'That's 'B.S.'' Eagles coach rips Jalen Hurts narrative regarding Saquon Barkley, others
There were many over the past season who have claimed that Hurts was basically along for the ride, saying that it was running back Saquon Barkley, a dominating offensive line and star receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, along with the NFL's top-ranked defense, that carried the Eagles to their Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
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"I think that's bull(expletive)," Sirianni said in a recent session exclusively with Eagles' beat reporters. "I mean, (Hurts) plays the most important position in all of sports. And it's the most ultimate team game there is. And what I admire about him is his selflessness of doing anything we need to do to win, whether that's throw − I mean, obviously, anybody who plays quarterback is going to want to throw it 50 times a game, but he will do anything.
"If he has to throw it 50 times a game, he's ready to do that. If he has to hand it off 50 times a game, he's ready to do that."
Sure enough, Hurts threw for less than 200 yards in 6 of the 14 full games he played in during the regular season. The Eagles were 5-1 in those games. He threw for less than 200 yards in the first two playoff games, and barely over 200 yards in the other two games.
But when the Chiefs shut down Barkley in the Super Bowl on Feb. 9, holding him to 57 yards on 25 carries, Hurts completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Just about all of those yards came in the first 2½ quarters when the Eagles took a 34-0 lead on their way to a 40-22 win.
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Hurts was named MVP of the Super Bowl.
In all, Hurts threw for 2,903 yards in the regular season, his lowest total in his four seasons as the Eagles' full-time starter. Then again, Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards, becoming just the ninth player in NFL history to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark.
So, Sirianni continued on his rant against Hurts' detractors.
"And anytime I hear that, I just," Sirianni said, letting the thought drift. "It's like a nice debate thing that people like to have, and I get it. There are a lot of hours that TV shows and radio stations have to fill to be able to fill that debate. I understand that, but we're talking about the most ultimate team game there is, and (Hurts) does whatever he needs to do to win each and every game.
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"And so you name me a team that wins, and wins consistently, that doesn't have good players around him ... Like, you don't win with bad players. You don't win with bad players if you're a quarterback either. It's a team game. That always bothers me, to be honest with you, when it's talked about like that, because it's football.
"I just think sometimes that's good debate, I guess. I wouldn't even say it's good debate, but it's debate that people are able to have. But yeah, I guess, my first initial thing was it's bull(expletive)."
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Read his coverage of the Eagles' championship season in 'Flying High,' a new hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Nick Sirianni rips tired Jalen Hurts narrative that Eagles carried him
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