Philadelphia Eagles: Jalen Hurts has more rushing yards than Melvin Gordon

Over the past two weeks, the Philadelphia Eagles have forged a far more balanced offense than in weeks prior.

It’s been nice. While the team has still had to punt the ball a bit more often than fans would like, the offense has kept things moving more often than not, and players like Dallas Goedert, Jordan Howard, and DeVonta Smith have all been the beneficiaries of this more deliberate game plan.

And yet, through nine weeks, Hurts remains the Eagles’ most consistent and consistently utilized rusher, as he’s currently the team’s leader in both rushing yards and attempts, which isn’t too surprising, considering the changeover from Miles Sanders to Jordan Howard.

But how does Hurts compare to the rest of the league? Well, I’ll tell you one eye-popping stat heading into Week 10 that surely puts things into perspective: Jalen Hurts has more rushing yards on fewer attempts than Melvin Gordon, the lead rusher for the Denver Broncos.

Should the Philadelphia Eagles’ lead rusher be their starting quarterback?

For the second season in a row, Melvin Gordon has been a steady contributor for the Denver Broncos.

Averaging 4.4 yards per carry through the first nine games of the season – 477 yards on 109 attempts in total- Gordon has remained the Broncos’ starting running back and lead rusher despite pretty tough competition from Javonte Williams, a 2021 second-round pick out of North Carolina who has logged 466 yards and a touchdown on 95 rushing attempts.

All in all, the Broncos field the league’s 13th best rushing attack, with 1,019 total yards amassed on the ground to go with six touchdowns.

The Philadelphia Eagles, by contrast, have the sixth best rushing attack in the NFL at 1,229 total yards, with a 4.9 yards per rushing attempt average that only trails two other teams, the Baltimore Ravens and the Tennessee Titans.

And yet, the Eagles don’t have a running back with 450-plus yards under his belt. Heck, the Eagles don’t even have a running back with 400 rushing yards, as their top rusher, Miles Sanders, has been stuck at 300 even since landing on IR at the end of October.

So what gives? Are the Eagles just that good at spreading the ball around and have multiple rushers in the 250-ish yard range? Or is it something else?

Two words: Jalen Hurts.

Through his first nine starts of the season, Hurts has run the ball 83 times for 493 yards and five touchdowns. His six yards per carry rank second on the team behind only Jalen Reagor, and his attempts per game, 9.2, rank third behind only Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders.

When utilized correctly, Hurts’ legs are an absolute asset. He can, in theory, extend passing plays on the ground, keep defenders guessing on option plays, and even pick up chunk yardage on the ground on designed running plays, but when with a quarterback like Hurts, is that too many rushing attempts per game?

Probably.

Granted, not all of Hurts’ rushing attempts are planned. When his first read isn’t open and the Birds have a point deficit, Hurts still had a tendency to tuck the ball and try to make something happen on the ground, but how much of that isn’t on him? I mean, the Eagles’ receivers don’t exactly have the best track record of getting open when a play breaks down, so one has to wonder if he’d have more of a Russell Wilson mindset if he had Russell Wilson weapons.

Either way, the Eagles would be wise to work more short and intermediate check down routes into their play concepts, as, to paraphrase Joe Banner, it’s easier to score points through the air instead of on the ground.

Running the ball more often unquestionably makes the Philadelphia Eagles a better team. It sets the pace of the game, keeps the chains moving, and presents Jalen Hurts with much more manageable third down conversion attempts. But to truly elevate the offense one step further, Nick Sirianni needs to provide more opportunities for Hurts to do less with his legs and instead check the ball down to designated passing targets. Such a schematic considerance has done wonders for Hurts’ former Alabama teammate, Mac Jones, and could work wonders here too.