It's the Jalen Hurts Show in Philadelphia: 2022 Bama in the NFL Week 2
There's been a change in regards to the attitude about Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who helped lead a season-opening 38-25 victory against the Detroit Lions last week.
Philadelphia, of course, is known for having the stanchest critics about anything sports-related, and even during the offseason the debate continued about whether the former Alabama quarterback was the right person to have behind center.
That's over now. Eagles fans have moved on to arguing about how much Hurts should run with the ball.
Hurts was 18-of-32 passing for 243 yards, and also had 90 rushing yards on 17 carries and one touchdown.
The Eagles won, but he took a beating including a nasty head shot that led to a targeting ejection for Lions safety Tracy Walker.
“We got to run him; I don't ever want him to get hit,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said about trying to find the right balance on Monday, per Eagles Today.
Philadelphia has Gardner Minshew as the backup, and Hurts did get hurt last season while in the pocket.
“I think Jalen has a great feel,” offensive coordinator Shane Steichen said on Tuesday. “He has a natural ability to not take the big hit. Does it happen sometimes? Yeah, it does, but you can see that he slides at the right moment, he gets out of bounds when he needs to.
“Then he takes some of those hits when he slid, yeah, he did, but he knows when to get down, and I think he has a good feel for that.”
His teammates agree, at least publicly.
“Guys will have something drawn up perfect and he can scamper and scramble and get a first down or 20 yards,” right tackle Lane Johnson said during his Tuesday appearance on SiriusXM’s Dog Days with Dusty and Danny on Mad Dog Sports Radio.
“That’s devastating for a defensive coordinator. I didn’t like that hit he took late, but usually he does a pretty good job sliding, not taking big hits. He’s really good, really smart about that. It makes life a lot easier for me.
"I don’t mind watching him scrambling out of the pocket and making plays and just don’t do anything nasty to him or late hits anything like that.”
Now about that other Eagle ...
The two most surprising stats regarding former Alabama players last week may have both been with the Eagles.
The first was that Hurts had the only rushing touchdown.
The second was that despite Philadelphia's 455 total yards, DeVonta Smith didn't have any of them. The 2020 Heisman Trophy winner was on the field for 74 of the team’s 77 offensive snaps and was the target on four throws, but didn't have a reception for the first time in his NFL career.
A.J. Brown had 10 catches for 155 yards and tight end Dallas Goedert had three catches for 60 yards.
The last time that Smith didn't have a catch at the college or pro level, was his sophomore year at Alabama.
Four targets or not, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni will make sure Smith has the football in his hands going forward.
“That's my job to make sure that he gets the touches, and we'll fix that,” said the head coach. “... We must. We have to because you never want to be one-dimensional and let them say, ‘Hey, we are taking this away or taking that away.’
“DeVonta Smith is not a good playmaker; [he’s] a great playmaker. I think everybody in this city saw that on hand last year.”
Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!
It was only one game, and the opponent didn't have much of an opportunity to prepare for him, but O.J. Howard shocked everyone with two touchdown catches just a few days after signing with the Houston Texans.
Howard was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season, but signed with the Buffalo Bills during the offseason only to get cut.
It's too early to project this as a new beginning for Howard, who was only on the field for six snaps in the 20-20 tie with the Colts. But he may have worked his way into being a focal point of the Texans' offense.
"(O.J. Howard) came in really last week and got to work, put his head down, and I think he's in a really good spot right now," quarterback Davis Mills said, per Texans Daily. "He made some big time plays tonight or this afternoon, and I think we have a ton of guys across the field that we can utilize in every situation. Having him as an addition is going to help a lot of that."
Game of the Week
• Titans at Bills: Maybe it's just us, but take a look at the photo of Derrick Henry at the end of the photo gallery (see below). Good luck stopping him, Bills (and if we're wrong, flip over to watch the Vikings at Eagles as it's a twin-billing on Monday night).
Matchup of the Week
• Ravens vs. Dolphins: Cornerback Marlon Humphrey had seven tackles and his fourth career fumble recovery last week. He's going to have his hands full with the Miami passing game that includes Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle, but he's probably going to be on Tyreek Hill all game.
How to Watch NFL Week 2
Thursday's game (All times CT)
Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs, 7:15 p.m., Amazon Prime
Sunday's Games
New York Jets at Cleveland Browns, noon, CBS
Detroit Lions at Washington Commanders, noon, Fox
Carolina Panthers at New York Giants, noon, Fox
Miami Dolphins at Baltimore Ravens, noon, CBS
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints, noon, Fox
New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers, noon, CBS
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars, noon, CBS
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers, 3:05 p.m., Fox
Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams, 3:05 p.m., Fox
Houston Texans at Denver Broncos, 3:25 p.m., CBS
Arizona Cardinals at Las Vegas Raiders, 3:25 p.m., CBS
Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys, 3:25 p.m., CBS
Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Monday's games
Tennessee Titans at Buffalo Bills, 6:15 p.m., ESPN
Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Tide-bits
• Defensive back Tony Brown was promoted from the practice squad and back on the Colts' 53-man roster on Tuesday. Ryan Anderson signed with the Steelers' practice squad and Titans defensive lineman Da'Shawn Hand is out for the season with a torn quad.
• If you saw former Lions linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton on the sidelines, he's reportedly joining the coaching staff according to the Detroit News. The team has not made an announcement.
• The injury Steelers cornerback Levi Wallace suffered on a two-point conversion against the Bengals, which head coach Mike Tomlin subsequently announced as being an ankle, is not considered serious
• When Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson improved to 38-12 over his first 50 NFL starts he tied Tom Brady and Danny White for third most among quarterbacks since the 1970. Tied for first are Patrick Mahomes and former Crimson Tide great Ken Stabler with 40.
• C.J. Mosley has notched 10-plus tackles in seven straight games. The linebacker had 11 to lead the Jets last week.
Did You Notice?
• MMQB Week 1: Steelers Survive, Carson Wentz Passes Test in Wild Opening Week
• NFL Power Rankings: Bills Lead the Pack in Week 1
• Joe Buck and Troy Aikman Are Here to Save Monday Night Football. Does the Yellow Blazer Fit?
Bama in the NFL Database
Alabama Crimson Tide Players in the NFL
Tracking Active Alabama Crimson Players in the NFL
Alabama Crimson Tide Players in the NFL: Breakdown by Team
Active Alabama Crimson Tide Players in the NFL by Position
All-Time Alabama Crimson Tide Players in the NFL
All-Time Alabama Crimson Tide Players in the NFL By Team
Former Alabama Crimson Tide Players Selected in the NFL Draft
All-Time Alabama Crimson Tide Players Drafted by Round
NFL Draft: All-Time Alabama Crimson Tide Selections by NFL Teams
Alabama Crimson Tide Players Selected in the NFL Draft by Position
The Bama in the NFL Tracker appears every week on BamaCentral.
