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3 Eagles With the Most to Prove in Week 3

By Tyler Maher

Jan 21, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) walks off the field after a victory against the New York Giants in an NFC divisional round game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) walks off the field after a victory against the New York Giants in an NFC divisional round game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Eagles may be 2-0, but that doesn’t mean their fans are happy. Philadelphia has looked far from dominant in its first two games, barely surviving late-game comebacks from the New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings.

With a Monday Night Football matchup against the 2-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers on tap, the Eagles will be under even more scrutiny than usual with a national audience tuning in. The Buccaneers are far less talented than the reigning NFC champs, who need to take care of business if they want to quiet the critics.

That starts with several Philly players who need to step up on Monday night after underwhelming so far. This is the chance for them to make a statement and shake off the early-season rust once and for all.

With that in mind, here are the three Eagles players with the most to prove this week.

3 Eagles With Most to Prove Week 3

1. Jalen Hurts

When a team isn’t living up to expectations, the first place to look is usually the quarterback. And while Jalen Hurts hasn’t been bad so far, he hasn’t played like the guy who nearly won MVP honors last year.

While his 71.4% completion rate is impressive, the rest of Hurts’ numbers look rather pedestrian. He heads into Week 3 with just 363 total passing yards (181.5 per game) and a 2:1 TD/INT ratio, which is pretty meh.

Hurts hasn’t looked totally comfortable in Brian Johnson’s offense yet, but that needs to change in Week 3. It’s been 11 days since the Eagles last played in Week 2, so Hurts needs to show that he’s on the same page with his receivers and can run this offense effectively.

In particular, he needs to get more of his receivers involved. A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith have dominated his attention so far, recording 22 catches on 31 targets for 286 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. Dallas Goedert has been a total afterthought (6 catches for 22 yards), however, and the same goes for any non-Brown/Smith wideout.

If Hurts doesn’t start spreading the ball around, opposing defenses will be able to key in on Browns and Smith. And if he isn’t able to have success against a Tampa Bay secondary that ranks 24th in passing yards allowed, it’ll be tough to have much faith in Hurts going forward.

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