A New Challenge

Jalen Hurts first challenge of the season was coming into the Packers game with the Eagles down 17 points. Hurts had to show that he could play more than a specialty role. The next challenge came when he started against the Saints. Hurts had to show he could be a good QB for an entire game. Last week the challenge was showing he could play now that teams had tape on him and wouldn’t be caught off-guard.

This week there is a new challenge…handling expectations. Hurts has faced two teams battling for the #1 seed in the NFC and another team that could be playoff bound. Now he takes on the 5-9 Dallas Cowboys. Eagles fans have a lot of confidence heading into this game. They expect Hurts to lead the guys in green to a win over the hapless Cowboys.

It is easy to forget that Dallas is ahead of the Eagles in the standings. The emergence of Hurts has brought a lot of excitement and enthusiasm. The Eagles lost four games in a row with Hurts coming off the bench. They are 1-1 since he became the starter.

The Eagles offense has put up 24 or more points in consecutive games. With Carson Wentz starting, the Eagles offense put up 24 or more points twice all year (12 games). There is a definitive difference with Hurts starting.

Can the Eagles keep that up?

On Sunday, Hurts will face his weakest opponent and the weakest defense. Fans know that and think the Eagles are going to kick some Dallas butt. That just might happen, but it isn’t a lock. The Cowboys have won 3 of 5 games. They have hopes of making a playoff run. This is as confident as Dallas has been since August.

Their defense is still an issue, but they do have plenty of Hurts tape to study. They now can see him off the bench, as a running QB and as a pocket QB. They’ll be as prepared as possible. On the flip side, the Cowboys will be missing three starters. DT Antwaun Woods, LB Leighton Vander Esch and S Xavier Woods are out. A porous defense will be missing players at each level.

The Eagles are three point favorites so it isn’t just fans who expect a win from Hurts.

There is also pressure this week. The Eagles must win this game to stay alive in the hunt for the NFC East crown. Hurts played in plenty of big games at Alabama and Oklahoma, but this will be a new experience for him at the NFL level.

Hurts will have a new weapon to work with.

DeSean Jackson will be coming off injured reserve today and making the trip with Eagles to Dallas and return tomorrow pic.twitter.com/XjAN9VyK7o

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) December 26, 2020

This could be a big deal. Hurts is a good deep passer. He’ll now have one of the best deep threats of all time. The Eagles offense has a very good chance to have another impressive showing.

Some might question the return of Jackson. Shouldn’t the Eagles focus on young players? As we’ve heard from coaches and veteran players recently, they are 100 percent focused on winning. Jackson is a talented player and his return should improve the offense. You have to play him. That gives the team the best chance to win now.

While the Eagles offense gets a boost, the defense will be missing Josh Sweat, Derek Barnett and Duke Riley. They will get back Darius Slay so that should help the secondary. The Eagles defense should still have enough firepower to handle the Dallas offense and win this game.

RB Jordan Howard and DE Joe Ostman have also been elevated from the practice squad for #PHIvsDAL.

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 26, 2020

Dallas has a terrible run defense so the Eagles will want to run the ball as much as possible. The addition of Howard makes total sense in that regard. With two DEs out, Ostman and Genard Avery will be the backups and part of the DL rotation. Ostman struggled with the physicality of the Browns offense in his first game. Hopefully he’ll be better prepared this time out. He’ll have a better idea of what to expect.

Back to Hurts. It is important to see how he handles this game. Will there be any letdown since this isn’t a team with a winning record? Can he handle the pressure of an elimination game? We need to find out as much as possible about Hurts to make informed decisions for next year. I’m curious to see how he plays on Sunday.

It is also important to see Hurts against the Cowboys. If he wins, he is obviously on his way to being the greatest QB of all time. If he loses, let’s get that bum out of town.

Welcome to Philly, rookie.

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