Hurts overcomes frigid cold, INTs, big hits in gritty performance

CHICAGO — Jalen Hurts couldn’t feel his hands.

As the wind came off Lake Michigan and swirled around Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon, it made for a frigid ballgame. At kickoff, the temperature was 18 degrees but 16 mph winds delivered a real feel punch of 3 degrees. Hurts claimed it was the coldest game he’s ever played in.

“It was very cold,” Hurts said.

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But not as cold as the ice water flowing through his veins.

Because after toying around with a glove during pregame warmups, Hurts ditched it at the start of the game and promptly threw two interceptions in the first half, just his fourth and fifth interceptions this season.

Some quarterbacks would have been shaken by that. Some quarterbacks would have turtled and played the rest of the game safe. Some quarterbacks would have let things unravel in a disastrous loss.

Hurts didn’t blink.

Instead, the Eagles’ MVP-candidate quarterback showed a ton of grit, helping lead the Eagles back to a 25-20 win over the Bears, improving to 13-1 in this magical season.

And his teammates took notice.

“Just his demeanor, his personality,” Lane Johnson said. “He never gets shook. It doesn’t really matter what type of situation we’re in.”

The situation on Sunday was not ideal for several reasons. We already mentioned the cold and the interceptions but Hurts also had 17 rushing attempts on Sunday and took way more big hits than anyone wanted to see.

After one in particular, Hurts was slow to get up. It was a hold-your-breath moment.

“Yeah, it wasn't the first time I've been slow (to get up),” Hurts said, shrugging it off, “won't be the last.”

Even after taking all those shots on Sunday, Hurts in his postgame press conference said he felt good. His remedy? Listening to some Anita Baker and eating some sweets on victorious the plane ride back to Philly.

Hurts’ final numbers on Sunday were a mixed bag. He completed 22 of 37 passes for 315 yards with those two interceptions, a passer rating of 64.6. But he also ran 17 times for 61 yards and punched in 3 touchdowns, including a 22-yarder late in the second quarter.

From a purely statistical standpoint, Sunday was not Hurts’ best game. But in a lot of ways, it really sums up his identity as a competitor. Because a ton of things went wrong for the Eagles against the Bears and Hurts didn’t waver because Hurts never wavers.

“He controls what he can control,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “He can't control a bad play earlier. He moves on to the next play. It's no surprise. That's who this guy is. And we've seen that over and over again.”

It’s so easy for players to talk the talk when it comes to this stuff. Because everyone wants to do those things. Everyone wants to focus on what they control, everyone would love to forget the bad plays and simply move on. But Hurts actually does it. Consistently.

That’s why after those two interceptions early, he didn’t shy away from the pass game. If anything, Hurts became even more aggressive after that. Those picks didn’t seem to bother him at all.

Hurts knows his teammates are watching too.

“You just never want to waver,” Hurts said. “You never want to waver. And I always say, never try and get too high, never get too low. Just try and stay the same.”

Hurts’ even-keel doesn’t even faze his teammates anymore. Sure, there are times when the quarterback will celebrate a big play and give some juice, but for the most part, his face doesn’t change. His demeanor doesn’t change.

So after Hurts threw his second interception of the half after he had thrown just three in the first 12 games of the season, he didn’t curse or panic or even get mad at himself. He just corrected it and moved on.

Because that’s who Hurts is. And, apparently, that’s who he’s always been.

“I think I've always been who I am,” Hurts said. “I just want to win. I just want to win. That's what we want to do regardless of the circumstance, never waver. Stay true to what you believe in. Stay true to the process in how you prepare and trusting in that. And like I said, I think we did that as a football team. Did that as a football team.”

We didn’t really learn anything new about Hurts on Sunday. He is who he is: An unflappable MVP-level quarterback.

But Hurts did learn something about himself.

The next time he plays in this type of cold, he’ll do more to get his body ready for it.

“But nonetheless, we found a way,” Hurts said. “Just being prepared on that end and making sure my hands aren't numb and all that. But I think in the end, we find a way.”

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