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Several Eagles players spoke to reporters following their big win over the Jaguars in Week 4, including Jalen Hurts, Miles Sanders and Haason Reddick. They all talked about being able to rally from behind, playing in tough weather, and how it was a great team win.
Here’s what they had to say:
Jalen Hurts
The quarterback talked about coming back from behind and having the same mentality he has the past few weeks with not scoring in the second half of games. It has to come down to executing, doing your job, and controlling what you can control. Whether it’s down by 14 points, or up by 14 points, it’s the same mentality.
“I think today, this team didn’t flinch. We found a way. We didn’t flinch. We persevered. We were unwavering in how we played — nothing was able to deny us. I’m so proud of how this team played, how we handled the conditions outside. You got cross winds going 20 to 30 miles per hour, it’s in the 50s, it’s raining sideways and we’re able to be pretty efficient in everything that we did. That’s a great team win.”
Hurts said that they’ll watch the film and see things that they need to fix and things they can do better, but he said they also learned a lot about this team and found out how much they can persevere. He later said that the beautiful thing was when they were down 14, nothing had to be said and there was no come to Jesus moment, they just knew they had to stay committed to executing and doing their jobs.
He was asked about losing starting offensive lineman — Jordan Mailata and Isaac Seumalo — and Hurts noted that as long as he’s been in Philly, Jack Driscoll and Sua Opeta are two guys that have always been ready to answer the call. Same thing on the defensive side of the ball, the QB said that everyone did their job and was ready when needed.
Hurts was asked about some of the fourth and long calls and he acknowledged that he appreciates the trust that head coach Nick Sirianni has in him and the offense, and they were prepared for those situations.
The quarterback also touched on what he told Doug Pederson after the game, explaining that he just told him how much respect and love he has for him, and thanked him for being the reason he’s in Philly. Hurts said he appreciates Pederson and his style of coaching, and wishes him nothing but the best moving forward.
Miles Sanders
The RB was asked if the weather factored in to the offense leaning on the run game more on Sunday, to which he said that they practice in all different conditions so they’re prepared for whatever type of weather or environment they face.
Over and over Sanders credited the offensive line for allowing the run game to be so effective against the Jaguars, pointing to over 200 rushing yards being impressive — especially to a team that previously hadn’t allowed more than 55 rushing yards in a game.
“They got a great team over there. Good, good front. But honestly, I take our o-line against anybody, and it’s just as simple as that.”
Sanders acknowledged that getting a lot of carries can help him get into a rhythm, but his job is to be ready whenever the ball comes to him. He talked about how early on, they were trying to attack the defense a bit with outside zone stuff, but then as the game went on they started mixing it up which helped them be a little more successful.
As for overcoming some of the injuries on the line — Jordan Mailata and Isaac Seumalo — Sanders pointed to them having a next man up mentality, coupled with the best offensive line coach in the NFL — Jeff Stoutland —, as to why they were still able to run it well.
It may have been a career-high game for Sanders, but he said that there’s still room to grow and improve, so his foot’s not off the gas pedal — although, he did admit that this was probably one of his best games so far in the league.
Haason Reddick
The linebacker was asked what makes him good at forcing fumbles, and he credited taking drill work to the game. They practice making those plays and coaches harp on it, so taking that to the game results in success.
Reddick talked about the defense as a whole and how they are continuing to get better and continuing to grow closer as a unit, but noted that they’re goal is to get better each week and so far they have been doing that. They have to continue to harp on those things, to hold each other accountable, and to grow in order to rally back in games like they did on Sunday.
They didn’t panic when they went down 0-14 early on, and just said that there was a lot of game left and they needed to dominate the guy in front of them. Being able to hold the Jaguars offense after that shows what kind of group they have.
Speaking of the group, Reddick acknowledged that the big game he had doesn’t happen without the play of all the guys around him. He noted that they made some mistakes, but overall he felt like they played good football on Sunday. The LB was also very clear that it was the play, not the weather, that resulted in the five defensive turnovers.
“They played in the same weather we did. Why would we sit here and make weather an excuse for anybody? You know what I’m saying? We came out here and played in the same exact weather they did.”
He was asked about him saying, ‘This is our city,’ during the game and he talked about how special it is to play in his hometown.
“A lot of people don’t have the opportunity to come back home and play, and the fact that I did and that offer was on the table, I jumped at it.”
Reddick mentioned that his friends and family are still happy about his decision to play in Philly, saying that many of them no longer have to split their allegiances — they can root for their home team AND root for Haason Reddick.
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