Pat Narduzzi Defends Phil Jurkovec Following Cincinnati Loss

Pat Narduzzi voiced his confidence in Phil Jurkovec after the Pitt Panthers' loss to Cincinnati.

The Pitt Panthers' offense had its fair share of struggles in their loss against Cincinnati, accumulating just 262 yards while allowing five sacks and scoring just seven points before the fourth quarter. 

Phil Jurkovec never found his footing throughout the game and had trouble contending with the Bearcats' pass rush. He went 10-32 through the air with 179 yards and three touchdowns while also losing a fumble in Pitt territory on the first drive of the second half. 

Pat Narduzzi stated that the reason he believes Jurkovec had a hard time getting into rhythm was the lack of protection from the offensive line. 

"There was too much pressure. Phil got sacked five times. That can't happen," Narduzzi said. "We've got to shore up the protection."

Jurkovec targeted Bub Means 11 times throughout the game but failed to complete a single pass to him, raising some questions and concerns. 

"We'll see the tape and look at it," Narduzzi said. "You get a chance to make a catch, you've got to make a catch, and there were some drops out there. There were drops, period, and again, it's not on one guy ever."

Narduzzi was asked if a quarterback change during the second half was ever in the cards, using the opportunity to set the record straight and later voice his confidence in Jurkovec as the starter moving forward.

"No," Narduzzi said. "He's a great quarterback, got a lot of faith in him."

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