What was Jalen Hurts thinking on game-changing interception in Eagles' loss to Jets?

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jalen Hurts sat on a chair, so there was nowhere he could backpedal. The Eagles’ franchise quarterback explained, as much as he was willing, what happened on that game-changing interception that caused disbelief in living rooms and barstools throughout Philadephia in an improbable 20-14 loss to the New York Jets. 

“I think I had an opportunity and I didn’t do my job on the play,” Hurts said. “I don’t think I made the correct read on it. But it happens. It’s an opportunity for us to learn from it and grow.”

And how about the fact that the Eagles passed at all?

“We thought that if we got the first down there, in that particular case, the game was over,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “The worst thing that could happen, happened.“

Sirianni did not speak in the locker room after the game as he usually does. He walked in, and the Eagles’ veteran leaders addressed the team after their first loss of the season. Minutes later, it was quieter than usual in that space. No music playing, few laughs. This was an unfamiliar setting for the Eagles, who are now 5-1 and do not play a team with a losing record until Christmas night. 

Offensive linemen were slow to change out of their uniforms, sitting by their stalls rehashing what just happened. And it was notable which lineman was missing: Lane Johnson, the Eagles’ standout right tackle, who exited the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury. His absence affected the Eagles’ offense, with Hurts too often feeling pressure from his right side after Jack Driscoll took over at right tackle. 

The Eagles turned the ball over four times, dropped passes and missed a field goal, so it was not difficult to find reasons for dissatisfaction after the loss. But they were still in a position to win thanks to a menacing defense playing with a patchwork secondary and Hurts’ own standout performance. He made a collection of impressive throws and runs throughout most of the afternoon, totaling 280 yards through the air and 47 yards on the ground.

All that was left was trying to finish the game with the ball when the Eagles clung to a 14-12 lead late in the fourth quarter. 

They faced a third-and-nine at their 46-yard line at the two-minute warning. The Jets had no timeouts. An argument could be made that the Eagles should have run the ball to wind down the clock, and then likely pin the Jets back and force Zach Wilson to drive downfield against a defense that had stymied the Jets through most of the game. But it made sense for the Eagles to try to convert the first down, take a knee, and keep their undefeated record intact. 

“What we thought would be the right play in that particular case,” Sirianni said of the sideline conversation during the two-minute warning. “Listen to what (Hurts) thought, discussing what we thought, discussing what the coverage might be. We do a lot of studying of what critical third downs are and critical fourth downs. You go in with a thought, you try to discuss that thought and you just try to come up with the best play you possibly can.”

The one thing they couldn’t do was turn the ball over. So that’s why it was so bewildering when Hurts took a snap, backpedaled, and with a seemingly clean pocket, threw off his back foot into double coverage. Jets safety Tony Adams stepped in front of the pass and returned it to scoring range, and the entire game shifted.

“He had to hold it for a tick longer, I’m going to have to see what happened there,” Sirianni said after the game. “It looked like they played some sort of cover four on that. We had a completion on that play earlier in the drive and then I’ll have to look at the tape exactly. I know Jalen’s going to want that play back, obviously. I thought that was pretty much the only turnover that was on him, though. We need that back in that critical time, he’s going to want that back. We want that back. If the play doesn’t work, we’re going to look at ourselves as coaches first and say, ‘Was that the right play?’ That’s part of being accountable and I know Jalen’s looking at himself in the mirror as well.”

Sirianni is correct that the other turnovers weren’t on Hurts. His other two interceptions were the result of a dropped pass and his arm getting hit when he passed. D’Andre Swift also had a costly fumble. That’s also why that late interception was such a head-scratching play — Hurts knows better, and it was an unnecessary forced pass in a critical situation on a day when he otherwise positioned the Eagles to win. 

What was unsaid was how Johnson’s absence affected Hurts. It was clear that the Eagles missed him. Johnson hasn’t allowed a sack since the pandemic. Driscoll allowed a sack and the hit that caused the second interception, and Hurts was too often under duress.

“We did a couple more things where we were protecting the edge, which helps you get one less guy out in those cases,” Sirianni said. “I wouldn’t say we did it an abnormal amount of times, but we did sometimes, but that’s what you do. You have to adjust your game plan based off what’s going on in the game. …Obviously, any time you lose a player like Lane, Lane’s one of the best players in the NFL, you’re going to obviously miss that.”

Johnson’s ankle injury will be a major story this week with the 5-1 Miami Dolphins next on the schedule. Driscoll is a four-year veteran who has started and been a valuable reserve for the Eagles, but the Eagles often struggle when Johnson is out of the lineup. 

“Lane’s a big part of why we’re so successful,” center Jason Kelce said. “He’s a guy who can survive out there. Whenever you have a tackle out there that you feel very confident in blocking the edge, it expands what you can do offensively. …Obviously he’s a guy who we certainly appreciate when he’s out there, for sure.”

Even after Hurts’ third interception, the Eagles had a chance to come back. They appeared to let the Jets score and took over possession with 1:46 on the clock and two timeouts. They could only muster two yards. Three of Hurts’ passes landed incomplete. 

“Lack of execution, usually my word for that,” Hurts said when asked why the Eagles couldn’t generate momentum.

The Eagles understandably sought to beat the Jets through the air, considering New York missed their top two cornerbacks after Sauce Gardner was downgraded to out on Saturday. Sirianni said Gardner’s absence affected the Eagles’ game plan “a little bit.” The Eagles only handed the ball to their running backs 14 times — and totaled only 33 yards on those runs. They relied on a pass-heavy offense, presumably because of the mismatches they had in the secondary.

“I don’t think it had ever gotten to a point where it was ‘hey, bleed the clock’,” Sirianni said. “That’s just what we thought was the best available for us at that particular time.”

When losing a game like Sunday’s, there are no shortage of areas to second-guess. It does not change the outcome, and the prevailing message from the veterans who spoke up in the locker room was how they would respond. A.J. Brown said he would watch film with Hurts on Monday — and maybe even Sunday night.

“He’s going to bounce back regardless,” Brown said. “This is small compared to what he’s faced in his life.”

For a reminder, the opposing quarterback next week will be Tua Tagovailoa — the quarterback Hurts was famously benched for at Alabama. Hurts has been praised for how he responded from that moment. It was part of why the Eagles believed so strongly in him in the first place. An interception in an October game pales in comparison, but the message — from Hurts and teammates — is similar.

“We’ve been here before,” Hurts said. “Some of these things build character. I say that all the time, it truly builds character. So, this team just has to respond the right way.”