PHILADELPHIA -- Jalen Hurts has plenty of clichés that he has repeated as quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles. Many of them stick, yet this one could be posted in locker rooms around the country.
Keep the main thing the main thing.
That cliché can be interpreted in different ways. The main thing Hurts talks about is winning, no matter how things look in the box score.
The Eagles have won nine games in a row and are 11-2 on the season. Hurts has played an integral role in that.
"From my vantage point, I put an emphasis on the importance of winning and what that is," Hurts said on Wednesday. "But also has you grow and as you evolve, the longer you can saturate yourself in something, the more comfortable you can get it in.
"So, as everything begins and ends with the quarterback, myself, that's what it is. For who I am right now, I'm submitting myself to what we're doing, how we're approaching it and trying to do what I can to win and play at a high level."
The Eagles have certainly done a lot of winning with Hurts as their starting quarterback. There are only three active quarterbacks with a winning percentage over .700 in the NFL: Patrick Mahomes (.789), Lamar Jackson (.733), and Hurts (.703). Hurts is 45-19 as a starting quarterback and is the only quarterback (to date) to win 11+ regular-season games in each of the last three seasons.
Philadelphia is 36-9 in games Hurts has started over the last three seasons, a robust .800 win percentage. Forget the issues with the pass offense, the wins are the statistic Hurts cares about.
"There isn't any difficulty in winning when that's your main thing, and that's truly my main thing," Hurts said. "No one cares how you get it done when you get it done. You have standards, but when did winning not become the main thing? We all want to play at a high level, but we want to win. That's the most important thing."
Hurts has been playing well during the nine-game win streak, completing 68.4% of his passes and averaging 8.7 yards per attempt with 12 touchdowns to one interception for a 113.7 passer rating. The completion percentage, touchdown-to-interception ratio, yards per attempt and passer rating each rank in the top six in the NFL.
Despite the efficiency in the passing game, Hurts has been criticized for his lack of passing attempts and lack of passing yards. Hurts has just 1,672 passing yards over the past nine games for an average of 185.8 per contest. The numbers have been egregious over the past two games, as Hurts has thrown for just 226 yards and 5.7 yards per attempt. Of the quarterbacks who have made two starts over the last two games, Hurts ranks dead last.
Hurts has thrown just 193 attempts during the nine-game win streak, an average of 21.4 attempts per game. The Eagles are 9-0 in their last nine games.
Even with the wins, Hurts has acknowledged he needs to be better.
"Ultimately I look at myself first and say how can I be better and what do I need to do to be better and ultimately play at the highest level I can play," Hurts said. "We know that's what it takes to play complementary football at its fullest. That's what the goal is.
"I told the team everybody dominate their box. Everyone, including myself. That's what it's about, and I don't want that to get lost in the sauce of everything else when the main thing is to come out here, go through prep, do what we need to do and go out there and play."
