Jalen Hurts self-evaluates as he does okay vs. Steelers
Expect to see a little action for starters as Jalen Hurts debuted as the Eagles starting quarterback in the preseason starter against the Steelers on Thursday night with a 24-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Though he wasn’t satisfied with the outcome, Hurts completed three of his seven passes thrown for 54 yards in all the two games he played. Hurts stood mostly in the pocket, but for the most part, he did well.
The game’s focal point was a 34-yard completion to Dallas Goedert while the low point was when Hurts overthrew a wide-open Quez Watkins down the sideline. He would have gone for a 98-yard touchdown.
“I’d like to have a 98-yard touchdown,” Hurts said. “Simple as that. I was thinking about it, though, as I walked up here (Watkins) isn’t a secret anymore. So that’s unfortunate.”
Highest graded Eagles on offense in last nights game vs The Steelers (minimum 10 snaps):
1. Richard Rodgers 91.2
2. Lane Johnson 73.7
3. Kenny Gainwell 73.2
4. Quez Watkins 72.1
5. Brett Toth 70.7#Eagles pic.twitter.com/X9YfeBsk9Q— PFF PHI Eagles (@PFF_Eagles) August 13, 2021
Hurts also had two passes missed – one by Jalen Reagor and one by Zach Ertz. Head coach Nick Sirianni hasn’t officially announced Hurts as the starting quarterback but Hurts took every lead in practice and the Thursday night game proves nothing will change.
As a rookie, Watkins played in 13 games, gathering just seven catches for 106 yards and a TD. Eagles camp rumbles that Watkins had sped up and could have made his way into more playing time even with Philly’s use of high draft picks at the position.
Quez Watkins Speeds Up
The Eagle’s best wide receiver in training camp has always been Watkins, at least for the time being that DeVonta Smith was still out of the game with an MCL knee injury.
Last week, Watkins called himself the fastest of the Eagles’ wide receivers, and he proved that twice in the game. “This whole offseason, I just made everything personal,” “Everything people said I couldn’t do. I was only fast. I just made everything personal and put the work in”.
FLY, QUEZ, FLY.@Mronesx_ is GONE! 79 yards!@Eagles | #PITvsPHI pic.twitter.com/xX8UDEwoiE
— NFL (@NFL) August 13, 2021
Watkins got past his defender smoothly only to be overthrown by Hurts. Watkins showed his speed again on the next series when he caught a wide receiver from Flacco, then he burst through a hole and ran past the Steeler’s defense.
Also, that game Thursday night, Watkins made Steelers rookie Tre Norwood seem like he was running on sawdust as he tried to catch up after Watkin’s speed dragged the safety into taking an offensive angle.
Nick Sirianni says Quez Watkins speed is a big threat to defenses #Eagles
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) August 13, 2021
Alongside 2021 first-round pick DeVonta Smith joining 2020 first-rounder Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward, Travis Fulgham, and previous second-rounder J.J. Arcega-Whiteside at the position, Watkins needed a standout summer to earn snaps. He entered training camp battling for positioning on the depth chart.
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Sirianni said Thursday night, “Anytime you get a guy that can run as Quez can, that’s a big threat to the defense. Soften them up.” Sirianni added, “We have seen that, right? You guys have been at all the practices. You’ve seen him get behind the defense, make some plays on the ball. That’s impressive with Quez. He has good strong hands that can go up and make plays”.
Although this preseason won’t give any huge revelations, it will provide hints as to whom the focus should be in the coming weeks to see if an unexpected character has a chance at a bigger significant role. Watkins showed in last Thursday night’s game that he’s something worth focusing on.
Disclaimer: This asset’s news source are – NFL.com and Theintell.com
