’t the metaphorical cover model (even though he literally could be) doesn’t mean he got carried; it means the Eagles are an awesome organization with players who care about winning… and then they won the entire thing.