Jalen Hurts and Jordan Mailata: a Picture Worth an 11-1 Record

When Nick Sirianni thinks about last season's loss at the Giants, he sees something far different than most

PHILADELPHIA - Jalen Hurts’ last trip to face the New York Giants was probably his worst game as a professional, one in which the 2022 MVP candidate finished 14 of 31 for 129 yards with an uncharacteristic three interceptions.

Hurts also injured his ankle, forcing him to miss the Eagles' return trip to MetLife Stadium the next week against the New York Jets in favor of backup Gardner Minshew.

Since that day, Hurts has won 14 of his last 15 starts in the regular season and is playing at an elite level this season. He will return to North Jersey Sunday as the leader of the NFL’s best team.

The Giants, meanwhile, are also much-improved, albeit banged-up, thanks in large part to a new coaching staff featuring the highly-regarded Brian Daboll and very good coordinators in former Eagles backup QB Mike Kafka on the offensive side and blitz-doctor Wink Martindale on the defensive end.

Hurts, of course, downplayed what has been an outlier for him.

“The same thing I take from any game. I learned from the good, I learned from the bad, and moved on,” he said when asked about it

SI Eagles Today probed a little deeper by pointing to the demarcation line of the game taking Hurts from competent starter to superstar.

“I don’t think so,” he said in reference to the performance being a launching point. “I think there’s a reflection after every game and you want to be honest with yourself when you look in the mirror and assess the way you played and assess the way you did your job.

“I think that’s after every win. I think that’s after every loss. I’ve always said the teachable moments don’t have to come from the worst or bad experiences. They can come from the positive ones as well. I’ve tried to remain consistent with all these experiences and just learn from it.”

Head coach Nick Sirianni was also asked about his thoughts on that game and pointed to a moment in the adversity that propelled the team forward.

It came after the last play of the game when then-Eagles receiver Jalen Reagor failed to come down with a catchable ball that could have won it.

A dejected Hurts was bent over in pain and disappointment as his massive left tackle Jordan Mailata consoled the uber-competitive QB.

The picture hangs in the NovaCare complex and will ultimately reside in Sirianni’s office as well.

“What I really remember from that game and that response was just the entire team,” said Sirianni. “… There's a picture that's up somewhere in this facility. You would say, oh, the pictures in the facility are celebrating plays being made by players in this building.

"But there's one picture that's up with Jordan Mailata with his hand on Jalen's back. Jalen has his hands on his knees. He's looking down. Jordan has his hand on his back. I thought what an unbelievable picture of teammates being there for each other in a time of a very tough spot.”

Sirianni’s coaching philosophy is built on the foundation of connection and he gladly traded an admittedly bad loss for a greater good that has turned into an 11-1 team on the verge of locking down a playoff berth on the same field in early December.

“I just thought, like, obviously Jalen, we talk so much about him and the growth of what he's done,” said Sirianni. “Of course, he learned a bunch of things from that game where we made a bunch of mistakes as coaches, made some mistakes as players. 

"But what really strikes me from that game, obviously we watch that game, we're pissed about things that happened in that game and this and that. They played a really good game defensively there last year on that.

“When you said that game, the first thing that popped into my mind was that picture of Jordan and Jalen. That just speaks to the type of guys we have. That just speaks to the type of team we have.”

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen