Jalen Hurts: from back-up to leader of the Eagles’ quest for perfection

Fans in Philadelphia are starting to wonder if their team can go 17-0 this season. That confidence is due in no small part to the poise of their quarterback

With more than nine minutes left in the game on Sunday - still plenty of time to pad his superb stat line - Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts stayed on the sideline and pulled on a headset, done for the day. Gardner Minshew, his backup, got to mop up a lopsided victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Hurts was shut down early in large part because the Eagles, the NFL's only unbeaten team at 7-0, are to play again on Thursday, at Houston. They will need Hurts to keep playing the way he has this season: Not spectacularly, but with conviction, poise and intelligence.