When the Philadelphia Eagles took the field in Brazil last Friday for the season opener, no one had more eyes on them than Cam Jurgens, the third-year lineman out of Nebraska who was earning his first start at center after the offseason retirement of Jason Kelce.
Now granted, saying goodbye to Kelce was never going to be easy – even if it seems like he’s everywhere now – as he’s a certified Hall of Famer who will go down as one of the best centers of all time but the Jurgens didn’t exactly make it easy for himself, as he botched a snap early on that cost the Eagles mightly and had some other faux pas throughout the game that left some fans genuinely worried about arguably the most important part of a center’s game.
And yet, arguably, the one opinion that mattered most belongs to Nick Sirianni, and in his Monday media availability session, he complimented Jurgens for doing a good job in his new role.
“He was controlling them at the line of scrimmage, and there wasn’t a lot of pushback into [QB] Jalen [Hurts’] face because he is so big and so long that he was able to control there. So, I thought he did a really nice job, particularly in the pass game, of keeping the pocket firm inside,” Sirianni told reporters.
“[C] Cam [Jurgens] had some really nice plays. You know, Cam, there were a couple plays where Cam’s getting that initial hit, whether he’s working with [G] Landon [Dickerson] or working with Mekhi, and then getting off to that second level. The one play that really comes to mind is Saquon’s touchdown run where it looks like him and Mehki are working a combination block and Cam gets that block in with him, that made-block as we call it, in with him to get him up into the second level. I thought those were really good plays there.”
Where those plays good? You bet, but Jurgens’ night was far from perfect, as either due to nerves, the loudness of the crowd, or his own butterflies, he had some issues snapping the ball. Fortunately, Sirianni commented on that, too, and broke down why it might not be the biggest issue.
Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce (62) and center Cam Jurgens (51) before action against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Nick Sirianni thought Cam Jurgens did more good than bad in Week 1
While Sirianni liked what he saw from Jurgens, he acknowledged that his game wasn’t perfect, as two missed connections with Hurts is never good. Still, Sirianni doesn’t believe it’s a systematic issue, as he believes Jurgens can be “the guy” moving forward.
“Obviously, any time you put the ball on the ground two times, there is a miscommunication there. We can’t put the ball on the ground two times,” Sirianni noted. “Cam and Jalen touched the ball on every down, so we have to make sure we’re taking care of that football. But as far as those two guys playing their first game at those positions – now, Cam played that position his entire life. It’d be fair to say that Cam was, not out of position, but playing a new position last year. So, center for Cam is very natural.”
Could fans still see some questionable plays from Jurgens this season? Sure, there will probably be miscues, but for now, Sirianni is happy with his center, and considering he earned a 68.7 rating for his efforts from Pro Football Focus in Week 1, the numbers back him up, too.
