Eagles-Jets analysis: Jalen Hurts rattles off an impressive drive in the starters’ lone series

For Jalen Hurts, one series was plenty.

In the Eagles’ preseason opener against the New York Jets on Friday, the 24-year-old quarterback orchestrated an impressive touchdown drive and then swapped his helmet for a headset.

For the most part, the rest of the Eagles’ starters on both sides of the ball followed suit. A Kyzir White interception sparked a scoring drive for the second-team offense and also granted the defensive starters the rest of the night off.

Here’s our instant analysis of the Eagles’ 24-21 loss at Lincoln Financial Field.

Nick Sirianni couldn’t have asked for much more from Hurts in his one and only drive.

He opened the series with a 28-yard completion to Quez Watkins after extending the play by rolling out. The completion displayed the type of off-schedule playmaking ability Hurts showed last season, but it is sometimes limited in practice settings.

That improvisational ability did bite him once, though. On the sixth play of the drive, Hurts evaded pressure and dashed for the sideline. A tick or two after he got out of bounds with no gain, Jets linebacker Quincy Williams unloaded on Hurts, knocking him down with a helmet-to-helmet hit.

» READ MORE: The Jets’ cheap shot on Jalen Hurts should have the Eagles concerned. About Hurts.

The play evoked a 15-yard penalty, a mob of Eagles offensive linemen crowding the Jets’ sideline, and some rage-induced shouting from Sirianni across the field.

After the game, Sirianni said he regretted directing his reaction at Jets coach Robert Saleh. The broadcast caught Sirianni seemingly shouting expletives in his direction.

“I wasn’t mad at Coach Saleh, I was mad at the situation,” Sirianni said. “Coach Saleh’s a great guy. I’ve got so much respect for him. It was just the emotions of the game, I was just sticking up for Jalen. I’ll never apologize for sticking up for my players. I should have handled it a little bit better than I did.”

“He and I talked after the game,” Sirianni added, referring to Saleh. “I wished him nothing but luck, and he did the same. He’s a friend.”

The only Eagles player who wasn’t heated after the hit was Hurts himself. He brushed it off at the time and continued to do so after the game.

“It happens,” Hurts said. “I’ll let y’all say whatever. He hit me late, they called a flag, we moved on.”

Three plays later, Hurts found tight end Dallas Goedert for a 22-yard touchdown pass. He hit Goedert on an out-breaking route as he was closing in on a defender near the sideline, but Hurts correctly placed the pass inside to give Goedert a chance to make the play. It was the type of accuracy that is encouraging to see for Hurts as he embarks on his third year in the league.

“I thought he did a great job running the offense,” Sirianni said. “[He was] under complete control and getting us to the right checks.”

» READ MORE: Kyzir White’s INT highlights a promising start for Eagles newcomers, from Jordan Davis to Cam Jurgens

In all, Hurts went 6-for-6 for 80 yards and the touchdown. It might be the only drive you’ll see from him until the season opener, but it just might be enough.

“We talk about the importance of explosive plays,” Hurts said. “When you come out of the gate with an explosive play down the field, a great catch by Quez, that can get a drive going. Overall, I was just pleased to see everybody execute and do their jobs for the first group and to get it in the end zone. That was our goal.”

The Eagles’ defense followed the offense’s lead with a successful opening sequence earning them the rest of the night off.

The Jets’ possession lasted just five plays before White picked off second-year quarterback Zach Wilson.

“I was playing visual on the quarterback,” White said. “I saw it in his demeanor where he was going to go with the ball and I just tried to sprint and make a play on it.”

White and T.J. Edwards have been the Eagles preferred linebacker pairing, with Haason Reddick occupying the “SAM” linebacker spot on the line of scrimmage.

White’s interception showed why he’s often been the choice next to Edwards; the free agency addition has been a quality coverage linebacker throughout his career.

Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon used even fronts most of the night, switching to odd fronts on occasion when nose tackle Jordan Davis was in the game.

Wilson came out for a second series, but left with a scary non-contact knee injury after an awkward juke. The second overall pick of the 2021 draft walked off on his own power, but Jets players seemed shaken up while trainers tended to him.

Davis didn’t take long to show what kind of impact he could have on the Eagles’ pass rush this season.

The team’s first-round pick out of Georgia had a handful of impressive snaps both as a run stuffer and a pass rusher. The 6-foot-7, 340-pounder commanded plenty of attention from the Jets’ offensive line and managed to shed two blockers on a few occasions. After blowing up a double team against the pass in the first quarter, Davis showed how he can transition from power to speed as he closed on a scrambling Wilson.

Davis won’t show up on the stat sheet, but it’s safe to say his stock has risen even higher after his first preseason action. Another former Georgia standout, linebacker Nakobe Dean, had a nice game after a relatively quiet camp to date.

He logged five tackles and blew up a couple of run plays, sometimes with the assistance of Davis to prove the former college teammates still work well together.

“I’m always excited to have Nakobe behind me,” Davis said. “If I mess up, he’s going to clean it up and always having him behind me I can do no wrong. But obviously, I love playing with and just having Nakobe there.”

Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham added: “I see the chemistry. I think there was one play where Jordan missed him and Nakobe came and cleaned it up. It was like they were [still] playing with the Georgia Bulldogs.”

There’s often some valuable information to glean from which players are still in uniform coming out of halftime and which ones have shed their shoulder pads and helmet in favor of a baseball cap.

There’s the obvious guys: Hurts, A.J. Brown, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox, etc. Then there’s the ones who might surprise you a bit.

Friday didn’t offer many surprises, but it’s worth noting Jalen Reagor was among the receivers given the second half off. Zach Pascal also spent the second half sans pads. Getting part of the night off isn’t everything, but it is an interesting development for Reagor, who had three catches for 26 yards in the first half.

Left guard Landon Dickerson was held out of the game with foot soreness. He participated in practice Wednesday but ceded reps to Sua Opeta midway through the session. The indication is that he’s not expected to miss significant time. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave was also held out Friday and is considered day-to-day with a toe injury.

Left tackles Jordan Mailata and Andre Dillard both got playing time after being limited on Wednesday with concussions sustained last week.

The Eagles announced defensive ends Trent Cole and Hugh Douglas as the next members of the team’s Hall of Fame. They’re scheduled to be inducted Nov. 27 when the Eagles host Green Bay.