A new rumor claims that during Jalen Hurts’ frustrating final six weeks of the 2023 season, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback actually sought out the advice of a prominent coach from a division rival.
The second half of last season for the Eagles was one to forget. After a fantastic 10-1 start — following a trip to the Super Bowl — the cracks in their play became deep crevasses as they lost six of their last seven, including a stunning Wild Card defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While the defense was a huge part of their disastrous slump, star quarterback Jalen Hurts also went into a deep decline during that time. He threw six interceptions, to just six touchdowns. Tossed over 300 yards just once, and twice had sub-50 passer ratings.
It was a stunning regression for a player who was an MVP candidate the year before. No doubt, the two-time Pro Bowler looked to his teammates and coaches for answers to his struggles. However, it seems that wasn’t enough and Hurts actually reached out to the defensive coordinator of rivals the New York Giants for help.
Jalen Hurts stats (2023): 4,463 total yards, 48 total touchdowns, 15 interceptions, 89.1 passer rating
Jalen Hurts called the Giants DC to help work his way out of 2023 late-season woes
“I’ve been doing this for 40 years and it’s the first time I’ve had an opposing quarterback call me up,” former Giants Don “Wink” Martindale told ESPN. “I thought it was pretty cool that the guy called. It shows you what kind of pro he really is. He’s just looking at every angle that he can to get better.”
“It was very effective and he knew it, and he just wanted to know why we did certain things that we did. Then he went to work on that.”
The new Michigan Wolverines defensive coordinator told the outlet they spoke for around 30 minutes and went into detail on the Giants’ coverage of him and the Eagles’ offense. When the pair talked, Martindale had already quit from his role with New York.
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