Why New Eagles Offense Needs to Unleash Jalen Hurts in Run Game More

The biggest strength of Jalen Hurts' game is his ability as a plus one in the run game.

While Hurts isn't a traditional passer, he makes up for it with his ability to run the football. many teams don't like to use that when evaluating quarterbacks, but yards are yards and touchdowns are touchdowns.

They all count the same.

The Eagles got away from using Hurts' biggest strength last season, whether that was their choice or Hurts. Will that change this year with a new offensive coordinator?

Might be trending that way.

"He's very uniquely talented in terms of his athletic ability. It's something he's been effective with throughout his career," Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion said regarding Hurts and his running ability. "That's part of what makes him such a special talent, but he does a lot of things well.

"I think he's really operated through all facets of the offense comfortably, but the piece of him as an athlete in the running game is something unique. Those are elements we can lean into a little bit as well."

If the Eagles want to get the most out of Hurts, they have to incorporate him as a plus one in the run game. While Hurts and the offense struggled in the red zone during Saturday's training camp practice (you can read more about that here), Hurts did score two touchdowns -- both by running the football into the end zone.

The training camp stats -- if you choose to keep track of that stuff -- show Hurts didn't have a passing touchdown on Day 3 of practice (or any of the three practices). Hurts still had two touchdowns.

If the goal is to make Hurts more involved as a passer -- fine. The ultimate goal is to be winning games , which involves Hurts running the football more.

The effects of Eagles abandoning Hurts as a plus one

Hurts was a quarterback who had four consecutive double-digit rushing touchdown seasons from 2021 to 2024. He still has the most double-digit rushing touchdown seasons by a quarterback in NFL history, and 63 after six seasons -- also the most rushing touchdowns by any quarterback after six seasons.

The Eagles took away part of what makes Hurts unique, and the numbers reflected that. Hurts had his worst season running the football since entering the NFL in 2020, having just 74 yards after contact and averaging 0.7 yards after contact -- both were career lows.

To advance even further on this topic, take a look how Hurts' running numbers have decreased in 2025 compared to other years.

Jalen Hurts rushing stats -- since 2022

Year	Rush YPG	Success rate	YPC	Yards After Contact
2022	50.7	59.4%	4.6	0.8
2023	35.6	61.1%	3.9	0.8
2024	42.0	55.3%	4.2	1.2
2025	26.3	50.5%	4.0	0.7

Notice how the 2025 numbers are all the lowest in the four year stretch? The Eagles neutralized Hurts in the run game last year, but that ha sto change is they want to win games.

Hurts is one of the best running quarterbacks in the NFL, and an added weapon in the red zone. Having just 421 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns is below the standard, and well below the average of 695 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns a season Hurts averaged from 2021 through 2024.

The Eagles need to find a way to get Hurts back to those averages, getting back up to 150+ carries a year will do the trick. Actions speak louder than words, so let's see if Mannion unleashes that aspect of Hurts' game again.

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