Nick Sirianni on Jalen Hurts: "It's like having Michael Jordan out there"
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Jalen Hurts and the Eagles made an emphatic statement on Saturday night, beating the New York Giants, 38-7, in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs at Lincoln Financial Field.
The most important part of the win for Eagles fans? Hurts looked like himself. He looked like the MVP candidate we saw play in the regular season before a shoulder injury sidelined him for two games.
Hurts completed 16 of his 24 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns with a passer rating of 112.2. That rating is the third-highest mark in franchise postseason history, trailing only Rodney Peete and Nick Foles.
He also recorded a touchdown on the ground to go along with 34 rushing yards.
The performance, Hurts' first playoff victory of his NFL career, earned him some high praise from head coach Nick Sirianni.
"To have him out there is like -- I know this is high praise, but to have him out there is like having -- I shouldn't even go there -- it's like having Michael Jordan out there," Sirianni said. "He's your leader. He's your guy. Hopefully, that's the biggest respect I can pay to him comparing his ability to being on the field to a Michael Jordan type. This guy leads. He brings this calmness to the entire team. He plays great football. He's as tough as they come."
For a team that's won one Super Bowl in franchise history, Eagles would gladly take Hurts' career ending in a similar fashion to Jordan's -- six championships, five MVPs and double-digit All-NBA First Team honors.
But they'll need to get through this year's playoffs first, with either the San Francisco 49ers or the Dallas Cowboys awaiting in the NFC title game.
Hurts said he felt "good enough" physically in his second game since returning from his shoulder injury, and it showed on the opening drive.
On the Eagles' second play on offense, Hurts connected with wideout DeVonta Smith on a deep 40-yard pass to put them in Giants territory. Six plays later, the Eagles were on the board after tight end Dallas Goedert hauled in an impressive one-handed catch for a 16-yard touchdown.
The Eagles scored three more touchdowns in the first half and led 28-0 at halftime, and the offense looked like it couldn't be stopped by anyone in the league.
Goedert said Hurts was instrumental in the Eagles getting off to a fast start.
"Jalen said it best that you have to be hungry for this," Goedert said. "He said he was starving for this [stuff]. With everyone in the locker room, he sets the tone for it and we follow along. Whatever he says goes. He is the leader of this place. He had it in him so we all follow suit."
In the Eagles' regular season finale against the Giants, the team struggled in the red zone and scored on one of their five trips.
But with Hurts closer to 100% and having no limitations, that wasn't the case -- it allowed the Eagles to open in the playbook in the quarterback running game, which also benefits the team's tailbacks.
As a result, the Eagles scored on four of their five red zone trips on Saturday night.
Following Goedert's touchdown to open the game, Smith scored on a screen pass, Giants killer Boston Scott found the end zone and Hurts scored on a run later in the second quarter.
The Eagles' other touchdown came from a 35-yard run by Kenneth Gainwell late in the fourth quarter.
It was truly a dominant display of offense. Overall, the Eagles rushed for 268 yards -- their highest total since they recorded 363 rushing yards against the Green Bay Packers in Week 12 of the regular season.
The Eagles looked like they were in mid-season form with Hurts leading charge.
"Seemed like the old Jalen to me. I'm not going to lie," running back Miles Sanders said. "Just proud of him. He asks everybody for their best, and we're going to do that just for him because he gives us our best."
