Jalen Hurts’ Thursday felt like watching your fantasy team blow a 20-point lead. The crowd noise blared. The clock ticked. All eyes zeroed in on the NovaCare sideline. Fans leaned forward, hoping for a signature march. Instead, the script flipped like a cold Philly pretzel dropped face-down on the pavement.
Hurts and the first-team offense stumbled badly in critical situational drills. And it only deepens concerns about the unit's early rhythm.
Jalen Hurts Causes Doubts
Eliot Shorr-Parks posted the raw numbers: 6-for-11, one interception, zero touchdowns. The drill that hurt most came at the two-minute warning. Hurts sailed a pass that Eli Ricks cradled like a baby. Next rep? Hurts took a “sack” on fourth down. Two shots, two stalls. The context matters most in this scenario.
Last year Hurts owned situational football. He protected the ball like a vintage Nolan Ryan fastball. Thursday showed rust, not ruin. Still, the offense needs sharper timing with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Kevin Patullo’s new calls demand precision.
Hurts admits, “He’s been very pointed and clear and has been leading with great conviction... we're just trying to continue those conversations to build and evolve.” New brain, same heart! But Nick Sirianni watches every snap like a blackjack dealer counting cards.
His defense, meanwhile, smells blood. Kelee Ringo and Quinyon Mitchell are jumping routes. The head coach knows August clarity decides January fate. Only eight quarterbacks have repeated as champs. Hurts wants the ninth. And the path starts with cleaner reads.
Numbers aside, the eye test shows flickers. A 15-yard dart to Jahan Dotson split safeties. A back-shoulder rope to Dallas Goedert erased double coverage. These flashes remind vets of the 2025 parade smell. The offense just needs to stack them. However, these were not the only setbacks for Hurts today...
Madden Rating and the Heat Check
Then came the second jab. Madden 26 dropped its ratings. Hurts sits at 86, tied with Justin Herbert and behind Matthew Stafford. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson top the list at 99. A Super Bowl MVP at 86?
Twitter howled louder than a Springsteen encore at the Linc. Hurts has been shrugging off off-field drama. “I’m just focused on being the best that I can be,” he said last week.
The snub stings, but video game digits don’t block blitzes. They also don’t scramble for 630 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Eagles’ brass isn’t panicking. They remember the 2023 camp. Hurts had three picks over 15 training camp practices. Then came the 2024 camp, and Hurts ripped off 305 straight clean throws.
Sirianni keeps preaching “control what you can.” That means fewer hero balls and faster decisions. The next padded practice looms. Another two-minute drill awaits. Hurts calls it “a good test and a measure of where we are right now.” The locker room nods. Besides, dynasties aren’t built in July.
They’re forged in the furnace of sloppy reps and corrected mistakes. Hurts knows the sting of doubt fuels him. The Eagles chase history, not hashtags. Camp struggles are everyday, but Philly's margin for error vanished with that Lombardi trophy. Hence, for Hurts and the Eagles, the urgency is already palpable.
