Liability. That’s the word ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky used to describe Jalen Hurts in October 2024. The QB was 11th in passing yards at 930, had 163 rushing yards, and six total touchdowns. And while he had too many turnovers, he surely didn’t look like a liability. The team was missing players like A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and Hurts had to manage with what he had. Months would pass by before Orlovsky could realize his mistake.

Although, we believe Dan had plenty of chances to front some good defense previously too. Just a week away from the Super Bowl, Dan spilled a tired take on Hurts: “I don’t think there’s anything that Jalen can do to be in the conversation with (Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen) as players. The Super Bowl elevates the perception of him but talent-wise I don’t think Jalen is ever going to be into that group.” Oh, FYI, that’s a group of QBs he has gone 3-0 against.

It was time to ask the inevitable: What’s it gonna take for Orlovsky to change his tune? Because, at the time when he made that comment, Hurts led his team to the biggest stage of the game twice, double the number of times that Jackson, Burrow, and Josh have seen the Super Bowl combined! The answer was simple, and Hurts delivered. With the 2024 NFL season done, not only did the Eagles win the Super Bowl, but Hurts also became the first quarterback in NFL history to win the rematch. It was time Orlovsky issued an apology, and he had one too many words to do so.

On Monday, he was on ESPN’s ‘First Take,‘ in conversation with Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe. Orlovsky apologized to Hurts, saying, “He is unbreakable. And he proved that this [mentality] and this [heart] for an athlete will always matter more than anything else. And you have to give Jalen Hurts credit. This young man was benched in the national championship game. Benched by the greatest college football coach of all time. Didn’t break him…

“I owe publicly Jalen Hurts an apology. I was probably one this year who’s been the hardest on him. I’ll go back to a couple of weeks ago when I said the passing game’s not good enough right now and I don’t think it’s going to get better. All he’s done since then is have his two best games of the year on the two biggest stages that the game has been on. The NFC Championship game and the Super Bowl. He was sensational last night. And he was sensational in the NFL Championship game.

“He made one bad play last night, in a Super Bowl, against the fourth ranked defense in the NFL that was giving up on average 18 points a game. One mistake, one bad play. And all Jalen Hurts has done is constantly believed in himself, no matter what anyone has said and again, I have been one of those people, and constantly just going to work. And not allow the outside noise. We all could learn from that. Not allowing the outside noise to affect them. “

Though he has sought an apology, the Philly fans are not forgiving him. Why? Dan Orlovsky had said that Jalen Hurts was not elite. But now, here’s the thing:

Orlovsky has hinted at departure from ESPN: “I’m taking a break, won’t be on TV for a long time…Never know what the future holds, but I’m taking a break. Just want to say thank you. Appreciate you guys so much,” he wrote in a tweet. But when did he join ESPN? He joined the top sports brand in the world, ESPN, in 2018. It was his first year after retirement from the NFL. At ESPN, Dan Orlovsky has been a guest on ‘First Take’, ‘NFL Live’, and ‘Get Up’. It’s been more than six years since he has worked with ESPN.

But nothing can stop the backlash Orlovsky is now getting for his previous criticism of Jalen Hurts. What did the fans say?

Fans are not going to let Dan Orlovsky go that easy!

Dan Orlovsky once said, “I don’t think he’ll ever pass a Joe Burrow or a Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen, talent-wise.” And if this is not enough to make an apology, on October 1, 2024, Orlovsky said, “This is a poorly coached football team,” while referring to the Eagles and went on to call their quarterback a liability. If we go back to 2021, Orlovsky badly criticized Jalen Hurts, saying, “If the Eagles could go back right now and re-do that decision, I’m 100% convinced that they would not have taken Jalen Hurts.”

Orlovsky added, “If Jalen Hurts plays as well as he can, he can’t sniff as good as Carson Wentz is.” Well, even if he has apologized, these words can’t be reversed, right? Fans didn’t spare Dan in his comments on Hurts. One Eagles fan reacted to Dan Orlovsky’s apology:

• “Nonsense and wrong again. Keep up the hate. It obviously fueled him all the way to SB MVP.”

He recorded 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards, two touchdowns, and 1 interception, while also rushing for 72 yards and a touchdown. Clearly, the negativity fueled him. Further, making a pun at Dan Orlovsky’s ‘break’ statement, another fan reacted to it:

• “Hurts put bro in retirement. 😭.” 

But hey, it wasn’t all just negativity in the comments section on X. Some fans wished the ESPN analyst well:

• “I hope we see him on a sideline with a headset. Get yourself and your family away from Disney and that toxic environment. Go impact lives my dude. One of the best @danorlovsky7🙏.”

Hurts might just be 26, but it was a long road to get where he is today. He was also named the Super Bowl MVP after he led the Eagles to a dominant win over the Chiefs, 40-22. He was quick to appreciate his team’s defense for the way they played. “Defense wins championships,” Hurts said. “I couldn’t do any of these things without the guys around me.”

• “Backup QBs as hot takers tearing up other QBs making moves in the league.”
• “A career bum saying Jalen isn’t good enough, but TB12 and Peyton say he’s amazing. Does nobody else see this trend but me?”

Clearly, the fans can’t help but back their favorite QB. After all, Hurts converted scrambles when he faced pressure and kept finding open receivers. Remember his 46-yard deep shot to DeVonta Smith? That put the Eagles at 34-0 in the third quarter. It was a lopsided win for them, which no one saw coming.