‘A warrior’: Eagles’ Jalen Hurts played through an injury and turnovers to emerge victorious vs. the Dolphins

Cool, calm, and collected, Jalen Hurts returned to the Eagles sideline after throwing a pick-6 to Miami Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker in the third quarter on Sunday night to tie the game.

A solemn Hurts shook his head as Baker celebrated in his wake. The linebacker had corralled a wobbling pass from Hurts that was deflected up front by cornerback Kader Kohou on a blitz, then ran for 22 yards into the end zone. The interception marked Hurts’ fifth turnover — four interceptions and one fumble — in two games.

Cool, calm, and collected, yes, but Hurts was not quiet. On the sideline, left tackle Jordan Mailata overheard Hurts saying, “Next play. We’ve got to move on,” as the Eagles’ kickoff return unit took the field.

“Maybe he was talking to himself, but we all heard it,” Mailata said after the game. “And then he went out there and did his magic.”

That magic manifested itself in an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive that lasted three minutes and 47 seconds on their ensuing possession. A banged-up Hurts and the Eagles regained the lead thanks to an A.J. Brown 14-yard touchdown reception on a curl route. They never relinquished it from that point on and handed the Dolphins their second loss of the season, 31-17.

» READ MORE: Eagles-Dolphins analysis: Jalen Hurts and the defense power past Miami in a 31-17 bounce-back win

Throughout the night, Hurts battled through his fair share of adversity. He turned the ball over earlier in the game, too, on a first-quarter strip sack that the Dolphins recovered at the Eagles’ 21-yard line. The Eagles defense limited the Dolphins to a field goal. Then, Hurts and the offense ripped off a nine-play, 61-yard scoring drive that ate up 4:34 of game clock, capped off by a 19-yard Dallas Goedert screen for a touchdown.

“We had some negative plays, obviously with the fumble by me,” Hurts said. “We can’t have that. I must be living bad with the other one, the tipped ball. I’m just happy with how we played together, how we persevered, and we found ways to respond.”

Regardless of what happened on the field, the quarterback maintained his composure, a trait that backup Marcus Mariota deemed one of Hurts’ best.

“He’s always very calm,” Mariota said. “He’s always very poised. Doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low. And for him to be even-keeled throughout and to battle those two turnovers and to come back, I told him after that pick, ‘Man, that was such a huge response.’

“Those are types of drives and plays that can really just set the momentum for the entire season.”

Hurts finished the game with 23 completions on 31 attempts (74.2%) for 279 yards and two touchdown passes for a 109.5 passer rating, his second best of the season despite the interception. Plus, he scored a rushing touchdown on the Eagles’ signature “tush push” and added 21 yards on 11 carries to the team’s 355 net yards on the night.

» READ MORE: The Eagles know their forceful Tush Push can’t be stopped. Oh, how that emboldens them.

Not only was Hurts tasked with overcoming his turnovers, but also he was fighting through an apparent injury at the same time. On third-and-4 in the second quarter, Hurts scrambled to pick up a first down, but he took a low tackle from linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel on the sideline.

Hurts was slow to get up, aided by team personnel and cornerback Darius Slay. He walked gingerly back onto the field, but ended the drive with his tush-push touchdown to put the Eagles up, 17-3.

With his touchdown, Hurts tied Randall Cunningham (1985-95) for the most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in franchise history with 32. It was fitting, of course, that Hurts tied Cunningham’s record while donning kelly green.

“It’s crazy,” Hurts said. “It’s kind of cool to do that wearing his old jersey.”

Following halftime, Hurts didn’t run out to the sideline until the opening kickoff had already transpired. He was sporting a brace on his left leg as he took a seat on the bench while the Dolphins offense was on the field. Mariota was getting warm while Hurts was on the bench, but Hurts eventually joined him once the Eagles defense forced the Dolphins to punt.

Ultimately, Hurts never missed a snap and Mariota’s services weren’t needed on the field.

“Just being prepared,” Mariota said of his warming up after halftime. “We kind of knew what was going on. And just if there was a sudden change, just to be prepared for that. But didn’t happen. Jalen was ready to go.”

» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts isn’t the only Eagles QB with ties to Tua Tagovailoa, who grew up idolizing Marcus Mariota

After the game, coach Nick Sirianni would not reveal the specifics of Hurts’ injury, but he commended his franchise quarterback on his “outstanding” play and level of compete.

“You all saw that he was going through a little something,” Sirianni said. “So he is tough. He is tough, tough. This game always comes down to physicality and toughness. Always does. No matter what. Because it’s hard. And that’s physical and mental toughness, and Jalen Hurts has both.”

Hurts indicated that he did not sustain the injury against the Dolphins and downplayed any lingering affects it might have going forward.

“I’ll be fine,” Hurts said.

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: The Birds’ lines dominate the Dolphins on both sides of the ball

For Mailata, knowing that Hurts was playing hurt added an extra layer of motivation to the group in front of him tasked with keeping him out of harm’s way.

“I [expletive] love that,” Mailata said. “It inspires us to to lock it up and firm it up in pass protection. I mean, Jesus, that guy’s a warrior.”

In that moment, Hurts walked by Mailata’s stall, fresh out of the shower. Mailata pointed out that Hurts wasn’t limping on his path across the locker room to where the quarterbacks’ stalls are situated.

“I love him,” Mailata said. “I love that man. I love that man to death, man.”