In a season full of disappointments, the Eagles certainly did not disappoint in week 14.

  The Birds clashed with the 10-2 New Orleans Saints, one of the best teams and defenses in the NFL this year. It was a battle, but Philadelphia came out on top by a score of 24-21.

  The biggest storyline coming into the game was how well rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts would play in his first career NFL start and, boy, he did great.

  Hurts took the reigns at the helm of the offense after the benching of Carson Wentz who was sat down for his poor play throughout this season. So, in came the former Alabama and Oklahoma QB.

  In his first game, Jalen Hurts was exciting. In a newer, modern NFL world of mobile QBs like Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, and Kyler Murray, Hurts definitly looked like a combination of all three of them.

  Hurts’ biggest strength is his legs and just like Jackson, Watson, and Murray, he used them to move the Birds down the field each drive. Hurts totaled 106 yards on the ground on 18 carries. He became the only QB, along with Lamar, to  get over one hundred yards rushing in their first career starts. 

  This was surely a breath of fresh air for Eagles fans. While Wentz is mobile, Hurts is just way different as he is aggressive and is able to turn up the field quickly. The last Eagles QB whose biggest strength was their quickness was the dynamic Michael Vick. The Eagles would be thrilled if Hurts’ NFL career trended towards Vick’s as the latter is one of the best rushing QBs to ever play in the NFL.

  Besides Hurts, there were a few Eagles who also played extremely well. Second year running back Miles Sanders found the endzone twice, including an 82-yard gallop for a touchdown. Sanders also broke one hundred yards. The Saints had not allowed a rusher to total more than a hundred yards this season and both Hurts and Sanders did just that.

  On the defensive side of the ball, the Eagles contained Saints QB Taysom Hill as well as they could. They forced Hill to throw one interception and in the second half defensive end Josh Sweat strip sacked Hill which ended up in DE Javon Hargreave’s arms for a fumble recovery. The offense capitalized on the turnover, resulting in Sanders’ second TD of the game.

 The NFC East, which has been one of the biggest laughing stocks this year in the NFL, ended up being part of the biggest upsets of the season in the span of two weeks. The Washington Football Team defeated the then undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers. The New York Giants beat the then 8-3 Seattle Seahawks. And the Eagles followed it up with their win against the Saints.

  In a tough season, Eagles fans finally have something exciting to watch. Jalen Hurts will most likely lead the team at quarterback for the last three games of the season. The Birds are not out of the playoff race just yet and Hurts has a chance to lead the Eagles back to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive time.