PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- The Eagles lost the battle, but they may have found their quarterback.
A 33-26 loss to Arizona dropped the Eagles to 4-9-1 and seriously damaged any faint hopes they still had for a chance at a division title. However, the performance of rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts took much of the sting out of this defeat for Eagles Nation. In only his second start, Hurts looked like a seasoned veteran and nearly led the team to a touchdown with the Eagles trailing by seven points in the closing minutes.
Eagles coach Doug Pederson was left frustrated by the defeat, but had plenty of praise for his rookie quarterback.
"He had great poise out there," Pederson said. "He had great leadership. Played obviously physically tough, mentally tough. Made some great throws down the stretch, especially in the second half when we had to put some drives together."
The game got away from the Eagles in the first quarter as the Birds were on the verge of getting blown out by the other birds. The Cardinals jumped out to a 19-0 lead before Hurts brought the Eagles back as he led the team to three second quarter touchdowns. With the Eagles trailing by seven late in the game, Hurts drove the Eagles into Arizona territory before the Cardinals defense held on in the closing minutes. Despite his strong performance, Hurts said the loss was the bottom line.
"I could care less to hear any of the young stuff and second start stuff and rookie stuff," Hurts said. "We have a standard we want to play to. I personally I have a standard I want to play to. We just have to find a way to get it done."
Hurts did all he could to try and get the Eagles a victory. He threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for 63 yards and a score. While Pederson would not confirm Hurts will start again next week in Dallas, only an injury will keep Hurts off the field for the remainder of the season. Hurts does not want to settle for any moral victories.
"I think I hate losing more that I love to win," said Hurts. "It’s not a great feeling, but it’s a learning lesson. It’s a lesson. Everything can be better moving forward."
The Eagles are moving backward in the NFC East race. They are running out of time to catch Washington even after a loss by Washington at the hands of Seattle. The last two years, the Eagles were able to turn their season around in December and reach the post-season. It does not appear history will repeat itself in 2020.
"It’s not where we want to be," Pederson said. "We start out the season with a lot of expectations, high expectations and hopes and aspirations and goals to put us in a position to win the NFC East."