Jalen Hurts talks Vikings’ defense, spreading the ball around to Eagles targets

Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts spoke to reporters on Thursday and mentioned that he’s excited for their Week 2 Monday night game against the Vikings. When thinking of Minnesota in prime time games, he thinks about Randy Moss and all the other iconic moments that have played out on Monday night, and he’s looking forward to his turn.

Just before sitting down to speak, Hurts posted about gun violence in Philly on Twitter. He explained that he’s been working with Penn Hospital, and given the current situation with gun violence in Philadelphia and around the country, wanted to draw attention to what victims go through during the recovery process, both mentally and physically.

On spreading the ball around

The quarterback was asked if spreading the ball around is something he should be cognizant of during a game, but he said he’s just focused on doing his job.

“Every player’s assignment on the field is to execute the play to the best of their ability and do their job, and that’s one thing I’ve been trying to do all camp, you know, trying to carry that to the games.

He didn’t seem to put much stock in DeVonta Smith not having any catches in Week 1, and said that he’s ready, just like he’s always ready, for Week 2. Hurts can’t predict how the targets will play out on Monday, or if big games will bounce around between Smith and A.J. Brown, the QB said he just wants to win.

On the Vikings defense

“I think they have a really good defense. They got great players at every position I feel, so it’ll definitely be a great challenge for us. They fly to the ball. I mean, they’re all playmakers. You know what I mean? So, I have to do a lot of preparing for them

Other notables

• Eagles’ OC Shane Steichen mentioned earlier in the week that Hurts has an ability to avoid taking big hits, and the QB said he just tries to slide or get out of bounds when possible. He later explained that he used to play baseball as a kid which taught him how to slide, and then at Alabama they told him to get down and he was able to translate that sliding ability to football.
• Hurts was asked to explain why he chose to wear No. 1, and he mentioned growing up he always wore No. 2 because of his brother. When he transferred to Oklahoma, CeeDee Lamb wore No. 2 and despite the WR offering to give it to the QB, he didn’t want to take it out of respect. So, he ended up wearing No. 1 and he liked how it looked on him.
• The QB talked about what toughness means to him, and how it means being where your feet are and always having a next-play mentality. It’s about being able to overcome and being tenacious, as well as being resilient and persevering.
• He gave a lot of credit to Jason Kelce and the offensive line for their technique and how it helps him be so good at QB sneaks. Hurts said that the team was good at QB sneaks before he got to Philly, so he didn’t want to take too much credit for that.