Doug Pederson Explains Decision To Start Jalen Hurts Over Carson Wentz

Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson dropped a bomb on the NFL world today when he announced plans to go forward with rookie Jalen Hurts as his starting quarterback over Carson Wentz.

Wentz has had an abysmal fifth NFL season, but the team has just gave their quarterback a $100 million deal before the 2019 season. Many (myself included) weren’t expecting Pederson to pull the plug just yet.

However, Doug Pederson knows his offense ‘needs a spark’ if they want to remain relevant in the NFC East playoff race. Here’s what the Eagles coach had to say about the decision.

“Same reason I made the switch in the game. We need a spark. It’s not about one guy here. We all know we need to be better,” Pederson said via Pro Football Talk. “Doing this for the same reason; we need a spark, offense has been poor for many reasons. Opportunity for Jalen’s development. Still have great belief in Carson as a QB and leader of the team. We have to get him better and the offense as well.”

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Pederson is making this bold decision a week after turning to Jalen Hurts at the end of the Philadelphia Eagles blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers during which Carson Wentz was largely ineffective. In that game Hurst was 5/12 passing with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. We’ll see if Jalen Hurts can prove that he’s the guy Doug Pederson is looking for and lead his team to the NFL playoffs.

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