Jalen Hurts Completely Whiffs Block, Takes Horrendous Safety In Terrible Sequence That Effectively Ended Eagles Season

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Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts entered this NFL season with a lot of hype. And, why not? He helped lead the team to the Super Bowl last season and played well against the Kansas City Chiefs, albeit in a loss.

That led several sports media outlets to label Hurts as one of the best quarterbacks -- and for one outlet, one of the best PLAYERS -- in the entire league.

Of course, that was premature. Hurts is a good quarterback. But, he's not on the level of several players that he was listed ahead of, namely Joe Burrow and Josh Allen.

That's become more and more clear throughout the season as the Eagles limped to a 1-5 record in the final six games.

They blew a big NFC East lead, which forced them to start the playoffs on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Still, sportsbooks installed them as the favorites to beat Tampa Bay and advance.

But, during a critical possession in the third quarter, Jalen Hurts made two of the worst plays you'll see.

With Eagles season on the brink, Jalen Hurts makes two awful plays in a three-play stretch

First, he handed a ball off to Kenneth Gainwell, who eventually had to reverse field. With a defender chasing, all Hurts had to do was get in the way to potentially prevent a huge loss. However, he didn't even try.

I understand many quarterbacks don't want to throw blocks, but with the season on the line, elite players do what needs to be done to win a football game. Hurts gave up.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts attempts to block Buccaneers All-Pro LB Lavonte David with just his right arm.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts attempts to block Buccaneers All-Pro LB Lavonte David with just his right arm. (Screenshot: ESPN)

After a nice completion to Dallas Goedert to get the Eagles some breathing room, Hurts inexplicably took a safety despite several opportunities to throw the ball away. A play that starts on the 14-yard line should never end in a safety. No excuses.

On the sideline, Goedert appeared to let Hurts have it as the quarterback simply sat quietly.

The Eagles didn't lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers solely because of Jalen Hurts. Their defense played really poorly, too.

But, he didn't elevate them to another level, especially at the end of the season. That's what elite quarterbacks do.

Jalen Hurts is good.

He's not elite.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to OutKick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named "Brady" because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.