Eye on the Opponent: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Sets Sights on MVP Season
It’s reached that time of the NFL season when the MVP discussion has heated up. And as those talks become more intense, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is among the names in consideration.
Hurts’ four-year journey has taken him from being the quarterback benched in the national championship game for Alabama to becoming one of the best dual-threat players in all of football. He jumped into the Philadelphia scene in 2020 and immediately assumed the starting role to post over 1,400 total scrimmage yards and nine touchdowns in a rough 4-11-1 rookie year.
After that season, the Eagles completely cleaned house for the Nick Sirianni-led regime, and the new system has brought out the best of Hurts and his equally powerful offense. Since 2021, the 25-year-old has built three straight 3,100-yard passing seasons paired with 94 total touchdowns in 44 games to hoist the team to the same number of winning seasons, playoff berths, and a Super Bowl appearance in 2022.
In the same span, the former second-round pick has impressed many by working on his throwing accuracy and rushing craft. Hurts began his career with a 52 percent completion rating and rushed for 354 yards, deemed mild for a guy of his caliber. He has since raised those numbers to as high as 66.5 percent and 784 yards, each coming in 2021 and 2022, respectively, and elevating his teammates' production.
With 14 games under his belt this season, Hurts holds a stat line just shy of passing some of his career-best markers. The Houston native sits at 303 completions (65.7 percent) for 3,335 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions via the air. He also has 139 carries for 542 rushing yards and 14 scores, a career-high and the third straight year with double-digit touchdowns.
On the NFL’s leaderboard, Hurts ranks 11th among the league’s highest-performing passers and sixth among quarterbacks in the NFC, trailing only one fellow player who isn’t headed for the postseason. For the rushing side, he stands at 36th, which is more towards the bottom of the rankings but is also good for second place among the competition under center.
The Eagles’ offense has rode the wave of Hurt’s talents, productions, and additional player assets to completely flip the switch on many of their annual statistics. Per Pro Football Reference, the team has gone from a hideous -84 points differential in Hurts’ rookie campaign to as high as a 133 differential last year, which was their best number since 2017.
Hurts and company have kept the Eagles’ major offensive rankings within the top 10 in several areas since before their run to Super Bowl LVII last February. They rank seventh in total points and ninth in total yards, respectively, carried heavily by the rushing game. There, Philadelphia is fifth in both attempts and touchdowns and eighth in ground yards, whereas the pass is premier in only a ninth-ranked average throw behind Hurts.
For those seeking a fatal flaw, the quarterback’s one issue has been his inclination to cough up the football in big spots this season. After adding two interceptions in the Eagles’ loss to Seattle on Monday night, Hurts has tallied a career-high 12 picks out of his 31 total and muffed the pigskin an additional five times to come close to beating his worst mark of six back in his rookie outing.
This part of his performance could pose a problem against a New York Giants team whose defense has given them some success in recent weeks with the strength of their turnover battle. In their wins over Washington, New England, and Green Bay, the Giants forced a dozen turnovers that stifled the offense, with most taken from the air due to the viability of their interior pass rush forcing errored throws.
It’s possible the Giants could force a couple of miscues on Hurts, who will look to test the deep field with his arsenal of playmakers out wide. That said, his best counter weapon to any pressure will be relying on his lower body's strengths, which will extend Philadelphia’s drives and often punch points into the board.
As the Giants have done for Tommy DeVito, the Eagles love to draw up a bunch of designed runs with Hurts aimed to draw the defense off guard and potentially open up check-downs for his teammates once the quarterback sneak is committed to. In his 14 starts, Hurts has totaled 97 of these runs for 247 yards, including a long run of 25 yards, 16 carries of 10+ yards, and 15 missed tackles.
Whether he has to hit the running lane up the middle or towards the edge in zone schemes, Hurts can light it up with his incredibly strong legs and churn extra yards at an average rate of 2.14 yards after contact. He has earned 298 yards after contact this season; some of them have come along the goalline or in fourth-down scenarios.
Speaking of conversion and goalline plays, Hurts is one of the most efficient players in the league at gaining the first down or finishing a drive with the touchdown due to the Eagles’ secret weapon known as the “tush push.” He uses the success of his offensive line at getting leverage to create the space he needs to thread the needle and then powers forward with his tough frame that can carry defenders with it.
Even when he isn’t the one pushing the Eagles’ scoring percentages higher into the top 10, Hurts has all the mobility and core ability to stretch plays out to flat on a scramble, throw across his body, and launch it downfield as his receivers redirect their routes to the open spots in coverage. His numbers include a 5.2% big-time throw rate and an average depth of target of 9 yards per throw, which shows he still wants to sling it despite recent turnovers.
The Eagles have hit a rough patch lately, but that has more to do with the entire operation than the minor flaws that have arisen with Hurts in the last three games. In reality, they are a well-oiled machine, and he is a big reason for it behind weekly performances that have placed in the top 5 of most MVP discussions.
The Giants will have their hands full on Monday as they look to be the next underdog to overcome the Eagles, end their Philly curse, and celebrate the holidays with an unsuspecting victory. At the very least, they could inflict more blemishes on Hurt’s resume and cause some damage to the strength of his awarding argument.
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