Not much changed for Jalen Hurts this week.
Sure, he played the worst game of his professional career on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. But as he heads back to the same venue, his entire focus this week has been on learning from his mistakes and correcting them.
That’s the same goal every week.
And his teammates — at least one key teammate — have noticed Hurts’ demeanor as he moves on from that awful game.
“That kid, I got so much respect for him, knowing he knows how to bounce back from it,” Cox said. “And it don’t get under his skin, it don’t bother him.”
Against the Giants, Hurts had a forgettable afternoon. He completed just 14 of 31 passes for 129 yards with no touchdowns and 3 interceptions. His passer rating was a paltry 17.5.
Earlier this week, Hurts said he was very focused on being more patient in the offense and letting things come to him.
Hurts, 23, didn’t speak like someone who was overly eager to redeem himself, but he of course would like to get the bad taste out of his mouth.
“It’s not about the struggles, it’s about how you respond,” Cox said. “I’ve been here with the kid for two years now and he’s played enough football to know how to respond from struggles. He understands that this league is up and down and every weekend is not going to be an on-fire weekend.
“You gotta understand that every weekend could go either way. That’s part of being in the NFL and that’s part of understanding this league.”
Despite a lingering ankle injury, Hurts has said he is going to play on Sunday. We'll see how much it affects him.
With playoff aspirations hanging on by a thread, the Eagles still have five more games left in their 2021 regular season. That’s five more chances for Hurst to try to prove to the franchise that he’s their best bet at the quarterback position going forward.
How Hurts responds this weekend after his worst game as a professional will likely tell the organization a lot about him.
From Cox’s vantage point, that shouldn’t be a problem.
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