Jalen Hurts silences critics with his arm as Tom Brady's LFG Player of the Game

PHILADELPHIA — After a week of panic in Philadelphia about what was wrong with the Eagles' passing game and questions about whether the Jalen Hurts-A.J. Brown relationship was fractured beyond repair, it took them less than a quarter to answer them all. Hurts came out firing in the first 15 minutes, mostly towards his No. 1 receiver.

And then, after they combined on a touchdown less than 14 minutes into the game, the dynamic duo danced.

"That," Brown said, "was our moment to tell everybody to shut up."

That touchdown celebration definitely quieted their critics, and then Hurts spent the rest of the game putting them in their place with a stellar performance in a convincing 27-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He looked like his old, MVP-like self, throwing for 290 yards and two touchdowns and running for 45 yards and a touchdown, too. Against a top-10 defense he helped the Eagles (12-2) rack up a ridiculous 401 yards.

And he did it while playing with a fractured finger on his left (non-throwing) hand, which he admitted somehow affected his play. It was enough to lead his team to its 10th straight victory.

All of it was more than enough to earn him to be named Tom Brady's LFG Player of the Game.

"[Brady] is obviously a great player and (I have) tons of respect for him," Hurts told FOX Sports. "It was cool."

Hurts' performance was "cool" too, considering what the previous week was like. He had taken a backseat to running back Saquon Barkley in the Eagles' offense recently, and his numbers were starting to slide. He had gone eight straight games without throwing for 250 yards, dating back to Oct. 13. And he hadn't even topped 180 in the last three games.

That all came to a head last Sunday in an ugly, 22-16 win over the