Buccaneers 32, Eagles 9
Q. How do you kind of explain the way the season ended, six losses in seven games? Just kind of what went wrong?
JALEN HURTS: Yeah, I don't think -- I think for us this year, I don't think we played well enough. Didn't play well enough, you know, and the identity, the consistency, the execution for us, the turnovers, everything, all of those come into play when you're talking about having an opportunity to win championships.
You know, some we have to be able to learn from, you know. Some we have to be able to learn from.
Q. There was an ESPN report that you weren't happy with the identity of the offense over the last few months of the season. Can you confirm that and give a little more explanation?
JALEN HURTS: I think just where we are as a team. You know, we've had a ton of opportunities to do great things and we haven't taken advantage of them.
I talked about the ownership of that and me taking ownership for the things I can control and challenging everyone to take ownership for the things they can control and for us to put the output that we want on the field and have the results we want and the opportunities we want, it takes consistency.
That's no point to identity, no more than execution. The reality is we have to be better, and that starts with me.
Q. What happened on the (indiscernible) play?
JALEN HURTS: Got held up in the pocket. Got held up in the pocket. Trying to make a play outside the pocket and make a throw down the field and move the chains, and end up getting it up late. Guess I didn't pass the line of scrimmage so have to watch the film to see what actually happened.
Q. How does the finger impact your performance?
JALEN HURTS: I don't -- you know, I told you guys it was something coming into it. There is no excuse for the inability not to do what we want to do out there on the field and the consistency we wanted.
So was it an issue? Yeah, I said that long ago. Obviously it's just about the results and we didn't get the results we want. You look at the result and say what it is, it's about really the process and the process in which you go about it.
And so that's just a huge self-reflection in that for everyone, and just huge self-reflection in that for everyone.
Q. Been through a lot of different things, career, college, pros. How would you describe what you went through this year personally and as a team?
JALEN HURTS: It's definitely been a journey, and every year has been -- has presented different joys and different challenges. I feel like I've been able to use those things to better myself and better the people around me.
So there has been a lot of ups, downs, challenges, a lot of joys this year. Been a lot of great moments. All of those moments is using them to better yourself as an individual first and foremost and then how can you help the team, the man next to you.
So as things change and evolve, it's about the thing that you can control and invest in yourself into the team and doing what you need to do to help the team.
So I'm very appreciative of that group. Very appreciative of everything that we been through and fought through, games we came back from. Obviously took a turn this year and things didn't end the way we wanted, but simply not our turn. We got a taste of it last year winning the conference championship and having a chance to play in the Super Bowl.
Wasn't our turn then. Had this year go the way it went, talked about the standard, but the standard changes from year to year because it's a whole different team. That's one thing I learned and one thing that -- one thing that I will continue to mature on and continue to learn.
You learn different things, but I think that's the reality of it. I think different years require different versions of a person, and I'll just continue to learn to be the best leader I can be for this team and organization.
But a ton to learn from. A ton to learn from. That's challenging old heads to the young guys and the guys that come at some point here. Learn from it. Learn from it.
Then reach one, teach one. Have an opportunity to do it again. You know an opportunity to do it again. I told those guys in there, as crazy as it is you have to be able to use it for your advantage and find a positive out of this negative. Turn the negative into a positive somehow.
For whatever reason, the last time we were here, the very next opportunity, very next year we had we had a pretty dang good year, successful year. Didn't finish the way we wanted, but just got to learn from it all.
Q. Jason Kelce got a little emotional. What would it mean to have him back this year and what has he meant?
JALEN HURTS: Yeah, man, he's a legend in the city. Really in the league. I don't want to do a disservice to him and the things he's been able to do and overcome. His journey to where he is now didn't come easy. Been a long, long time coming for him, and every year since I've been here it's been, you going to come back.
But he knows how much I love and appreciate him and how much I've learned from him. He'll forever have a special place in my heart.
Q. Offensive players talk about things you tried to fix throughout the year. DeVonta was talking about the first third and two that him and Dallas misread. Signals, they saw one thing; didn't see the second. Through the things you worked out through this year, what things can you point to you can fix those small things in the off-season that a regular season couldn't have done?
JALEN HURTS: Yeah, just take time on tasks. In this league you have to be able to find ways to win in a ton of different ways. I feel like for a time there, we were doing that and we were doing it at a high level. We were winning a lot of games and we weren't playing to the level we thought we should be playing to.
And then kind of got in a hole in the back end and really couldn't pick ourselves out of it. I think a time of self we reflection in the off-season for sure. Diving deep into that with the guys and reassessing everything and growing from it. Like I said, my number one message is just to use every moment as an opportunity to learn and grow.
You know, may not show now but it'll show. As I said, it wasn't our turn. It's not our turn. We've had the opportunities. We've had the crumbs. We've had everything to our disposal. But it wasn't our turn.
I can accept that. I think we can accept that knowing that the sun will rise tomorrow and there will be another opportunity to attack it. It's going to be tough watching and not -- it's all over, but we'll learn from it. I know I'll learn from it.
I'll give it my all can do my best and all of that.
Q. Do you want Nick back?
JALEN HURTS: I didn't know he was going anywhere.
Q. There has been a lot of questions about...
JALEN HURTS: I didn't know that.
Q. You didn't know that?
JALEN HURTS: No.
Q. What's your confidence level in him to fix this team?
JALEN HURTS: I have a ton of confidence in everyone in this building. Just a matter of us going out there and playing clean football, and that's something we have not done.
So...
Q. DeVonta said that one of the reasons you couldn't run the ball as much as you wanted to is they kept sending blitzes and you can't run against the blitz. It was there to be beat. It was a missed play here, missed assignment there. You as a team and personally have struggled against the blitz a lot in the last few weeks. How does that get fixed?
JALEN HURTS: Execution, know your assignment and doing your assignment. I think couple times it just got us. You know, something we all have to learn from and move forward from and be better at that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports