The first episode of Hard Knocks should end a lot of false narratives about Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense

Is Jalen Hurts the problem? Tuesday night’s debut episode of “Hard Knocks: In Season with the NFC East” wasn’t a fun watch for Eagles fans.

The first episode highlighted how miserable the last two weeks have been for the Birds, starting with the collapse in Dallas and ending with the Black Friday disaster against Chicago.

I mean hell, the entire series kicked off with a heavy dose of organizational soul-searching between Nick Sirianni and Brandon Graham.

It was bleak but buried inside all of that pain was the one moment worth talking about. It came from a conversation between Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith after Hurts missed that critical throw on Black Friday.

Jalen Hurts Missed Throw to DeVonta Smith

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“When I pointed like this, that’s my fault. I thought you were going to settle down… ah fuck! That’s a play I gotta make. Y’all keep doing what y’all doing. Here we go. We’ll finish the next one. That’s a play I make.”

Well, well, well… look at that. Jalen Hurts is actually flashing the little things we like to call “leadership” and “accountability.”

Go figure. QB1 is owning his mistake in real time with one of his most important teammates, which is the exact opposite of the ridiculous narrative people have been pushing for the last month.

Somewhere along the way, fans convinced themselves that Jalen Hurts was some antisocial robot who sits alone on the bench, never speaks, never motivates anyone, and secretly has half the locker room plotting his downfall.

That clip shatters every ounce of that nonsense.

DeVonta Smith is engaged and Jalen Hurts is talking. There is context, tone, responsibility, and communication which is literally all the stuff that doesn’t fit into the “Hurts is silent and the offense hates him” conspiracy theories that spread every time FOX finds him sitting by himself for eight seconds between possessions.

The broadcasts clearly do Jalen Hurts no favors.

When is the last time anyone saw the networks show him connecting with teammates like this? We get endless sideline montages of Dak Prescott talking to his guys, Brock Purdy fist-pumping, Patrick Mahomes doing whatever, and Lamar Jackson firing up his receivers.

With Jalen Hurts, we get a single tight shot of him staring at the tablet and somehow that turns into “he refuses to talk to anyone.”

Well, Hard Knocks finally showed what has actually been happening the whole time.

The idea that Jalen Hurts doesn’t speak to his offense never made any sense.

The guy led the team to a Super Bowl, commands every huddle he has ever been in, and was praised by every teammate for years for being the most prepared and composed player in the building. The only reason that narrative got traction is because the offense looks broken right now and people needed someone to take the blame.

This clip should be the reminder everyone needed.

The throw was bad. Hurts knew it. He owned it instantly. Instead of sulking or pointing fingers, he told his guys to keep going and that he’d finish the next one. That is what a franchise quarterback sounds like.

Hard Knocks showed the part nobody wanted to admit. Jalen Hurts is still leading. The offense has issues, but leadership and accountability seem to be just fine.

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