"What I expect is that Jalen has played in a lot of big games," Head Coach Nick Sirianni told me in our weekly one-on-one interview on Tuesday, "and I kind of talked about that with our team (Monday). We know we're playing the defending Super Bowl Champs. But, we've got a lot of guys who have played in big games as well. We have a lot of guys, right? We have a lot of guys who were on the Super Bowl team of 2017, we have guys who have played in AFC Championship Games, NFC Championship Games ... we have guys who have played in the final four of the NCAA tournament and in the National Championship Game. We've got experience, too.
"Jalen is one of those guys. He's played in a National Championship Game and he's played in a final four game with Oklahoma and with Alabama. We've got winners on this football team. So much tribute to Howie (Roseman, Eagles general manager) and his staff for bringing in guys who have won football games. That's something we look at when you're evaluating a player. You want to know that they have the right formula and one of the formulas with the addition of being a talented player, being tough, being physical, being smart, having high character, did they win? And we have a lot of guys on this football team who have been through that."
Hurts, of course, has been through a ton in his football career. Ups and downs. Highs and lows. He has experienced just about everything a player in his second NFL season can experience. With that maturity and that experience, Hurts has advanced his game. Hurts has made steady progress in every facet of his game, something he acknowledges.
Now he takes the stage in the postseason, and Tampa Bay is well aware that this No. 1 isn't the same quarterback as the one the Bucs saw in Week 6.
"Dramatic improvement. Total control of that offense, really accurate down the field, really improved as a passer," Tampa Bay Head Coach Bruce Arians said on Wednesday in a conference call with Philadelphia reporters. "He knows when to pull it down and he knows when to throw it. I've seen great growth out of him."
Hurts and the Eagles aren't going to go off course as they prepare for Tampa Bay, nor will they try to reinvent themselves on Sunday. This is an offense that has an identity of being physical and nasty, leading with the offensive line. Hurts is a multidimensional weapon Tampa Bay focused on containing. He's a threat with his legs and his arm, and the advancements he's made from the pocket are probably the most significant this season. The moment won't be too big for Hurts.
Truthfully, he's excited to get after it against a Tampa Bay team that beat the Eagles 28-22, and the steps Hurts and the offense have made since then are worthwhile discussing.
"I think as an offense we've kind of revolutionized and evolved in terms of who we are and our identity," he said. "I've said it all year. I've said it's coming. I've said different things to kind of ignite the growth in where we are now. Early on, we were searching for who we were, how we wanted to do it, and now kind of fine-tune some things and now we've gotten good at a lot of different things.
"It comes down to us executing our job, us knowing our job and doing our job, and going out there and playing with the right fundamentals and playing the type of football we've been playing."
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Locked in: Jalen Hurts is no stranger to the big stage - PhiladelphiaEagles.com
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