Jalen Hurts not Just Hungry, the Eagles QB is Starving

Hurts showed his shoulder is 'good enough' in a rout of the Giants to push Philly into NFC Championship Game

PHILADELPHIA – Jalen Hurts’ shoulder looked A-OK.

Now, the Eagles quarterback is trying to satisfy his appetite.

No longer are these Eagles just hungry. It was a nice mantra in 2017 when the players donned dog masks and talked about how ‘hungry dogs run faster’ all the way to uniting the City of Brotherly Love with a Super Bowl championship.

Hurts told the team prior to their first playoff game on Saturday night that he is starving for this opportunity.

“Every team comes into the year trying to accomplish the same thing,” he said after throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another to lead the Eagles to a 38-7 blowout of the Giants in the divisional playoff round.

“When you climb that mountain, it gets harder and more treacherous. We take it day by day and just take it one step at a time. Trust the process of getting better every day and let that take care of itself. I love the fact that that’s the mentality of this team.

“We’re not just hungry for it, we’re starving for growth, getting better, and learning from our mistakes. I think that’s a beautiful thing and that was a little motivation as a team. We wanted to come out and play our best ball.”

So, that’s what they did, taking a big bite out of the game from the jump.

It began with Hurts’ first completion, an on-the-money 40-yard dart to DeVonta Smith on the game’s second play.

He found Dallas Goedert in the flat on the game's third play.

On the way to a 9-yard gain, Goedert delivered an uppercut to the helmet of Adoree Jackson, throwing aide the NY corner like he was swatting a hot dog wrapper out of the air.

On the fourth play after that, it was Goedert again. 

This time, the tight end speared the ball with his left hand after breaking safety Xavier McKinney’s ankles on his route then near the goal line bullying his way past Julian Love and into the end zone.

It was 7-0 before the game was five minutes old.

“Jalen said it best that you have to be hungry for this,” said Goedert. “He said he was starving for this (bleep). With everyone in the locker room, he sets the tone for it and we follow along. Whatever he says goes. He is the leader of this place. He had it in him, so we all follow suit.”

The Eagles continued to satisfy their appetite, mostly with drive-through lanes in the running game.

With right tackle Lane Johnson playing a gutty 67 of 70 snaps, only coming out once garbage time commenced, the Eagles churned out 268 yards on the ground, with Kenny Gainwell notching the first 100-game career of his career as he picked up 112.

Hurts was a part of that effort, and that is the most encouraging thing about his shoulder. He was keeping New York off balance in the run game with the RPO game back in the mix.

On the Eagles’ second drive, Hurts flashed his hunger by running for eight yards, getting walloped on the run that brought Philly inside the 10. He bounced right back up.

Asked afterward how he felt physically, he said what he said two weeks ago when asked that same question after beating the Giants, 22-16.

“Good enough,” he said.

Hurts won the first playoff game of his career, throwing for two first-quarter touchdowns and running for one late in the second quarter.

Yet, he remains starving for more.

“You work really hard for these opportunities,” said Hurts. “They’re not a dime a dozen. You work really hard for them, and I’m just very eager to continue to grow. I’m eager to go through anything and everything with this group.

“It’s a special thing, it’s a special feeling, and it’s a special type of togetherness that we have, and I don’t think it’s something that I’ve experienced quite like this for sure on the NFL level.

“We just want to continue to grow together, hold each other accountable, and believe in one another. I think we just came out hungry. That’s what it was.”

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.