Jalen Hurts is not a player who shuts down after failure.
After one of the toughest losses of his career on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, who ended their defense of the NFL championship, Hurts didn’t hold back. When asked about what issues led to the team’s failure, he pointed at himself and admitted that he needed to play better in those clutch moments.
It was a dysfunctional year for the reigning champions, who never seemed to find their footing, even when they were winning games. Each time they got some sort of momentum, melodrama would break out in the locker room or AJ Brown would post a cryptic post to his social media about how he wasn’t getting the ball enough.
As he got dressed in the locker room, reporters swarmed Hurts to ask him about everything that had gone down and what he wanted to change going forward into the new year.
When asked whether maligned and lambasted offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo should return, he brushed it aside, saying it’s “too soon” for that talk and that he will leave it up to the Eagles brass to make that choice.
He was then prompted on the elephant in the room, AJ Brown, and if he wanted the star wide receiver who always seemed to be unhappy even when they were winning, back in the Eagles locker room.
“[He] and I will talk,” he said. “We’re in a great place. Maybe you all can talk to him and ask.”
After what was supposed to be a hard-fought defense of the title turned out to be more of a whimper in front of the antsy Philadelphia fans at home, there are expected to be changes with the Eagles.
Be that Patullo or the wide receiver core or maybe something even more unexpected, Jalen Hurts will have a different roster of staff and players around him next time he suits up and puts on the Eagles helmet.
For now, he can just watch the rest of the NFL playoffs unfold, the throne empty and a new champion ready to be crowned.