One of the most confounding plays of the week came when the Eagles faced first and 10 from their own 45 with 13 seconds left and two timeouts in Seattle. Instead of getting in position for a field-goal attempt that would have forced overtime, quarterback Jalen Hurts threw deep to receiver A.J. Brown. Seahawks safety Julian Love got over to the action and made the game-ending interception.
It’s now clear that Brown was indeed the first read on the play. During a Thursday press conference, Hurts addressed the decision to throw it deep to Brown.
“I was just trying to give him a shot down the field,” Hurts said.
Was he hoping to get a pass interference foul with an underthrown ball? Coach Nick Sirianni raised the DPI possibility on Wednesday.
“I mean, that’s not the way it’s taught,” Hurts saud. “You’re not hoping for that. But it’s situational football, and we came up on the short end of that stick.”
Hurts also was asked whether he should have checked down to a different receiver.
“I wish I would have done a lot of things,” Hurts said. “There’s always plays that you wish you can get back, in the Jets game, in the Vikings game, in all of these games throughout the year. So it’s just a learning opportunity.”
The explanation meshes with comments Brown made earlier in the week on social media.
“It’s a shot play to me,” Brown posted. “I’m the 1st read. He Just missed the throw.”
It’s accurate. It’s blunt. And it’s real. Brown was open for a game-winning touchdown. The ball took too long to come out. It stayed too long in the air. It came down too short of the target. It allowed Love to cover what should have been too much ground to make the interception.
Hurts is a great player. He has made great plays. He’s a great leader. He also made a bad throw in a big spot. All of those things can be true.
Brown, while trying to push back against the notion that he was supposed to be a decoy on the play but Hurts opted for “buddy ball” in throwing to his close friend, told the truth.
Hurts missed the throw. Other quarterbacks would have made that throw. Not many. And, in that moment, not Hurts.
