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The Eagles beat the Titans, just like most of us thought. It took some late-game heroics, unlike what most of us thought. While things didn’t go the way many of us fans wanted, I’m not going to complain about a win. This win also falls directly on Jalen Hurts shoulders.
We had a weird week around the NFL so a win feels better. Can’t say many people expected teams like the Raiders, Cardinals, Browns, and Saints to win. This is why you should never take a win for granted in the NFL. A lot of injuries showed up as well. We saw our own Dallas Goedert and Saquon Barkley but also starting QBs like Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Jaxson Dart. By the way, if I was ever seriously injured playing football, I’m going thumbs down.
Last week I talked about your average Eagles fan, Carl. Losing to the Titans would be Carl’s doomsday scenario. Even an average NFL fans knows the team that won a Super Bowl two years ago shouldn’t lose to a team that has a total of six wins in the last two years. Luckily for our dear friend Carl, his quarterback is Jalen Hurts.
Let’s get the detractors’ stance out of the way. Jalen Hurts did not play a perfect game. Turns out when you play a game with people, human error can pop up. He had two picks, although the second was more caused by the pressure Hurts faced taking something off the throw. The first was more troubling but Hurts responded beautifully with a 6+ minute drive for a touchdown ran in by Tank Bigsby.
The game conditions weren’t doing the players any favors either. We had the reverse of the big thermometer in cold games situations with the heat. The field reached up to 157 degrees Fahrenheit. Cleats were literally melting on the field. It did lead to this funny video that looks like the cleat got stung by a jellyfish. Still none of that matters to Jalen and after about three hours in those conditions, he stepped up for an incredible drive.
Titans players are spraying their cleats with water amid high temperatures in Nashville.
There’s good reason: Titans safety Amani Booker said his cleats “melted completely off” during last week’s season opener.
🎥 @NFLonFOXpic.twitter.com/kSpwm9yx1E
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) September 20, 2026
Speaking of that game-winning drive, there’s something I haven’t seen pointed out. Jalen Hurts moved the ball down the field strictly using his arm talent. Okay that might be obvious but when you look deeper at it, there’s not a lot of extra yards generated by the receivers via yards after catch. This was simply Jalen working his way down the field in a must-score situation. He also spread the ball out completing passes to three different receivers on his six completions. Turns out the quarterback can play better if they aren’t forcing the ball to a receiver. Hypothetically of course.
That’s what you want out of your quarterback. When the pressure is on, big players step up. Jalen Hurts is already putting together quite the year even if the stats aren’t gaudy. Two game-winning drives where he’s been the motor. The running game and offensive line are still trying to figure it out. Luckily they’ve been able to lean on Hurts despite media telling you it’s been the reverse. When you look at the MVP acronym, it’s Most Valuable Player. If you look at who has been the most valuable player on the Eagles, it’s Jalen Hurts.
I do want to give a quick shoutout to the other most-important Jalen, Carter. If he doesn’t get that sack in the red zone against Cam Ward, the Titans could’ve scored a touchdown which changes the situation entirely.
I also want to shoutout Zach Ertz, who just resigned. He’s only 10 receptions away from tying the all time record so 11 to pass him. Also a quick shoutout to Devonta Smith who’s going to make all of those numbers irrelevant in no time.
The next Eagles game comes against the Chicago Bears. As I mentioned earlier, their quarterback is hurt. Now how hurt is he? That’s been subject to some scrutiny when you look at the injury and how it was handled. Will Caleb Williams play this week? I doubt it. He was lucky enough to avoid major injury it seems. Will Tyson Bagent play? Also looks unlikely. That said, I’m still expecting a win for the Eagles. With Jalen Hurts it looks like anything is possible for this team right now. I truly believe he’ll pick up some national attention for MVP if he keeps this up. Next up is to take down the Chicago Bears. I’m so confident, in fact, that I’m running back the bet from last year. Should the Eagles lose to a back up-led Chicago Bears, I will put my finger in a mousetrap.
Sources: Chicago Bears on Instagram, The Eagles on Instagram, NFL on X, The Athletic on X, The Eagles on X, The Philly Pod on X, https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/phi/career-receiving.htm
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Hello, I’m a greater Philadelphia native writing mostly about the Eagles and the rest of the NFL. Articles aren’t … More about Kyle Lavin
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