Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts says the Super Bowl champion Eagles have room for improvement as they host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, aiming to improve to 3-0 in the young NFL season. The Eagles opened the season with a victory over NFC East rivals Dallas and toppled Kansas City last week in a scrappy Super Bowl rematch.
But Philadelphia have struggled to get their passing game going, and Hurts pointed the finger at himself. “Just overall operation and how we function, how we flow, our synchronization — I take accountability for a lot of it,” he said. “Because it’s my job to go out there and be the general, orchestrate everything and ultimately make plays.”
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“Expectations are fair,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s about winning.” So far, the Eagles have done that thanks to a ground game in which their “tush-push” short-yardage play — in which Hurts is boosted forward by other players on a quarterback sneak — has proved effective and still controversial. The play yielded a touchdown and a crucial late first down for the Eagles in their victory over the Chiefs, although Kansas City defensive tackle Chris Jones insisted the nature of the play made it impossible for officials to call it properly.
Eagles tackle Jordan Mailata was more than irked at the suggestion that the victory in Kansas City came down to the tush-push alone. “I just think it’s rubbish, absolute rubbish,” he said. “It makes my blood boil just thinking about it.” And Hurts, for all his desire to get the Eagles’ aerial attack going, isn’t about to apologize for winning any way he can. “Whatever it takes to win at the end of the day, that’s all that matters,” he said.
Rams coach Sean McVay said he’d be talking to the NFL about how the play is officiated, with the aim of making sure the Eagles don’t get an illegal “rolling start” on tush pushes. “Anytime that you see certain things, you have conversations with the league office to make sure you’re understanding how it is officiated. How can we coach it?” McVay said. “Those are conversations with the league office, but I’m sure they’ll have the same ones and operate within the confines of not getting a little bit of a rolling start before the ball is snapped.”
– Chiefs seek turnaround – The Eagles and Rams are among 10 teams that have started the season 2-0, with at least one unbeaten team in each division. That includes the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers, who clash at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, with the Niners hoping that quarterback Brock Purdy could be back after missing a victory at New Orleans with shoulder and toe injuries.
But the Chiefs are in unfamiliar territory as they head into a game against the Giants in New York at 0-2. Including their blowout loss to the Eagles in the Super Bowl last February, they have lost three straight games for the first time since Patrick Mahomes took over as quarterback. “Obviously, being 0-2, there’s more urgency than even last week, and I feel like we were very urgent last week,” Mahomes said. “Definitely new territory as far as being 0-2, but knowing that we got the guys for it — we have the mindset of going out there and being even better.”
“In my eyes, it looks like what an opportunity — what an opportunity to prove who we are as the Kansas City Chiefs,” Mahomes added.
© 2024 AFP
