CHICAGO − As it turns out, the persona that Jalen Hurts displays to the media, and thus the fans, is how he really is with his teammates.
So when Hurts had an awful first half as he did Sunday by throwing two interceptions, or one fewer than he threw in the Eagles’ first 13 games, you might expect him to slam down his helmet, or yell some choice curse words, or maybe give a death stare to a wide receiver who might have run the wrong route.
After all, we have seen Tom Brady do this throughout his illustrious 23-year career, not to mention many other elite quarterbacks.
Not Hurts, even though he played through a sprained shoulder suffered in the third quarter of the Eagles’ 25-20 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
The NFL Network is reporting that Hurts’ status is in doubt for the Eagles’ showdown this Saturday against the Dallas Cowboys. If Hurts can’t play, then backup Gardner Minshew will make his first start of the season. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is scheduled to speak to the media on Tuesday.
But you could hardly tell that Hurts was hurting during the game − and that was true for his teammates, too.
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“He’s the same way as you see him,” wide receiver A.J. Brown said. “He doesn’t show any emotion. I said something to him, and he was like, ‘I’m cool, don’t worry, I got it.'”
There’s a reason Hurts acts this way.
And it was evident in the Eagles’ hard-fought win over the Bears. No, Hurts didn’t rally to have the game of his life. But he did complete 22 of 37 passes for 315 yards, all the while taking a pounding when he ran the ball.
Hurts was slow to get up on the running play in which he injured his shoulder. But he did get up and kept going. Hurts shrugged off a question about that hit the way he shrugged off the Bears’ defenders.
“It wasn’t the first time I was slow (getting up), and it won’t be the last,” he said. “They play a really physical game, and it was real cold, too.”
Yet Hurts’ best throw of the day, a perfectly placed deep ball to Brown that went for 68 yards, came after the injury. Brown had a career-high 181 yards receiving. In the first half, Hurts completed three passes for 104 yards to DeVonta Smith, who finished with 126 yards receiving.
There was never any panic from Hurts, so there was never any panic from his teammates.
“I want those guys to look me in the eyes and know there’s not a doubt,” Hurts said about why he didn’t show his anger. “And to know that with the preparation we put in together that we’ll find a way. I want them to have that trust in me.”
They have that trust in Hurts, and more.
Hurts threw his first interception, on the Eagles’ first possession. He threw his second later in the half trying to hit Quez Watkins over the middle.
Yet Hurts simply reacted the same way he did when he threw the 68-yard bomb to Brown.
“He doesn’t say a lot,” right tackle Lane Johnson said. “He goes to the bench. A lot of it is communication. So when something bad happens, he goes and talks to (quarterbacks coach) Brian (Johnson) and (offensive coordinator) Shane (Steichen).
“We’re just trying to regroup.”
But it also sends a message to the rest of the team.
“It’s all about how you respond,” Smith said. “Even after those two (interceptions), he still responded the right way. He came out, didn’t let it get in his head. He kept doing what he had to do and led us to a victory.”
None of this was easy.
The running game wasn’t working well, except when Hurts needed it the most.
So there were the Eagles late in the first half, trailing the Bears, who came into the game with a 3-10 record, by 3 points. Hurts lined up under center on a third-and-8 from the Bears’ 22-yard line.
Hurts called a quarterback draw and ran untouched into the end zone, giving the Eagles a 10-6 lead at halftime. They made it 17-6 after opening the second half with another TD drive that included Hurts’ 29-yard pass to Brown down to the Bears’ 2.
What did Hurts see on that TD run?
“I don’t want to answer that,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said, perhaps fearing that he would give opponents a snapshot into Hurts’ thinking when he approaches the line of scrimmage.
But really, it’s not hard for anyone to see Hurts’ brilliance.
“He checked it (because) the safety (showed) blitz,” Johnson said. “Then Kelce (blocked) it off. … It was just kind of wide open. It’s good when I see it wide open.”
There are so many superlatives you can use to describe Hurts’ play. He has 35 total touchdowns this season, tying Randall Cunningham’s record for an entire season, which he set in 1990. Hurts also set the Eagles’ team record for rushing TDs by a quarterback with 13, a record Hurts set last season.
And he’s the youngest quarterback in NFL history to lead his team to a 13-1 record.
So no, Hurts isn’t going to be fazed by two interceptions on a frigid day when the temperature at game time was 18 degrees with 16-mph winds.
“I’ve known that guy so long,” said Brown, who’s been close friends with Hurts ever since Brown was a high school senior. “I feel like he faced tougher stuff in his life than going out there and throwing two picks. When he does stuff like that, I think that’s simple from what I see from him.
“He’s a tough guy. He’s not going to let bad times crumble him.”
Don’t confuse that with a laissez-faire attitude. Hurts might not have shown much emotion when he threw the interceptions, but Hurts seethed nonetheless.
“Everybody’s trying to break it up (this team),” he said. “Everybody is waiting to see you fail.”
With that, Hurts said he’d celebrate like he usually does: ”Listening to my Anita Baker. I’m going to get some sweets on the plane ride home, watch the tape, learn from it and move forward.”
And for Hurts’ teammates, it’s just like the title of one of Baker’s songs: “Sweet Love.”
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
