The Eagles won’t win anything without NFL MVP and ‘difference-maker’ Jalen Hurts

At 3:37 p.m. New Year’s Day, every Eagles fan still drawing breath held it, as they shared the same thought:

“We can’t win without Jalen Hurts.”

They were all right. Gardner Minshew had just thrown a pick-6 in the fourth quarter that sealed the Eagles’ second straight loss. The Eagles were the NFL’s best team before Hurts sprained his throwing shoulder in Chicago. With him, they could beat anybody, anywhere.

Now, with Minshew, they can’t beat an egg.

“No disrespect to anybody, but there’s difference-makers in this league,” said Pro Bowl linebacker Haason Reddick, who sacks quarterbacks for a living. “[Jalen’s] a difference-maker.”

After the game, Hurts hurried off the field. He didn’t shake hands. He just headed for the tunnel. Fletcher Cox was right beside him, talking in his ear, likely saying:

“Get your butt back out here.”

Hurts’ two-week absence has revealed his value as much as two more Pro Bowl-caliber performances. Injured players don’t win MVPs, which is fair, but discerning voters should recognize that the 13-3 Eagles surely would be 15-1 had Hurts remained healthy.

The defense allowed a third-and-30 conversion to the Cowboys, but the Eagles lost at Dallas on Christmas Eve because Minshew committed three turnovers. They lost Sunday to the Saints, 20-10, because, in his second start, Minshew was even worse.

» READ MORE: Eagles-Saints instant analysis: Birds fall again after a forgettable outing from the Gardner Minshew-led offense

At least Dallas was playing at home, with a healthy team, on a roll, with Dak Prescott looking like a top-10 quarterback. The Saints, on the other hand, were a six-win team that was 2-5 on the road, starting Andy Dalton at quarterback because he’s better than Jameis Winston.

Could the Eagles have run the ball more, especially early in the game? Sure. Could they have been stingier on defense early in the game? Absolutely.

Neither of those are bigger reasons for the loss than Uncle Rico’s doppelgänger.

Hurts took snaps and threw passes at practice last week. Apparently, his right shoulder was either too weak, too painful, or both. Will he play next weekend when the Giants visit?

“If he’s cleared to go, he’ll go. He’ll play,” said coach Nick Sirianni.

And if not? So what. Let him play hurt.

Hell, let him play left-handed.

He’d do it. He’d try. He’d be better than what they’ve gotten the last two weekends.

Dallas sack-meister Micah Parsons called Hurts a system quarterback a few weeks ago while laughing at Hurts’ MVP candidacy.

Yeah. He’s the whole damn system.

“He’s definitely not a product of the system,” said left tackle Jordan Mailata. “Not a shot at Minsh, but they’re two different-caliber players.”

If the Eagles hope to beat the Giants in the season finale, Hurts must play next weekend. If the Eagles hope to control their fate as NFC East champions and the No. 1 overall seed, Hurts must play next weekend.

If a player’s value to his team determines whether he’s the league’s most valuable, then there is no argument against Hurts. Will all due respect to Patrick Mahomes, who is more accomplished and more talented, and with all due respect to Joe Burrow, who might lead his team through Mahomes and Kansas City and to a second consecutive Super Bowl, neither is as valuable to the 2022 edition of his team as Hurts is to Philadelphia.

Hurts stood on the Eagles’ sideline wearing a headset and a hoodie as Minshew imploded for a second week in a row.

He was 18-for-32 for 274 yards and a touchdown, but numbers have never lied more blatantly. He was gun-shy early, reckless late. He took six sacks, almost all of them his fault. He threw a stare-down pick-6 toward A.J. Brown with 5:31 to play that turned a 13-10 Eagles deficit into a 20-10 impossibility. He threw beneath receivers, behind receivers, above receivers.

He connected with Brown on a 78-yard TD, but the ball was underthrown and ugly. Brown shed a defender, made the catch, and outran his pursuers. He was brilliant. Minshew? Coincidental.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Minshew tried a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1, Hurts’ signature play. Minshew got none.

Later, on fourth-and-22, Minshew needed, well, 22. Unmolested, Minshew threw an 11-yard pass to DeVonta Smith over the middle. Dallas Goedert was open on the right sideline.

Minshew was, exquisitely, awful.

So, now, we know the answer as to whether Jalen Hurts was this season’s most valuable player.

He was. Very, very much, he was.

We also know the answer as to whether the Eagles can win Super Bowl LVII.

They can. Very, very much, they can.

They lost their No. 2 sacker, Josh Sweat, who left with a neck injury, but got two sacks from their No. 4 sacker, Brandon Graham. Dalton went down six times. They gave up 13 offensive points, then held the Saints scoreless for the last 36 minutes.

Miles Sanders, underutilized early, finished with 61 yards on 12 carries. Smith caught nine passes for 115 yards and Brown had four catches for 97.

The team is stacked.

If the Eagles have the league’s most valuable player, they can win everything. Without him?

They can’t win a game of darts.