Jalen Hurts of the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles is one of the best running quarterbacks in the NFL, and he also excels at converting first downs on quarterback sneaks.
One reason why is that the Eagles, under head coach Nick Sirianni, love to have Hurts’ teammates push him forward on such plays to ensure success.
There are whispers that the league may start to outlaw doing so, which led one Eagles reporter to criticize such a thought.
The #Eagles were 37-of-41 (90.2%) on QB sneaks this season.
36-of-39 (92.3%) with Jalen Hurts.
Ridiculous the #NFL wants to outlaw the QB push because a specific team is really good at getting short-yardage conversions.
—Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) February 17, 2023
Among quarterbacks, Hurts was one of the NFL’s leaders in rushing production this season with 760 yards and 13 touchdowns, and he was a big reason why Philly ranked fifth in rushing yards and first in rushing touchdowns.
Going into the Super Bowl, it looked like the Eagles were the favorite, as many felt they possessed the best all-around team in pro football on both sides of the ball.
However, their one weakness was defending the run, and it proved to be their downfall against a Kansas City Chiefs team that doesn’t excel at the running game.
Philly gave up 158 rushing yards to the Chiefs, even though they ranked just 20th in rushing yards in the regular season.
Although Hurts played very well and scored three touchdowns on the ground by himself, it wasn’t enough to overcome Patrick Mahomes’ usual big-game excellence.
The Eagles gave up 24 points in the second half and allowed Kansas City to score on each possession after halftime, leading to a 38-35 loss on a field goal by Harrison Butker in the closing seconds.
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NFL Analyst Highlights The Eagles’ Efficiency On A Key Play
