There are a lot of words one could use to describe Jalen Hurts’ zero-TD, five-turnover debacle on Monday Night Football in a 22-19 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14. A lot of harsh ones.
Disaster. Complete and utter mess. Brutal. Ugly. Sloppy. Awful. Terrible. Horrible.
However, Hurts himself would simply classify it as unfortunate. A little bump in the road that he will have no problem getting over and putting behind him once he gets back on that field in Week 15 against one of the worst teams in football in the Las Vegas Raiders.
To Hurts, it’s not about that ghastly performance, but rather about how he and his teammates respond to that kind of adversity. It’s that same mental maturity that allowed him to remain quiet for so much of the Philadelphia Eagles’ playoff run last year, only to pop up in the Super Bowl with an MVP performance when his team needed it most. He recognizes that there are “ups and downs” and embraces the erratic nature of the journey to success.
“Success or greatness, those things aren't linear. You have your ups, you have your downs, but it's about how you respond to it," Hurts told PhiladelphiaEagles.com on Wednesday. "And I think about that. It's nothing new that I haven't faced before. It's a matter of responding to it. And I got a lot of confidence how we will respond, I got a lot of confidence how it will go.”
After winning a Super Bowl last year, Hurts and company know exactly what it takes to reach the pinnacle of the NFL.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles must snap their losing streak in Week 15
While there may be hiccups like that unprecedented display on MNF—which included the first two-turnover play for a QB since 1933—Hurts knows that as long as he puts in the work day in and day out, he will reach his intended destination.
“When you put forth the work, you put forth the effort, good things happen when you need them to happen. That's my mentality. That's how I've gotten to where I am today," Hurts said. "That's how I've been able to overcome some of the high mountains that have been in the way. And I don't look at this time or this opportunity in front of us as anything different.”
It was never going to be all smooth sailing for the Eagles during their title defense campaign here in 2025. And with three straight losses, it has been the furthest thing from smooth recently. Nothing is guaranteed anymore (except that Hurts will remain the starting QB), not even a win over a two-win team like the Raiders.
“You're always going to be tested. You're always going to have something that you have to overcome. And this is something that, as a team, we've got in front of us that we have to attack with full force.”
At 8-5, Hurts and the Eagles still have a comfortable two-game lead over the chasing 6-6-1 Dallas Cowboys.
But if they don’t find some smooth ground to drive on here and get a win in Week 15 against the Raiders, we could be looking at a collapse even worse than the one the Eagles suffered in 2023.