Jalen Hurts saves Nick Sirianni’s bacon in a messy Eagles win over the Jaguars and Doug Pederson

Nick Sirianni coached so badly, only prime Jalen Hurts could save him.

Hurts led a fourth-quarter touchdown drive that absolved Slick Nick of the second deadly coaching sin: greed. Sirianni left nine points on the field because he chased a hypothetical 20. He twice tried to convert fourth downs instead of kicking short field goals, then opted for three failed two-point conversions.

“Situationally, we could have been better. We could have executed better,” Hurts said afterward, trying to save his coach again.

Thanks to Hurts, the Eagles beat the Jaguars, 28-23, their fourth win in a row, and moved to 6-2.

Hurts is playing so well that sometimes you don’t even notice him. His passer rating is 128.9 over the past four games, with six TDs. He’s rushed for six more. He hasn’t been perfect, and he hasn’t been prolific — he’s only averaging 211 yards per game — but he hasn’t needed prolific perfection.

“He’s been efficient,” said right tackle Lane Johnson. “He’s done a good job of working. Of drowning out distractions. We have a lot of offensive complements, and that means we don’t ask any certain player to do too much — that they have to play ‘Superman’ football.”

» READ MORE: Doug Pederson’s Jaguars tenure on life support; LeSean McCoy honored by Saquon Barkley’s Eagles

Hurts finished 18-for-24 for 230 yards, with two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. He took three sacks, but only one was unwise, and it’s almost always better to take a sack than to force a pass or try to run through defenders. For the fourth game in a row, he didn’t turn the ball over.

“Jalen did a great job of taking care of the football,” Sirianni said. Again. Hurts hasn’t turned the ball over in four games, and the Eagles have won all four.

Not that he’s not making any plays.

His 18-yard touchdown run gave the Eagles a 22-0 lead in the third quarter. His 46-yard, fourth-quarter bomb to DeVonta Smith set up the winning touchdown and, upon hearing a compliment regarding his deep-ball proficiency, Hurts smiled and seemed to choke up a bit:

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that. ... They say I can’t.” Never believe them when they tell you they don’t hear their critics.

He threw that pass with more hope than confidence: “That’s one I struggled with in practice all week,” Hurts admitted.

At any rate, that play framed Hurts’ 25-yard teardrop to Smith in the back of the end zone on third-and-22. That was a toss of faith.

“I didn’t have great vision on DeVonta,” he confessed, “but I knew where he was going to be.”

The TD made it 28-16 midway through the fourth, and that was enough. That’s the key with Hurts. When he does enough, and doesn’t try to do too much, he gives the Eagles their best chance.

“Honestly, I don’t like it,” said Josh Sweat, who had two more sacks. He’s got five in the last five games, but he wants more opportunities: “He’s taking up all the damn time!”

The Eagles had the ball 38 minutes Sunday, nearly twice the Jags’ time of possession. They’ve won the TOP battle in the past three games.

Incredibly, Hurts wasn’t Sunday’s star.

Saquon Barkley logged his fifth 100-yard rushing game and his third in a row, with 159, and two scores, one on the ground, one a wondrous, 20-yard catch. He was the best player on the field. His signature play came early in the second quarter, when he juked one tackler, spun away from another, and then hurdled another — backward.

The defense dropped Trevor Lawrence twice, both times by Sweat. The linebackers intercepted Lawrence twice. First, a dropped pass deservedly landed in the hands of linebacker Zack Baun, who played brilliantly; then, with 1 minute, 38 seconds to play, Nakobe Dean made an acrobatic grab in the end zone to seal the win. On special teams, Sydney Brown forced a fumble on punt coverage that led to the Eagles’ first first-quarter score in nine games dating back to last season.

Yes, it should have been easier. Sirianni ensured that it was not so; good for drama, bad for the blood pressure.

The Birds held on without the services of their best player, A.J. Brown, who didn’t play in the second half due to a knee injury. They held on despite an apparently egregiously botched fumble ruling by the referees and replay officials that went against Barkley; the fumble was returned for a score. They held on like great Eagles teams of yesteryear held on.

It was a night of nostalgia. The players wore kelly green, LeSean “Shady” McCoy got his Eagles Hall of Fame jacket, and Doug Pederson, who won the franchise’s only Super Bowl, visited Lincoln Financial Field for one last loss.

Hurts’ play brought back memories, too; memories of a bygone era, back when he didn’t give the ball away, when he managed the talent around him, and when he played like a winner, not a hero.

You know. Way back in 2022, when the Eagles went to the Super Bowl — sometimes, in spite of Sirianni.