When you’re the quarterback of a team in the NFL, you’re looked at as a leader. Even though you aren’t the head coach, the team looks to you for guidance and inspiration.
The Philadelphia Eagles are lucky to have Jalen Hurts at the helm. The quarterback is never at a loss for inspirational words even following the team’s major upset against the Washington Commanders on Monday (Nov. 14).
Hurts knows what it’s like to have setbacks, as he started with the Eagles on the bench. But, he embraces the obstacles.
Following the team’s defeat, Hurts told press, ““I think in the end it’s about how you respond, regardless of what’s in front of you. How do you respond to this scenario, how do you respond to that scenario, how do you respond to the joy, the feeling of you, how do you respond to the feeling of pain, I’ve got a good feeling how we respond. [sic]”
Hurts also called the game one of “very uncharacteristic mistakes.” He added, “Those are things that I know that every individual in the locker room takes personally, and we’re eager to fix and we’re eager to have another opportunity to express ourselves on the field. So, we’ve got to look ourselves in the mirror after this one. Take the steps we need to take and acknowledge the things we need to fix them.”
He continued, saying, “Tonight wasn’t our night. The message for me is control the things that you can. When you do that, you have a pretty good opportunity to be victorious in the end. How do you do it? You prepare, attention to detail, the energy you have, the approach, the mentality towards it, and ultimately playing together.”
“In the end, it’s about how we respond. How do we respond to the feeling of joy? How do we respond to the feeling of pain?” Hurts added. “I’ve got a good feeling about how we’ll respond.”
You’d be hard pressed to find that kind of wisdom in another 24-year-old NFL quarterback. Hurts is quickly becoming my favorite quarterback of all time. Here’s to next weekend’s game, which will see the Eagles take on the Colts this Sunday (Nov. 20) at 1 p.m. EST.