PHILADELPHIA − Jalen Hurts revealed another nugget about himself when he was asked about what he studied during the bye week.
Hurts began with the usual platitudes about going over video, talking to head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen about ways to get better.
And Sirianni himself revealed that he gave Hurts a packet filled with plays for him to study, with notes on why certain things worked and others didn’t. Then they talked through it as the week went along.
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“Jalen is a coach on the field,” Sirianni said. “He’s a quarterback who grew up in coaches’ meetings (Hurts’ father is a high school coach). He’s going to study it very similarly. The quarterbacks are going to study it very similar to the way the coaches are, and look at those things that we have tendencies on and all those different things, and get better from that.”
Hurts agreed with that assessment. But he added that he talked to one other person during the week off − defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
“For me, I like to see how, especially a defensive guy, how does he view defense? Why he calls certain things?” Hurts said. “How he sees the game, and then I like to ask them, how would you try to stop me? I’m not going to get into what he said, but those are things that are valuable for me.
“I think that allows me to grow, having that in mind, from a coach like him. He’s been doing great things all year, and just get in his head and see how he sees it.”
The reason is simple: As Hurts has gotten off to a strong start, completing 66.8% of his passes with a passer rating of 98.4, ranked sixth in the NFL, defensive coordinators will adjust to stop him.
Eagles give up strange TD
The Eagles scored first midway through the first quarter as Hurts threw deep to A.J. Brown for a 39-yard touchdown. Brown was in double coverage, but he leaped and took the ball out of the hands of Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
But the Steelers came back, driving down the field. The Steelers faced a 4th-and-goal from the 2 and lined up for a field goal. That’s when Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham was called for delay of game for making a non-football move. That moved the ball to the 1, so the Steelers decided to go for it.
Wide receiver Chase Claypool took the handoff from Kenny Pickett, then threw into the end zone to Derek Watt, tying the game with 1:57 left in the first quarter.
Quinn makes Eagles’ debut early
The Eagles made it official, putting defensive end Robert Quinn on the game-day roster. And Quinn made his Eagles debut midway through the first quarter. On his first play, Quinn was in the Steelers’ backfield when Brandon Graham sacked Kenny Pickett, but the play was nullified by an Eagles holding penalty.
Quinn was playing 68% of the snaps in Chicago, but he won’t play that much with the Eagles as they’ll rotate him in with Haason Reddick, Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat.
“We want them all to be able to rush,” Sirianni said. “We look to have good, fresh legs and waves coming at the quarterbacks creating pressure.”
As for the inactives, the Eagles listed QB Ian Book, CB Josh Jobe, S Reed Blankenship, RB Trey Sermon and G Josh Sills.
3 things to watch
- Robert Quinn’s debut: The Eagles traded for pass rusher Robert Quinn on Wednesday, and Sirianni hinted that Quinn will play some Sunday. Quinn only has 1 sack this season in 7 games for the Chicago Bears after getting 18.5 last season. It’ll be interesting to see how playing time is divvied up. Expect to see Quinn line up on the right side with Josh Sweat. Brandon Graham and Haason Reddick will work the other side. Quinn played 68% of the snaps in Chicago. That won’t happen with the Eagles.
- Eagles WRs running wild: The Steelers came into the game ranked 28th in the NFL in total defense and 29th against the pass, allowing 275 yards passing per game. Minkah Fitzpatrick is a top safety, but he can’t cover everybody. Expect Fitzpatrick to focus on either A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith, leaving room for the one he’s not covering, in addition to tight end Dallas Goedert.
- Paving the Lane: Right tackle Lane Johnson was cleared to play after suffering a concussion in the Eagles’ last game, on Oct. 16 against Dallas. The Eagles’ offensive line will thus be whole again, and they’ll be going against the Steelers defensive line that’s still without T.J. Watt, who’s on IR with a pectoral injury. The Steelers are 1-9 when Watt doesn’t play. In addition, starting defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi is sitting out with a knee injury.
Prediction: Eagles 27, Steelers 16.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
