Known Hurts hater Chris Simms picks Eagles to be No. 1 seed in NFC
Whenever a national sports analyst shows any kind of disrespect to the Eagles, the Philly faithful tend to take it to heart. NBC’s Chris Simms is one of the more recent pundits to find himself in the crosshairs of Eagles fans, due in large part to his annual QB rankings and his stance on Eagles QB Jalen Hurts.
In 2021, Hurts was left off Simms’ top-40 quarterbacks list entirely. The NBC analyst has since admitted that he was wrong with his assessment, but he still didn’t show much love to Hurts on his list this year, ranking the Eagles signal caller as the 25th-best QB in the NFL.
Despite his concerns on Hurts, Simms is pretty high on the Eagles heading into the 2022 season. So much so that he believes this team has what it takes to not only win the NFC East; Simms thinks the Eagles will earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
On his most recent episode of the “Unbuttoned” podcast, Simms wasn’t shy about his thoughts on the Birds.
Simms on the Eagles’ playoff chances
“I think the Eagles are going to be one of the best teams in the NFC,” Simms said. “I love Nick Sirianni. I like their defense, [Jonathan Gannon] coaching that side of the ball. They got a support staff of assistant coaches that I like. And then, like you’re talking about, the roster is real.”
Although Simms still is uncertain of Hurts’ viability under center, he believes the QB is good enough to lead this talented group into the postseason.
“Yeah, I worry about Jalen Hurts. If the run game, they can’t play that style, can he dice you up passing the ball? Yeah, sure. But there are only a few teams in football, I think, that can really worry about that, and he’s gotten better. I liked the way he looked in the preseason, and I know he’s a worker. He’s unflappable that way.”
Per DraftKings Sportsbook, the Eagles are tied with the Cowboys at +150 odds to win the NFC East. Philly also sits at -200 to make the postseason and +1000 to be the NFC representative in Super Bowl LVII.
If you value Simms’ opinion, throwing some cash on that +1000 to win the NFC is enticing.
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On paper, the Eagles have a complete team from top to bottom. In the end, that’s what Simms values the most.
“I’m high on teams and not always making them about the quarterback,” Simms said. “That’s what I’m high on. Teams win it.”
If Hurts can just avoid any disastrous performances this season, there’s no doubt his team will be in playoff contention. Even though Simms has taken his cheap shots at Hurts over the past two years, it’s nice to see him come to his senses a bit with the Eagles as a whole.
Mandatory Credit: NBC Sports
