Jalen Hurts
' trophy cabinet is filled with some of the biggest accomplishments an NFL quarterback can achieve. At the same time, however, the Philadelphia Eagles
' signal-caller has found himself at the center of major criticism almost every year. Think back to the 2024 season, when Dan Orlovsky
questioned his passing-game struggles.
Or the criticism surrounding his ability to process defenses quickly, or whether he could adapt to a new offensive system. The scrutiny has never really gone away. Recently, though, Hurts confronted Dan Orlovsky, as the ESPN analyst himself revealed, while talking about a story involving Hurts and his autistic son, Madden.
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"A couple of weekends ago, at the Eagles' Autism Foundation golf event at Marion, they honored my son, and Jalen came. I have never met Jalen," Orlovsky admitted. "So, my son and Jalen are talking. Jalen was sensational with my son, and my son says, 'Jalen, I made a comic book about you.'
"And I'm about four or five feet from Jalen, kind of just behind my son, and Jalen goes, 'Huh, really?' And my son goes, 'Yeah.' And Jalen goes, 'Well, if I'm good enough to make it in your comic book,' and he looks me dead in the eyes and goes, 'that means your dad's got to be nicer to me on TV.' Dead in my eyes, and I looked at and it doesn't surprise me. He was unbelievable."
Orlovsky has become a supporter of Hurts recently. But rewind to the 2024 season, and the former NFL quarterback was a major critic of the Eagles' passing offense and Hurts' effectiveness as a passer. But Hurts proved Orlovsky wrong in the playoffs. In the NFC Championship round against the Washington Commanders
, the QB threw for 246 yards and a touchdown with three rushing scores as well.
Then, against the Kansas City Chiefs
in the Super Bowl, he threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 72 yards and another touchdown. In the process, Jalen Hurts
also won the Super Bowl MVP nod. As that went down, Orlovsky had to admit that his assessment of Hurts was wrong and issued an apology.
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"Listen, I owe, publicly, Jalen Hurts an apology," Orlovsky said. "I was probably the one this year who's been the hardest on him. I'll go back to a couple of weeks ago when I said the passing game's not good enough right now, and I don't think it's going to get better. All he's done since then is have his two best games of the year on the two biggest stages that the game has been on — the NFC championship game and the Super Bowl."
Across five seasons as a full-time starter since 2021, Hurts has recorded nearly 17,000 yards and 104 touchdowns. In that stretch, he led the Eagles to two Super Bowls, winning one, and earned 3 Pro Bowl nods.
But fast forward to the 2026 offseason, and the criticism persisted. Only this time, an ESPN report suggested that many around the league believed that Hurts lacked creativity in the Eagles' offense. On top of that, he was labeled as an un-coachable player, who changes plays in games. However, when Dan Orlovsky was asked about the criticism, he explained it based on facts and opinions.
"The fact is, since he's become the starter, obviously, two Super Bowls, one win, probably the best player in both of those games. I think he's top five or seven in mainly all the statistical categories. So, that's the facts," Orlovsky said. "But the opinion is, or the opinion of a lot is that there are times in the passing game and the pass element is lacking. And so that's a very interesting kind of balance. If we were gonna take Jalen with all 32 quarterbacks and just put him on the field and just had him throw, which is the basic premise of the position, he wouldn't be in your top 16."
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Jalen Hurts' offseason criticism this year has sparked a debate about whether the Eagles would retain
their Super Bowl-winning quarterback. For now, though, Hurts is signed through the 2028 season and is expected to continue playing in Philly.
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The post "Looks Me Dead in the Eyes": Eagles' Jalen Hurts Calls Out Dan Orlovsky in Front of His Autistic Son for On-Air Criticism
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