On Monday night, the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers clashed with matching 2-0 records in Week 3. In this showdown, the Eagles, led by Baker Mayfield, succumbed to a 2-1 record against Jalen Hurts' and the Eagles.
At halftime, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Hurts had entered the game battling flu-like symptoms. Confirming this, the Eagles' starting quarterback succinctly responded with a "yes" when asked about his health after his team's 25-11 triumph. When questioned about how the illness affected his performance, Hurts simply replied, "We won."
Week 3 saw Hurts deliver his best performance of the season, despite a couple of hiccups. The Eagles' passing game played a leading role in their victory, a departure from their earlier reliance on other aspects of their offense. While they executed several significant plays using the "Tush Push" formation, Hurts' passing was pivotal in their domination of the previously undefeated Buccaneers.
A.J. Brown also shone brightly, having his best game of the young 2023 season. Before kickoff, he had accumulated 11 receptions for 108 yards, but by the end of Monday night, Brown had hauled in nine passes for an impressive 131 yards.
Despite his ailment, Hurts completed 62 percent of his passes for 277 yards, averaging 7.5 yards per completion for the day. It might not have been as legendary as Michael Jordan's 38-point flu game in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals with 48.1/40/83.3 shooting splits, but on a nationally televised Week 3 game, it was the ideal night for Hurts to deliver his best performance of the 2023 season.
We've seen Hurts evolve into an effective passer, particularly after his impressive performance against Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl. Nevertheless, memories of his struggles during Alabama's 2017 National Championship Game win against Georgia and the Eagles' playoff loss to Tom Brady's Buccaneers have cast doubts on his abilities.
Facing a 2-0 team on the road, a fatigued Hurts provided a swift reminder of his skills to America. Whether or not the Eagles make it to the Super Bowl in February 2024 or get eliminated in a lackluster playoff game, it's unlikely that this season will be blamed on Hurts. He patiently waited through the first two games of the season, and on the prime-time stage, against an undefeated opponent, Hurts delivered his best performance of the 2023 season.
