Jalen Hurts: ‘This dude’s a freaking winner, and he won today’

The Philadelphia Eagles finished Sunday’s NFL game against the New Orleans Saints with a yardage advantage of more than 2-to-1. But because of two turnovers, a blocked punt, a missed field-goal attempt and injuries to key players such as wide receiver DeVonta Smith and right tackle Lane Johnson, the Eagles were about to take their second loss in a row.

Then on a third-and-16 snap, quarterback Jalen Hurts and tight end Dallas Goedert connected for a 61-yard pass play to the New Orleans 4-yard line with 65 seconds remaining.

Running back Saquon Barkley scored on the next snap, and the Eagles escaped Caesars Superdome with a 15-12 victory over the Saints.

“Holy smokes, this place is loud,” Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni said. “But I saw Jalen completely operate in chaos. Two things we talked about was we got to be able to be physical in this game because that’s a physical football team, and we got to have poise because it’s going to be loud. And Jalen operated in chaos. The offensive line had good protection. Dallas ran a good route. …

“Shallow routes like that are so critical that the ball’s out in front of him so that he can have a ball to run with. I don’t want that to be overlooked. If Jalen puts that here and he has to slow down at all, the guys get to react and come back and make that play. The pursuit comes. But Jalen put it here, and then Dallas could just go.”

Goedert totaled 170 yards on 10 receptions on Sunday.

“We called his number quite a bit today, and he showed up,” Hurts said. “A lot of guys showed up. He had a great moment. I’m proud of him. I attest all of that to the grind we put in. I attest that to the times we’re having conversations in the offseason. Dallas has come to Houston (where Hurts lives), spent a lot of time there building that connection, building that rapport, just waiting for the opportunity to come when you’re the first number to be called, and he had a career day today. Not only him, but, obviously, Saquon, but the defense. A career day. Just the way our defense responded off of a tough game last week, and a short week, I’m so excited for them and so happy for them.”

After beating the Green Bay Packers 34-29 on Sept. 6 in its season-opening game, Philadelphia lost to the Atlanta Falcons 22-21 on Monday night on a touchdown with 34 seconds remaining.

Former West Limestone High School star Reed Blankenship secured Sunday’s victory by intercepting New Orleans quarterback Derek Carr at the Philadelphia 41-yard line with 48 seconds to play. The Saints had opened the season by beating the Carolina Panthers 47-10 on Sept. 8 and the Dallas Cowboys 44-19 on Sept. 15.

Hurts completed 29-of-38 passes for 311 yards with no touchdowns and one interception and ran eight times for 25 yards. He lost a fumble on a sack.

“He played his butt off today,” Sirianni said. “Jalen Hurts is a winner. He’s a winner. He wins. You tell me when he hasn’t won. He’s a winner. And, man, I’m proud of him. I can’t say enough good things about his response. …

“He knows it’s the sum of all the plays that says who you are – not just one play that everyone is going to talk about. It’s not just one play. It’s the sum of all plays. And he’s the quarterback, and this guy’s a freaking winner. He won at Alabama. He won at Oklahoma. He’s been winning here over and over and over and over. And you know what? We’re the Philadelphia Eagles, so we understand we’re going to get criticism. But this dude’s a freaking winner. Jalen Hurts is a winner, and he won today.”

The interception came when safety Tyrann Mathieu picked off Hurts in the end zone on a throw from the New Orleans 11-yard line on the first play of the second quarter with the Eagles trailing 3-0.

The fumble came on Philadelphia’s next possession on Curtis Granderson’s strip sack. The Saints got possession at the New Orleans 47-yard line and ended up punting from the Eagles 40.

“You’re going to have joyful moments and you’re going to have painful moments,” Hurts said. “You’re going to have things you like in a game and things you don’t like in a game. In the end, it’s about how you respond. And I think it’s so important to keep the main thing the main thing. Don’t ride waves; just control the cruise. And weather it.”