Eagles' Doug Pederson reveals how Carson Wentz has been helping Jalen Hurts since demotion

Hurts helped lead the Eagles to an upset win of the Saints in his first career start, but here's how Wentz played a role

One week into Jalen Hurts' tenure as the Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback, the offense has shown a spark that hasn't been present the majority of the season. Philadelphia put up over 400 yards in a game for just the second time this season and scored over 20 points in a game for the first time since November 1 in Sunday's win over the New Orleans Saints, which just happened to be Hurts' first career start. 

Hurts has been given a lot of credit for the Eagles' recent resurgence, credit he's deferring to the quarterback he has replaced: Carson Wentz. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has noticed how Wentz has been helping Hurts since he's been demoted, signaling the strength of the team's quarterback room. 

"I just see the communication number one at practice, during games," Pederson said to reporters Wednesday. "Just the communication, the dialogue back and forth, obviously through [passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach] Press [Taylor], through myself. Just that communication, and that's the one gauge that tends to lead things in the right direction and that's what I've been seeing."

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Wentz will be sitting on the bench for the second consecutive week after Hurts became the first NFL quarterback in at least 70 years to throw for 150 yards with a passing touchdown and rush for 100 yards in his first career start. The Eagles will get to see how defenses adjust to Hurts' style of play this week, a true test for the rookie quarterback.

"I'll tell you what, our dialogue between he and I, much like Carson [Wentz] and I during games – he has ideas, he has suggestions just like Carson has ideas and suggestions during games," Pederson said. "It shows a lot of confidence in him. It shows that he understands the game plan, he understands how we're trying to attack the opponent. 

"Then for me, I've talked a lot about trusting players and they're the ones playing the game. I've got to trust them and put them in positions to be successful." 

While Wentz will be out of the spotlight as he puts his 2020 season behind him, he's still providing a lending hand to Hurts -- one the young quarterback greatly appreciates. 

"Carson has been great. He's been very supportive," Hurts said. "He has a lot of knowledge. I'm always open to listening to those things."