The Philadelphia Eagles pulled off an upset win over the New Orleans Saints. Doug Pederson placed Carson Wentz on the bench and played Jalen Hurts as his starting quarterback. And the decision seemingly paid off, as the Eagles beat the Saints 24-21.

However, this choice to sideline Wentz raised a massive dialogue towards the end of the game. Former Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark spoke on ESPN’s Get Up about the Eagles victory and Hurts’ role in the game.

He disagrees with Doug Pederson about who is responsible for the win as Pederson said the team played better.

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“I’m with you, I disagree with Doug Pederson on this being about one person. And that one person isn’t about Jalen Hurts.

“Because I can’t necessarily say that Jalen Hurts is the sole reason that the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New Orleans Saints, but I can say that Carson Wentz NOT being the quarterback IS the reason the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New Orleans Saints.” 

Clark suggested that Hurts came through big time for the Eagles in the clutch. “You look at the way Jalen Hurts was able to play last week. I told you last week I felt like this was Apollo Creed going to face Ivan Drago at the beginning of Rocky IV.

“But that’s not what we saw. We saw that this defense could bleed. We saw that Jalen Hurts when pressured, on 14 plays, they gain 82 yards because he got outside of the pocket.” 

Carson Wentz over Jalen Hurts

Clark also pointed out what exactly Hurts did, and how he carried out Pederson’s instructions perfectly. Something Wentz was not able to do.

“We saw how effective the designed quarterback run can be and also the scramble out of the pocket. Jalen Hurts was poised, he looked like he was in full command of what Doug Pederson was asking him to do.

“But everybody else played better. And that’s what I mean about Carson Wentz not being the quarterback.” 

Clark compared the Eagles with Hurts as the quarterback to the time when Nick Foles was the shot-caller. “Look at the Philadelphia Eagles when they played with Nick Foles, the way the defense stepped up, the run game.

“We saw some of the things in Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday. So the question has to be- Why is that? Why is our team better when Carson Wentz isn’t the quarterback?”

Wentz appears to have been the problem for the Eagles, and after their win, Hurts will get more opportunities. It remains to be seen what the future holds for Carson Wentz, and whether it will be with the Eagles.