It is never about Jalen Hurts.
Never. Ever.
He was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for September after compiling impressive numbers and dominating statistics, and all he cares about is the team.
"It's an honor, but it's more of a reflection of all the work we have put in as a team. And the great thing about it is we know we can be better. We know we have more to do to reach our standard on a consistent basis. I'm looking forward to continuing that climb this week."
It's "we," not "me."
That is the essence of his message, the essence of what this team believes. That is all you need to know about Hurts, who has a remarkable ability to keep his approach the same every single day. When he is asked questions about his play, he talks about improvement – not what he's done in the past. A man who carries himself with supreme confidence does so because he knows he has put in the work to prepare for success. Hurts is a player who has known his share of setbacks and not once in his entire life has he ever made an excuse.
Instead, he just works harder to leap the next hurdle.
"The thing about Jalen is that he's always the same no matter what he's accomplished or what's happening around him," center Jason Kelce said. "That's what you want in your quarterback. He always puts the team first and he works hard to improve his performance. I think he's great – as a player and as a leader and as a man. He understands the team concept, because in this game you need the team to win. It's not about individuals."
It's also about the standard that Hurts sets for himself, one that he can never reach.
"It's an ongoing journey. If you think one day that you've arrived, then you won't because there is no arrival," Hurts said. "It's only the journey. I try to take things day by day and just focus on the little things trying to be better. I'm obsessed with playing to the standard, to my standard, and that's just the mentality that we try to have around here."
The Eagles are evolving and as they enter their fourth week of the regular season they are striving to put together a 60-minute performance. There are times this season when the Eagles have been devastating. They strike with big-play effectiveness. They finish drives in the red zone. They dominate the line of scrimmage – on both sides of the ball, in fact – and run the ball effectively. And then there are times when they've faltered as they strive for more efficiency.
The standard, then, has not been met.
"I think, simply, we just have to execute," Hurts said. "That's what it is. Execution."
What Hurts wants is what the coaches want: The coaches call the plays and the players make those plays into positive gains and points.
Simple. So, there is still work to be done. A lot of it.
"I like whatever is working. I like efficiency. I like positive plays," he said. "I don't like turnovers. I just like efficiency."
The next challenge is Jacksonville, a team that is on a defensive roll after a 38-10 runaway win over a good Chargers team last Sunday. The Jaguars are young and aggressive and fast on defense. They fly to the football. They're physical. If they want to spy Hurts to limit the damage he can do with his legs, they have the athletes to do that. If they want to match up and rush four men and mix in the blitz, they can do that.
The first priority is to limit Hurts. No. 1 knows that.
"Defenses, they come in and they do what they do," he said. "I think every defense has kind of had a different background. They come in and try to execute their defense."
And the Eagles, as a team, try to execute their offense. As a team, the Eagles will try to get to win No. 4 because to do that, it's going to take "we," not "me," a message spread every day by the leader of the team, Jalen Hurts.
