“I don’t think we were all committed enough.”
Teams win. Teams lose. Stuff happens. And it can happen to quality teams, as it is happening to the Philadelphia Eagles right now, losers of three straight after a last-minute failure in a 20-17 upset at Seattle on “Monday Night Football.”
But losing is one thing; the ball has two points and it can bounce funny. It’s sometimes why you lose that can be disconcerting. And if Eagles team leader Jalen Hurts is right in his brutal evaluation of his team?
The Eagles – suddenly 10-4 and back in second place in the NFC East behind the Dallas Cowboys – have a problem.
“I don’t think,” Hurts said deep into the night at Seattle, “we’re all, we’re committed enough.”
“Not committed enough”? Really? What does that mean?
“Commitment,” Hurts said. “I don’t have a dictionary on me now. … I don’t know how else to say that.”
Say it like this: In the last two weeks plus a day, the Eagles are in a downward spiral, “10-1” whittling down to “10-4.”
The losses to the 49ers, the Cowboys and the Seahawks don’t preclude Philly from winning the the NFC East, even though Dallas, also 10-4, is back in mathematical first place.
Yes, though the 49ers now sit cozily in the No. 1 seed driver’s seat, the Eagles still control their own destiny in the NFC East; all they have to do to seal that is to win out.
And as their next three opponents are have-nots the Giants, the Cardinals and the Giants, they will win out. Right? Right?
Right. Unless the Eagles’ “lack of commitment” – whatever that means – continues?
#Eagles QB Jalen Hurts mentions he doesn't think the team is 'committed enough' right now.
When asked what he means: "Commitment. I don't have a dictionary on me now."
An eye-popping answer…pic.twitter.com/iscJpkukcm
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 19, 2023
If both Dallas and Philly finish 13-4, the NFL would go down to tiebreaker No. 5, “strength of (opponents’) victory in all games.” And the Eagles would likely win there.
Related: Eagles’ Loss to Seahawks Toughest To Swallow Yet
But if the Cowboys win out (seemingly unlikely as they are at Dolphins, vs. Lions, at Commanders) and the Eagles lose again? Dallas would be 13-4 and the Eagles would be unable to match that.
Hurts, by the way, isn’t pointing fingers. He played sick in this game, to his credit, but still had the two interceptions. And he’s talking about his own “commitment,” too.
“It takes everyone being all-in in all aspects,” Hurts said. It starts with me. We’ve got to turn this around.”
Straight talk. Brutal reaction. No dictionary needed.
