Hurts dazzles with legs but takes a beating in the process

DETROIT — Sometimes it’s fun to watch Jalen Hurts run. Sometimes it’s painful.

Because his ability to gain yards on the ground helped the Eagles pick up a win over the Lions in Week 1, but he took a few too many hits at Ford Field.

“His legs were huge,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “What an unbelievable thing to be able to have as a coach. Oh, we called that, didn’t work? He made it right.”

Hurts ended up rushing for 90 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s 38-35 win over the Lions. He also threw for 243 yards — 155 to A.J. Brown — and Sirianni praised him for being in control and making the correct checks.

Even if he took off early a few times on Sunday, it was still Hurts’ ability to scramble that really helped the Eagles’ offense score 31 points on Sunday — Hurts ran for five first downs and a touchdown in the game. When the offense looked disjointed, Hurts’ ability to pick up yards on the ground carried them.

But with that came some punishing hits.

“Hold my breath. I think everybody does,” receiver Zach Pascal said. “You never want to see your quarterback get hit like that. We gotta do a better job of protecting him.”

Of course, the referees could probably do a better job too.

In the first half, there were some hits close to the line that were not called by the refs when Hurts gave himself up. Eventually in the second half, the Lions were flagged for two unnecessary roughness penalties for late hits on the Eagles’ quarterback. The second of those flags led to a skirmish that resulted in Lions safety Tracy Walker getting tossed from the game.

After the hit, some Eagles understandably got in Walker’s face. That’s when the Lions’ safety took a swing at Pascal, who then needed to be restrained from going after him.

It’s tough for the Eagles to not react when they see their quarterback get hit. Jordan Mailata said the referees reminded them before and during the game to not retaliate.

But Hurts never reacts to these hits. He doesn’t yell, he doesn’t get in the defender’s face. He just walks back to the huddle.

“They called it,” Hurts said. “It’s not the first time it’s going to happen, it’s probably not the last time it’s going to happen. It just comes with the game. I get right back up and keep going, next play.”

To Hurts’ credit, he did get right back up. He popped up after both late hits from the Lions on Sunday and he popped up after the cheap shot out of bounds in the preseason.

This isn’t about Hurts’ toughness. He’s as tough as they come.

But it is fair to wonder about the cumulative effect these hits will have on his body.

“I don’t,” Hurts said.

And it’s hard to blame Hurts for that either. He’s trying to make plays, he’s trying to win games and if he takes a few hard hits in the process, so be it. That just doesn’t make it any easier for anyone else to watch.

“I just tell him, just give us the ball, bro, we’ll take the (hits),” Miles Sanders said. “But he’s a dawg though. He’s a leader, he’s a winner. We go as he goes and he knows that.”

This is obviously a huge season for Hurts. It’s his second full season as a starter and he will be eligible for a contract extension this coming offseason if he proves himself to be a legitimate franchise quarterback.

Hurts will need to improve as a passer this year — everyone knows that — but his legs remain the skill that makes him special.

“The proof is in the pudding,” Mailata said. “You see when he scrambles, he can make plays. He can juke anyone. For some reason, they like to be dirty and hit him late, but (that is) the nature of the league.”

After leading the Eagles to a win in the opener, Hurts walked out of Ford Field intact on Sunday night, aside from a small bandage he wore on his left elbow.

Subscribe to the Eagle Eye podcast

Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | Watch on YouTube