Jalen Hurts’ pair of interceptions show the growth that is still needed

Monday Night Football offered a classic rivalry game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles.

It also highlighted the growth that still lies ahead of Eagles passer Jalen Hurts.

What was a close game, thanks in large part to the Philadelphia defense, became something of a rout early in the second half after the second-year quarterback threw his second interception of the night. But the two turnovers illustrate areas where Hurts can still grow as a passer.

The first interception came with over ten minutes to go in the first quarter. The Eagles were driving, with the football just outside the red zone. Hurts looks to target Jalen Reagor on the vertical route along the sideline, but the pass is underthrown and intercepted:

This play might be an example of the quarterback trying too hard to influence the safety, on a throw where that manipulation might not be needed. Hurts takes the snap and opens to his left, before turning late to throw the vertical route to Reagor. You can understand what he is trying to do, by freezing the safety in the middle of the field. But he can accomplish this by staring down the middle of the field, and then flashing his eyes to the right. That would enable him to still have his target in his peripheral field of vision, which would make turning and throwing the vertical route easier.

Even with the mistakes, the Eagles defense — along with some interesting clock management yet again from Mike McCarthy — kept the game relatively close. With a scoring drive to open the third quarter, Hurts and the offense could perhaps close to within a single score of Dallas.

The drive began well, with Hurts hitting Dallas Goedert on a crossing route for a big gain. But then Hurts missed on a second crossing route, setting up this play:

You can likely see what happens on this Pick-Six. On the first interception, Hurts tries too hard to use his eyes to manipulate the defense. Here, he never looks anywhere else. He executes a three-step drop from the shotgun and his eyes are trained solely on DeVonta Smith. Trevon Diggs reads Hurts’ eyes the whole way and drives on the route, stepping in front of Smith for the interception.

Now, Smith loses his footing, and if he is able to stay upright he can perhaps prevent the interception. But Hurts needs to do a better job with his eyes, and be less deliberate on this throw.

Of course, Hurts is a young quarterback who is learning the ins-and-outs of playing the position at a high level. There will be moments like these two interceptions, where he has to figure out how to balance what he does with his eyes, and how he executes the plays that are called for him in the huddle. Tonight has been a rough night for the quarterback, but if he applies these lessons going forward, he will be a better passer for it in the end.