Dallas Cowboys 37, Philadelphia Eagles 17
Q. Can you kind of describe what the learning experience was like for you, especially in the second half when you lost the fumble through the two interceptions, kind of what this whole experience was like for you.
JALEN HURTS: Yeah, I think it's a big-time learning experience. A lot to learn from this game. It's something I've got to step away from it, look back at everything and learn from it. Got to go out there and make the plays when the opportunity presents itself, and something that I take complete ownership on. You know, those guys believe in me to go get it done, and I hold it very -- I take it very personally in getting it done, and today, I came up short.
Q. What happened to the offense after you go up 14-3, you're in Dallas territory five or six times and don't get any points.
JALEN HURTS: Yeah, we kind of got stagnant. Great opportunities to put points on the board and we always talk about controlling what we can. Those opportunities right there are perfect opportunity to go out there and score points. Shot ourselves in the foot. Kind of stopped ourselves due to lack of execution.
So it's a lot -- it's a lot to learn from. A lot to learn from on my end, as a group, and we'll be better from this.
Q. Coach said you were working through some lower body stuff in the second half. Did that come from the sack in the third quarter and what it you tell us about it?
JALEN HURTS: Got a little nicked up in the second quarter there. But you know, the will to win is so hard, for this team, having opportunities that we had to go out there and win the game and put ourselves in position to win the game, and you know, it was something that we came up short.
So, you know, we got to go back and look at the things that we can do better. I said is last week, all the things that have kind of gone wrong, you know, injuries, guys played through injuries all the time, bits and pieces, if you will. It's a so-what-now mentality, and I'm not going to make any excuses for anybody. I'm not going to make any for myself. It's something you learn from. It's not a loss; it's a lesson and that's truly how I look at it and we will -- we will be better from it.
Q. In your three starts, the Eagles have scored 67 points. 54 of those points were in the first half of each of those games and only 13 points in the second half and none tonight. Are you concerned about your second halves? Are teams just figuring you out? Why is there that second half kind of fade?
JALEN HURTS: I think it's a mentality that you have to have, an constitute and mentality, you go out there and you're dominating, dominating everything that you do. We got to do that consistently and it starts with me going out there and finishing. I touch the ball every play. Every play. Every play I have the opportunity to make things right. Even when it's wrong, make it right. And I hold myself accountable of doing those things. This is a lot that I'll be able to learn from, we'll be able to learn from as a team, everybody and we're going to learn from it. No doubt in my mind.
Q. The way things were unfolding with, as you said, shooting yourselves in the foot there a lot of times, some penalties and different things, did you feel some pressure there in the fourth quarter to force some plays to try to do things that you had not done before, because we had not seen you really throw interceptions like that. Was it something where you were like there's nothing else available right now?
JALEN HURTS: You know, you got the playoffs on the line, and at that point you have to make some -- the crazy thing; when I talk about leaving money on the table, you know, we left money on the table versus Green Bay. Left money on the table versus New Orleans. Left some money on the table last week and left some on the table this week. Unfortunately we weren't able to overcome it tonight. So it's a lot to learn from. I take it very personally and we'll be better from it.
Q. Since you went through the lineup, every game has been analyzed and scrutinized, but when you look at the three-game body of work, how better or different are you from this experience than going into the Saints game?
JALEN HURTS: That's a tough one to answer. The only thing on my mind is winning. That's all I care about. I know a lot of people, a lot of players on this team that will be better from it. Better for these things that we're experiencing right now. You know, that failure kind much teaches you a lesson. It's a lesson, and that pain does nothing but motivate you, and that pain is going to continue to motivate me and we are going to be better from it.
Q. You mentioned shooting yourselves in the foot a lot tonight. You had a lot of penalties, a really inordinate amount of false starts, I think six of them. You don't usually see that in the 15th game of a season. Are the linemen having trouble adjusting to your cadence? What's going on there as far as you can tell?
JALEN HURTS: I'm the commander in chief on the field. I've got to do a better job of it. That's one thing that I'll reflect on personally and see what I can do to fix that.
Q. What happened to you on the play where you were injured? What was injured? Did it affect your ability to throw the ball as Doug suggested in the second half? And he also said something about Dallas changing things up in the second half. How did they change things up?
JALEN HURTS: If I answered that question, I'd be making excuses and I can't go that route. You know, they switched some things up in their coverage, but we go out there and we do our job, number of that matters. We go out and execute, none of that matters. So it's something that we can learn from. And we will.
Q. Obviously you're not where you wanted to be at the end of the game, but this is the first time you got to play with DeSean Jackson. You only had the one target and it turned into an 81-yard touchdown. He's the biggest home run hitter in NFL history. What's it like to connect with him on a deep ball?
JALEN HURTS: It was fun. We prepared for that, me going after Tampa, getting that time in, and it was fun to hit it. Should have hit a few more. But you know, one thing I tell these guys, I've been harping on it ever since I've been fortunate enough with this position, is appreciate these times we have together. Appreciate the moments you have with the guys on this team. Appreciate them. Because, you know, things change, you know and you've just got to appreciate this moment, all the different adversity that people go through, really appreciate the moment and cherishing it with the people around you that you go to work with every day.
Q. It looked like the run game was so effective in the second half and then the second half, you really went away from it. I know you were down but it wasn't like you were down 30 points or anything. What happened to the run game today? Did you think you could have done more of that instead of just going back there and flinging it so much and what exactly kept it from being as effective?
JALEN HURTS: We have complete trust in everybody and doing their jobs. Us 11 on offense, we go out there and execute on whatever is called to the best of our abilities. I think that's what it was. You know, go out there and execute it, whether it's a pass, run, whatever it is, go out there and execute it, and we've got to do a better job of that.
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