Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Facing 'Huge Expectations' in MVP-Caliber Encore

The Philadelphia Eagles have an elite quarterback in Jalen Hurts, most assume, but it's the pressure to repeat his MVP-caliber performance and Super Bowl trip that he may have to overcome more than anything.
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Success can be a funny thing, and the Philadelphia Eagles know better than a lot of modern NFL franchises that a Super Bowl trip doesn't guarantee long-term praise and adoration.

In fact, it's possible to see someone at the top of pro football with the Eagles end up in the dog house just three seasons later. Just ask former coach Doug Pederson.

Hell, for that matter you can ask quarterback Carson Wentz who went from finishing third in MVP voting to traded in three years.

No, trophies don't get you as far as they once did, especially in a city as proud and unforgiving of failure as Philadelphia can be. 

And that's a pressure quarterback Jalen Hurts has to face now as he becomes the latest Eagles leader to try and stay atop the expectation-filled mountain. 

"Hurts elevated his performance significantly last season," writes 33rd Team identifying the Philadelphia quarterback as one of 5 NFL Quarterbacks Under Pressure to Avoid Being One-Hit Wonders. " ... But Hurts faces huge expectations to lead the Eagles back to the Super Bowl and win it. He must again prove he belongs in the MVP conversation because he plays in a city with a very demanding fan base."

While Hurts has received much of the praise for the Eagles' ultimately successful 2022 campaign, there's a low-growling hoard of doubters from before last season who want nothing more than to shine a bright fluke-lensed spotlight onto his performance. 

Winning a Super Bowl is a high bar for any quarterback to clear, let alone one who is in just his fourth NFL season.

But the Tom Bradys and Patrick Mahomes' of the world have helped cultivate a culture of winning as an expectation, not an achievement. 

And if Hurts is going to last beyond 2025 in Philadelphia, he'll need to replicate last year's results at least once more, and would certainly earn himself a lot of grace by bringing home at least one Lombardi in that stretch. 

Those efforts, of course, all start with this season, with the Eagles entering the year as they left the last, at the top of the NFC and primary contenders to the Kansas City Chiefs for the right to be called the best team in the NFL.


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