Hurts wants to play with pride, end season on a high note

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During his four years in college, Jalen Hurts saw his teams lose a total of just five games.

The Eagles polished off that number by mid-November.

So as the Birds prepare to host Washington on Sunday Night Football in a game that they’d ultimately be better off losing, Hurts obviously doesn’t see it that way. He can’t see it that way.

“My head’s down and I’m just trying to work, work, work and win,” he said on Wednesday. “Everything is about winning.”

There aren’t many exciting reasons for Eagles fans to care about this upcoming game. The Eagles (4-10-1) have already been eliminated from playoff contention and it honestly took way longer than it should have thanks to a laughingstock division. But this will be the fourth and final start we’ll see from Hurts this season and that’s worth the tired eyes on Monday morning.

Is there anything Hurts can do to help the Eagles make a decision about their long-term future in just this game? Maybe not. But this will at least give him a chance to build upon a solid 3 1/2 game stretch since he replaced Carson Wentz.

Hurts was asked about what he feels like he has left to prove in this last game and you’ll never guess how he answered.

OK, maybe you will.

“Go out there and win,” he said. “Within all of this stuff, I’ll always be my biggest critic. I have always had a standard for myself and the things that I do. I think the mentality, what we’re trying to do is end it off on a high note. I’m not sure what anybody else has said but that’s what my head is.

“End it off the right way, have some pride. Have some pride. Go out there and play this game, have some passion, show some passion, go out there and let it hang. Let it hang, go out there and play and let’s get it done.”

In his three starts, Hurts has been pretty good. He has completed 62 of 113 passes for 847 yards with 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

No, he hasn’t been perfect. Doug Pederson since the last game has admitted that Hurts needs to work on his cadence and learning when to escape from the pocket. And there are obviously other areas where the 22-year-old rookie can improve. But he is a 22-year-old rookie who seems to have a bright future.

Still, it really seems like Hurts doesn’t care about stats or even that he’s shown flashes. He wants to win football games. And the last two football games he’s played, he’s lost.

That means he’s lost more games in the last 10 days than he had in three of his four college seasons. His three Alabama teams lost a total of three games; last year Oklahoma lost two.

Losing is never easy to deal with. But just imagine losing when you’re not used to it, even a little bit.

“It’s about attitude and mentality,” he said. “Having the right attitude and mentality, keeping your head down and seeing it all through. Knowing that you’re always the master of your own faith, going out there and just playing, controlling what you can. I just try to live by those things. In the face of adversity, it’s how you respond to it.”

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