Rodney Peete Praises Jalen Hurts, Eagles Despite Offensive Struggles
Rodney Peete knows all about the pressure of playing in the city of Brotherly Love.
The former 16-year veteran played quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles for four seasons from 1995 until 1998, serving as the starting quarterback for most of the ’95 season and starting a total of 24 games during his four seasons with the franchise.
He led them to the playoffs during the ’95, winning a playoff game and leading them to the divisional round before losing to the Dallas Cowboys, the eventual Super Bowl champions.
Peete hears all of the noise and criticism surrounding the current Eagles, who are receiving a lot of flak due to their lack of production on offense. With that being said, they’re still 8-3 and the defending Super Bowl champions.
“I think they are one of the most impressive teams over the last three to five years only because they’ve been very consistent,” says Peete in a one-on-one interview with R.org on behalf of his partnership with Gemtesa for their “Time to Go” campaign. “They’ve been to a few Super Bowls. I gotta give a lot of credit to Jalen Hurts because he takes so much heat. As a quarterback, the No. 1 thing you’re always taught is do whatever it takes to win, just go win.”
Peete Shuts Down Hurts Criticism
The offense hasn’t been pretty this season, ranking in the bottom half of many categories, including 21st in rushing, 23rd in passing, 27th in third-down conversion rate, and 17th in points.
Hurts has taken extremely good care of the football, throwing 17 touchdowns with six rushing touchdowns and just one interception.
However, he’s receiving criticism for his lack of willingness to take shots down the field against tight coverage, with The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reporting that Eagles teammates have grown frustrated with Hurts’ cautious approach.
Peete shuts down that notion, saying that it doesn’t matter how you win games — as long as you win them.
“If that means throwing for 400 yards and four touchdowns, you got to do that,” says Peete. “If that means you got to take a step back and throw for 120 yards and hand the ball off because the running game is good, you got to do that. You got to take your ego out of the equation as a quarterback and just focus on the winning.”
Peete started 87 games and played in 104 overall during his long career in the NFL. He also played for six different teams. He knows all about the different types of pressure that playing in Philadelphia brings to the table.
“It’s amazing, because I understand it 100% because I played in Philly for four years, sometimes that’s not good enough,” says Peete of winning games in Philadelphia.
“That’s not good enough for the Philly fans, that’s not good enough for the Philly media. Then the rest of the media around the country starts to pick up on that, and people forget they’re the Super Bowl champions. Jalen Hurts is a Super Bowl MVP, and so you hear all the noise, and people that don’t know Philly, don’t really understand what that’s all about.”
While the Eagles certainly have a lot to improve on when it comes to their offensive production, the reality is they’re in the driver’s seat to clinch the No. 1 seed a season after winning the Super Bowl. Most defending Super Bowl champs don’t return the following season with that kind of hunger, and the Eagles have proven that they have exactly that.