If Hurts' performance against the Detroit Lions is a sign of things to come, there is no ceiling for the Philadelphia Eagles.
The coach said that his quarterback had complete control of what was happening. He was able to see the field well. He definitely did.
It was difficult to have complete control in that environment. It felt like the Lions' Super Bowl was about to start. The field was turned up. The team's appearance on "Hard Knocks" caused fans to sell out the building, leading the Lions to offer standing room tickets for the first time in a year. The players couldn't hear anything on offense because of the noise of the crowd.
The kitchen sink approach was added to by the Lions defense. Patrick was the only one who faced more heat in the first week. Hurts scampered and slid and threw around the chaos, accounting for 27% of the Eagles' offense with 333 yards and a touchdown.
"He bails us out a lot," said Kelce. We need to correct a lot of the blitz pickup. It's the benefit of having a guy with that many different skills. It was great to have a guy like that on the team who could go off schedule and make a difference.
The off-schedule play making has been going on for a long time. In order for the offense to reach its potential, the rhythm throws needed to be improved by Hurts. Hurts' pocket play was good against Detroit. He averaged 2.55 seconds before the throw, the 13th fastest time in the first week of the season, compared to his 3.12 second average last year. His completion rate was impacted by his four throwaways to avoid sacks, but his throws were usually on point. Hurts went 5-of-7 on passes that traveled 10-plus yards, tying for the third-best mark in the first week. He didn't have a single turnover.
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A.J. Brown was Hurts' target 13 times and he completed 10 of them for 155 yards. In the second quarter, Hurts darted down the right sideline to Brown for a 54-yard completion.
Brown said that it was a dime. "Get out of the sky!"
There are some concerns to consider.
It was against the Lions, who have made opposing quarterbacks look bad over the years. Detroit's pass defense ranked 24th in the country. One week is a long time. It's the high level of consistency that's been elusive to this point, as Hurts has proven over 20 starts that he is capable of stellar play.
The concern was that he got hit many times. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow had 17 points. "If we have to run him 20 times to win a game, we'll do it," said Sirianni after the game, while noting that player safety is the top priority. There were small bandages on Hurts' left arm and hand as he stood at the podium late Sunday afternoon, but he seemed to come out of the game okay.
Hurts said that it was not the first time it had happened. It's just part of the game. Get right back up and keep playing.
Walker was ejected after taking a swing at the receiver who confronted him after the illegal play. After Hurts sliced up the defense with his legs, the late hit might have been out of frustration.
Kelce said that everything he does frustrates defense.
The framing of the season so far has been this: The Eagles have a strong enough roster to be a legitimate contender, so long as Hurts makes the leap forward at quarterback, so long as Hurts doesn't hold them back. In a game where his defense was giving up 386 yards and the Lions were coming over the walls, he not only met the threshold, but was the one who carried the team.
The tests will get harder when the Vikings come to town. The Eagles' season could change if that level of play continues.
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