Eagles fans, somewhat satisfied by the 7-0 record, should feel even better about the drive and dedication of their quarterback and his mates.
“Enough is never enough,” Jalen Hurts said after the Eagles’ 35-13 victory over the Steelers on Sunday.
Of course, pro athletes want to improve. It almost sounds like a cliche. But these Eagles talk this talk constantly. They know they might be onto something special and rare this season.
What you hear from coach Nick Sirianni, his coaches and his players is this: The Eagles are trying to improve every single day.
Three touchdowns and a career-high 156 yards on only six catches is a huge day but wide receiver A.J. Brown looked at his masterpiece and noticed a blotchy blemish or two.
- “I’m kinda upset at myself. I had a big day but it could have had an even bigger day, if I had made the most of those opportunities. So there’s definitely room for improvement.”
Hurts is in the midst of a transformational season that saw him go from a potential back-up to potential league MVP. Throughout training camp, his coaches and teammates knew he was poised for a big season. Still, he wants more, wants to improve.
- “You look at the opportunities you didn’t take advantage of,” said Hurts, who threw four TD passes against Pittsburgh. “You can go out there and have a statistically perfect game, catch every ball but there’s always something.
- “We just strive for that. We strive for something that we may never get, but we continue to go chase it.”
FOOTBALL’S IMPERFECTIONS
Football, by definition and description, isn’t designed for perfection. The sport is physical, with 11 angry players on each side of the ball crashing into each other. Errors are inevitable. Unpredictability reigns.
With an oblong ball, there are crazy and unexpected bounces.
And here sit the Eagles, 7-0, the NFL’s only unbeaten team. Yet, Brown says he knows there is work to be done.
- “Just remaining humble,” Brown said. “We wasn’t perfect out there.
- “The score may say something but we wasn’t perfect. We know we got stuff to clean up. Like I said a couple weeks ago, this team is hungry, most importantly, humble.
- “We still have not played a complete game.”
“Enough is never enough.”
Brown nearly had another touchdown but was tripped up from behind by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Brown heard about it, too.
- “That’s another one I’m upset about, too,” Brown said. “My teammates gave me a hard time for that …
- “I definitely felt like I was going to score. Minkah did a good job of swiping my legs and get me down. I was upset. I think that’s the first time I got caught [from behind] in the NFL. My teammates let me hear about that.”
THE HURTS-BROWN CONNECTION
Sirianni has watched Hurts grow mightily this season and he knew what he was getting when the Eagles traded for the Titans’ Brown, whom he saw twice a year as the Colts’ offensive coordinator.
- “Jalen and him have an instinct and have an instant connection on the field and we know they have a connection off the field,” Sirianni said.
Hurts’ four touchdown passes were a career high. He continues to lead this team to great heights, to unprecedented places.
- “Right now he’s great,” said center Jason Kelce, who spoke Sunday while wearing a Phillies jersey and postseason cap. “If he stays healthy, if he continues to grind, continues to work, I don’t know why that wouldn’t continue to be the case. I fully anticipate him to keep playing well.”
As is his nature, Hurts was hesitant to talk about his own performance after the victory.
“Enough is never enough.”
- “I guess I was in a zone,” Hurts said about his touchdown passes to Brown. “I felt like I could have done more.
- “Look at the third quarter, I think there was an opportunity to make some plays. Had some negative plays there.
- “The two-minute drive before halftime, took some sacks that I felt I could have avoided.
- “It’s hard to really talk about myself. It’s hard to see the work that’s put in, not by me individually but by A.J., by Smitty [DeVonta Smith], by Dallas Goedert, by Jason Kelce, by Miles [Sanders], by Nick Sirianni, by everybody.
- “It takes work and it’s a grind. The beautiful thing about this team is we grind it together …
- “We’ve put in so much valuable time together to taste this feeling of achievement and taste this feeling of going out there and playing at a high level.
- “After every game, I feel there’s always much more out there for us to do.”
Said Kelce: “We’re all just trying to get better each and every day, in any way we can, improve on our mistakes, come closer as a team and so far I think we’re all doing that. Hopefully we’ll keep trending in the right direction.”
Perfection is in the eye of the beholder. If Hurts, Brown, Kelce and Sirianni don’t think they’ve reached that pinnacle, good for them.
Good for the Eagles, too.
“Enough is never enough.”
