The Eagles’ loss to the Falcons had its ups and downs for quarterback Jalen Hurts. He spoke to reporters after the game, discussing his message to Saquon Barkley, the impact of missing AJ Brown on offense and why he trusts Britain Covey.

Here’s what the QB had to say:

About his message to Saquon Barkley

“It’s obviously a tough loss. We learn from it. I trust him to make a play every day of the week, just like everybody else, and so we’ll be better for it.”

Hurts was later asked what the alternative was to that 3rd-and-3 play call if Barkley wasn’t open, but the QB opted not to add fuel to the fire. He reiterated that they simply weren’t making the play at that point, but he still has a lot of confidence in Barkley.

When asked if that third-down play was one they ran over often during practice, Hurts simply said, “Yeah.”

About his interception in the last match

Hurts explained that he was just trying to make a play down the field, and Jessie Bates made a good play to intercept it. The QB said he just has to keep preparing for situations like that late in the game, and put the offense in better positions to take advantage of them.

“I think ultimately I felt really prepared going into those moments. At that point, it just wasn’t our time.”

The quarterback was asked if that was the play call he was expecting at the time, and he noted that it’s not a matter of expectations, it’s just a matter of executing what’s called. He came up short at that point.

On the absence of AJ Brown

“Obviously he’s one of the best receivers in the league. Obviously he’s missed, but it doesn’t change the confidence I have in everybody to step up. I think we, you know, guys stepped up in a big way. (Britain) Covey made some great plays. (DeVonta Smith) made plays. We just didn’t get the moment in terms of it not being for us tonight.”

As for how the workload was divided in Brown’s absence, Hurts pointed to OC Kellen Moore, but said he trusts the offensive coordinator as they continue to rebuild the offense and their rapport. Still, the QB stressed that other guys were trying hard, and while they all need to step up, he ultimately felt they were playing hard and just not capitalizing on some of their opportunities.

On his trust in Britain Covey

“It’s just spending a lot of time working with (Britain Covey), and, you know, conversations and reps, his approach, his intentionality in what he does. And you know, he showed up for us, and we’re going to need him to continue to do that. And I think the biggest thing is everyone being focused and doing their job to help the team win. And, like I said before, to do that, you just have to learn from everything. You have to learn from your mistakes. And we will, we’ll get better from it.”

About his message to the team

Hurts told the team to keep going and keep their heads up. He explained that they have to keep a tight rein on the “controllables,” noting that there were a lot of things they could clean up from a fundamental and granular standpoint in that game. The QB said they’ve come together as a unit and now just have to continue their journey and learn from it.

He later said that there is no secret ingredient to persevering through setbacks, it is simply about learning from things and becoming better as a result.

“I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, there’s no difference between, you know, the joy and the pain, the wins and the losses. It’s a matter of can you learn from it. I think that’s the perspective I have on it, whether it’s good, bad or indifferent, we’re going to learn from our goal to go out there and play dominant football and win football games and do enough to win the game. Ultimately to improve ourselves. Improve ourselves in growth and learn from these moments. And so ultimately winning is the only thing that matters. And to win, you have to keep learning. You have to keep growing. And I think this team will continue to do that.”