BALTIMORE -- Jalen Hurts has bee playing excellent football during the Philadelphia Eagles' eight-game winning streak. Hurts has 20 touchdowns to just two giveaways during the stretch, playing a vital role in why the Eagles are one of the best teams in the NFL.
Yet the box score shows Hurts threw just 19 passes in the win, five of which came in the second half. Hurts went 2 of 5 for 14 yards in the second half, just part of an 11 of 19 performance which Hurts finished with 118 yards and a passing touchdown (93.8 passer rating).
The Eagles aren't asking Hurts to do much as Saquon Barkley continues to make his MVP case every week. They are also 9-0 this season when A.J. Brown steps on the field. While Barkley and Brown have been getting the accolades for their impact on the Eagles offense, Sirianni went to bat for his quarterback when asked a question that had nothing to do with Hurts.
Instead the question asked was how the Eagles hold running plays for the fourth quarter, when they typically have the lead.
"You'll say 'Well, game manager,' That's all BS," Sirianni said. "Jalen played an awesome game. His stats are going to say, 'We didn't throw it a lot.' We were 11 of 19. He had 118 yards, but that guy made runs when he needed to make runs. He made good checks. He managed the game in a four-minute [offense] to take the clock down to use as much time as he can.
"We haven't thrown in a lot in the fourth quarter in the past month and a half of the season. Jalen's stats aren't going to say this, but Jalen deserves, like, Saquon [Barkley] deserves, being an MVP consideration."
There's no denying how well Hurts has bene playing since the Eagles have came out of the bye week. Hurts has completed 68.6% of his passes for 1,564 yards with 10 touchdowns to just one interception since Week 6, as his 114.1 passer rating is fourth in the NFL. Hurts also has 10 rushing touchdowns, which is tied for first in the NFL with Joe Mixon. His 20 total touchdowns since Week 6 are second only to Lamar Jackson (21).
The Eagles are last in pass attempts, so the "game-manager" label comes into play. Hurts and the Eagles are 8-0 since the bye week, no matter how the yards are distributed.
"I just think it's a term," Hurts said on the game-manager label. "Everybody can be called that depending on the day, but the reality is, everyone that plays a position is asked to manage a game to an extent. So, it's the quarterback's job to go out there and do what he's asked to do -- execute, play clean football and initiate the plays that are called."
The wins speak for themselves. Hurts has a 44-19 record as the Eagles starting quarterback, as the .698 win percentage trails only Patrick Mahomes (.787) and Jackson (.733) among active quarterbacks. The Eagles quarterback also has a 150.5 passer rating in the fourth quarter since the bye week, easily best in the NFL (Jackson is second at 126.1)
Hurts is 17 of 21 for 279 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions during that stretch. The 21 pass attempts are what pundits will focus on, but Hurts is clearly excelling in what the Eagles are asking of him.
"Jalen Hurts deserves to be an MVP consideration because of how clean a football game he's playing," Sirianni said. "Look at his quarterback rating throughout the last month and a half of the season. Jalen Hurts is a winner, [and he's] playing great football.
"He may not have the stats, but because his team's winning in the fourth quarter. He doesn't get to make those stats. He's just done such a good job."
Hard to argue against that.