Jalen Hurts: We decided to water down the passing game this week

Jalen Hurts: We decided to water down the passing game this week

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts opened his postgame press conference on Sunday by addressing the elephant in the room.

Hurts said, “This is what you all wanted to see” as he took the podium after a 27-13 win over the Steelers, and the comment referenced throwing for 290 yards and two touchdowns in the game. The Eagles’ passing game has been under scrutiny all week with wideouts AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith making critical comments following their Week 14 win over the Panthers, and it came together with flying colors on Sunday.

Brown and Smith combined for 19 catches, 219 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Hurts and Brown danced after Brown’s touchdown and the wideout called it “our moment to tell everyone to shut up” as he spoke to reporters. Brown’s demeanor was a bit odd considering he was starting a conversation that Hurts said the team paid close attention to as they prepared for Pittsburgh.

“Like I said, when you have the ability to win in a variety of ways, you’re obviously talented and the opportunities are there, it comes down to having good judgment about when to do something and when not to do something,” Hurts said via a team transcript. “I’ve always said and believed that you want to make sure all of your tools are sharp when you need them so that when it’s time to use them, you’re ready to go. I don’t think there is any doubt about that. I honestly think there’s an effort behind it. The approach was a little different this week. The grass will be green where you water it. We decided to water it and saw it as the fruit of our labor. Obviously we watered down the running game a little bit. It’s natural to put emphasis on one thing and put emphasis on another and see what you saw. We want to continue to be well-rounded, strive to be well-rounded and water all areas of our garden.”

All the worry about the passing offense came in the midst of a nine-game winning streak, and the way they increased that to 10 in a row was a stark reminder that the Eagles will be a team to contend with in the postseason must calculate.

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