Jalen Hurts on ugly playoff loss: ‘I hate this feeling'

He didn’t try to sugarcoat it.

He was awful, and he knew it.

“Today we didn’t execute enough,” Jalen Hurts said Sunday, after the Eagles lost 31-15 to the Bucs in a wild card playoff game in Tampa. 

“We didn’t do our jobs good enough. I didn’t do my job good enough, communicating and doing the little things. I could have been better, definitely, and I think there are a ton of different areas where we can kind of shoulder this as a team, but I take accountability for my actions.”

Hurts padded his stats late in the game, long after it had been decided, but through three quarters -- with the Bucs leading 31-0 -- he was 16-for-32 for 140 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns.

That’s a 36.0 passer rating.

And that’s about how he played.

Hurts threw behind guys. He held the ball too long. He threw into traffic. He made poor decisions. He didn’t see open receivers.

It was kind of like the 2020 version of Jalen Hurts but in the biggest game of his NFL life.

Even with a big fourth quarter, including a touchdown pass to Kenny Gainwell, Hurts finished 23-for-43 (53 percent) for 258 yards with two INTs and a 60.0 passer rating.

It was statistically the worst playoff start by an Eagles quarterback since Donovan McNabb’s performance against the Panthers at the Vet in the 2003 NFC Championship Game.

At the point the Bucs took a 17-0 lead, Hurts had thrown for nine yards.

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“I know that we’ll be back,” Hurts said. “I know the hunger that we have, I know the feeling of that locker room and I know how we feel.

“I look at this season and no one expected us to be where we are and here we are. So this doesn’t define us. And I know we’ll be hungry and I know we’ll come back better next year. …

“We know all of the different things that we’ve overcome, we know the environment that we’ve built as a football team and an organization. We’ll be back. And this is a feeling that will kind of simmer in our hearts, simmer for us all. With the youth on this football team, definitely coming back hungry.”

Hurts spoke a lot about next year, but the reality is nobody knows what next year holds for the Eagles or for Hurts.

Nick Sirianni was sure complimentary of Hurts Sunday night: “I feel really good with what we have in place right here at the quarterback position. I thought he had a great year.”

But it's mid-January, and that really guarantees nothing.

One thing we do know for sure: Hurts will work as hard as he possibly can to make sure what happened Sunday in Tampa never happens again.

What we don’t know is whether he can improve enough to carry this team on a deep playoff run.

“We need to continue to stay together, continue to work, and continue to have each other’s backs,” Hurts said. “I think the sky's the limit for us if we continue to climb.

“Nobody wants to end their season this way. I hate this feeling. I hate this feeling. But you never waste a mistake and I do a pretty good job of trying not to do that. I try not to waste a mistake, so just learn from it.”

There was a lot conspiring against Hurts Sunday.

He was facing the defending Super Bowl champs and their No. 6 defense. Only two 23-year-old quarterbacks have ever won a road playoff game. He only has one reliable wide receiver. The running game wasn’t working. And his ankle injury was bad enough that he was in a boot after the game Sunday.

But those aren’t excuses. He has to be better. Period.

“I know for me, I look at myself in the mirror and I tell myself, ‘That first-year quarterback stuff, first-year starter, it’s over with,’” he said. “And I’m hungry for what is to come. I’m hungry to do the things that need to be done.

“Nobody likes this feeling. Nobody likes this feeling. Nobody likes this feeling. We’ll do the things we need to do so we don’t feel this feeling again. We’re going to come back hungry, but this season was far from a failure. It’s only a failure if you don’t learn from it.

“So we’ll take it as a lesson. I’ll definitely take it as a lesson. My third year starts tomorrow.”