Jalen Hurts! Where art thou!?
The NFC's top teams all took a dive in Week 17, starting with the Vikings, who were shredded by the up and coming Packers. Jefferson had only 15 yards off of one reception and Aaron Jones had 111 yards. The Green Bay also picked off Kirk Cousins three times. Aaron Rodgers threw a touchdown and the Packers beat Minnesota 41-17.
The 49ers needed overtime to beat the Jarret Stidham led Raiders, and they choked in a near upset game. They allowed a three touchdown, 365 yard, and 108.1 rating to the quarterback nobody expected, Jarret Stidham. Davante Adams shrugged off his bad games with Derek Carr with a monster two touchdown 153 yard game. The 49ers also gave up 72 yards and a touchdown to Darren Waller. The 49ers know a thing or two about no-name players, however, as Brock Purdy passed for another 284 yards and two touchdowns. They beat the Raiders with a field goal, but their defense, although they forced two picks, had a pretty shaky game. They weren't able to sack Stidham once and allowed 500 total yards of offense coupled with 34 points. Also, the Raiders were 6-9 at the time and the 49ers hadn't allowed a team to have more than 20 points in eight straight games.
The Eagles were the third team to have a mini failure in Week 17. Injuries have been the biggest problem, with Lane Johnson, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Jalen Hurts, and Josh Sweat all out. While many teams go through injury problems mid-season, the Eagles escaped those scenarios, and are dealing with them now.
The Eagles loss on Sunday proved a couple things about an exceptional Philly team, with one of the best defenses, and a highly ranked offense. It proved one thing in particular: Jalen Hurts is the MVP. When he is with the team, they were 13-1. When he wasn't, the Eagles are 0-2. Mic drop. That's it. When Jalen Hurts was playing he threw 22 touchdowns, only 5 interceptions, and visited the end zone 13 times, tied with Austin Ekeler and Derrick Henry, and second only to Jamaal Williams. There isn't much more to say.
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| Minshew wasn't able to respond to the incoming, crashing pass rushers |
The Eagles crash at home was a blend of offensive and reffing issues. The offensive issues were the worst. Not only did they have three false start penalties on one drive, but also Gardner Minshew was sacked a ridiculous six times, as the offensive line was virtually incapable without Lane Johnson. Jalen Hurts's mobility and ability to escape the pocket was obviously missed. Minshew did throw a 78 yard touchdown bomb to A.J. Brown, but threw a bad pass that Marshon Lattimore jumped on and ran in for a pick six. Minshew is the backup and could not lead the team to more than one touchdown. It wasn't completely terrible, as DeVonta Smith had another 100 yard game, leading Eagles receivers with nine catches for 115 yards on the day. However the refs did call a stupid offensive holding call on Landon Dickerson which brought back a Kenneth Gainwell touchdown. The Eagles had to go for a field goal. Who knows how much the game could have been changed if they made the touchdown, and eased their stress levels.
The defense is carrying the team. Josiah Scott had a pick and Andy Dalton didn't throw a single touchdown. The Eagles had seven sacks. Brandon Graham surpassed 10, and Haason Reddick had his two more sacks to get to the 16 sack mark. And after Dalton completed completed a 58 through, the Eagles played tough red zone defense and held the Saints to a field goal. Also, Dalton was held to an 86.4 rating.
The Eagles' 0-2 run has only further helped Jalen Hurts's MVP case. The Eagles didn't want to have to play Hurts due to risk of injury but they have to in order to secure the number one seed and home field advantage in the playoffs. With Jalen Hurts the Eagles are nearly invincible. Hopefully, Jalen Hurts can lead the team well after his shoulder injury in this must win game vs New York.
The above photo was taken from a Philadelphia Inquirer article. Photo taken by
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