Jalen Hurts: âI donât really know how to feel sometimesâ

Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts had just thrown three touchdown passes and run for two touchdowns in a 37-34 overtime victory against the Buffalo Bills last week as the Eagles raised their record to an NFL-best 10-1.

But at his postgame press conference, Hurts said: “There’s nothing to be satisfied about. We have to play cleaner; we have to be better. Obviously, a great win and a resilient win, but we just continue to challenge ourselves to be better, and we’re eager to do so. It takes everyone getting on the same page. What our plan of attack is, what that looks like, being efficient in whatever we call – all of those things matter.

“But we’re finding ways to win. That’s 10 games won. We just kind of want to keep it rolling, but we want to keep growing. Got to continue to get better.”

Why can’t the QB be as happy as Eagles fans after a win like the one over the 49ers? The problem is Hurts is seeking to reach two goals – winning the game and playing to the standard.

“I shake my head and I don’t really know how to feel sometimes because I just want to play to the standard at all times,” Hurts said. “And I just lead and play to the standard at all times. That’s why it’s kind of weird for me.

“But as a team, we play together, we lean on one another and we have each other’s back, and we just continue to find ways to win in a tough league versus really great teams, really great quarterbacks and really great defenses. We just need to continue to get better.”

Hurts was asked to explain why it was weird.

“I think it’s just a standard,” Hurts said. “I talk about it all the time. It’s a standard, and it’s in a sense manipulative to myself because winning is the only thing that matters, but the standard is pretty darn important, too. And so that’s what it is. …

“I just truly go out there and try to play to the standard and be the best that I can be for my team. There are times today I feel like I didn’t do that. But when it mattered most, I feel like we did a good job of doing what we needed to do. We played team football. We communicated well. That’s all in the outcome of what happened. We really were on the same page when it mattered the most.”

During his Wednesday press conference, Hurts was asked why he couldn’t enjoy the Eagles’ success. He said he did, even if it didn’t look that way.

“I don’t want to get too far ahead,” Hurts said. “I just truly try and be in the moment, embrace the moment and enjoy the moment. I’m sorry if you don’t think I find enjoyment in these moments because I do. It’s just you have different things that go on in a game, different things that you have to be able to handle and approach appropriately, and you just really never want to get too high, never want to get too low. That’s just how I’ve always approached it. And just continue to keep your focus on the main thing.”

With Hurts as the starting quarterback, the Eagles have won their past 14 regular-season games against teams with winning records. The former Alabama QB now owns the league’s longest such streak since the NFL began tracking starts in 1950.

The NFL schedule-maker has been putting that to the test. Philadelphia defeated the Dallas Cowboys 28-23 on Nov. 5. After their bye, the Eagles returned to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 21-17 on Nov. 20 before battling by Buffalo on Nov. 26.

Philadelphia hosts the San Francisco 49ers at 3:25 p.m. CST Sunday and will play the Cowboys again in one week.

Hurts’ focus is on the 49ers.

“They’re a really, really, really, really good defense,” Hurts said. “They have great players at every position on that D-line – very elite players. We have to be ready for that challenge. It’s a great team. It’s a great defense.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.