Philadelphia Eagles: Jalen Hurts has officially entered the MVP race
The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night Football this past week. It was a much-anticipated matchup as the Vikings were coming off a convincing week one win against the Green bay Packers, and the Eagles were coming off a road win against the much-improved Detroit Lions.
Most of the anticipation came from Justin Jefferson’s debut at Lincoln Financial Field, and the return of former Eagles 1st-round pick Jalen Reagor. Still, it didn’t take long before all that was pushed aside for the true star of the game, Jalen Hurts.
Hurts entered Monday with many skeptics and many still questioning the legitimacy of his NFL career. Many thought Hurts would be a disappointment in 2022, and the Eagles would use one of their 1st round picks in 2023 on a QB to replace Hurts. To this point, Hurts had shown small glimpses of talent, but it was often overshadowed by poor decision-making, a weaker arm, and scrambling too much out of a clean pocket.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is proving everyone wrong.
Hurts played the best game of his life on Monday, completing 26 of his 31 pass attempts (83.9%) while throwing for 333 yards and one touchdown, but it was on the ground that Hurts once again showed his true potential, rushing for 57 yards and two touchdowns!
This is now back-to-back weeks that Hurts has impressed. In week 1 in Detroit, Hurts completed 18 of 32 pass attempts (56.3%) while throwing for 243 yards, but on like Monday, his legs defined him, rushing for 90 yards and one touchdown.
To this point in the season, Hurts is 7th in passing yards with 576, 7th in QBR at 70.6, 10th in rushing among all players with 147, and 2nd in total yards behind Tua Tagovailoa. Hurts has solidified himself with Lamar Jackson, and Kyler Murray has one of the league’s best dual-threat quarterbacks, and if they are constantly in MVP talks, it’s now time that Jalen Hurts enter them as well.
Jalen Hurts has elevated his game in every way so far this year. His decision-making has improved with where to go with the ball, and his awareness of when to run has been much better. In the past, Hurts seemed like he wanted to run first throw second, but on Monday, he was making quick reads, getting the ball out of his hands on time, extending the play and passing the ball downfield, and only ran when it was necessary or when the defense gave it to him.
His throwing ability also seems to be improved, as he appears to be throwing the ball with more zip and velocity and showing off impressive strength when he hit Quez Watkins for a 53-yard touchdown pass through the air in the 2nd quarter.
Howie Roseman deserves a ton of respect for how he’s built this Philadelphia Eagles team. There were rumors in the off-season that the Eagles would trade Hurts for Wilson, then it became Hurts for Watson, but Howie believed in his young quarterback and gave him a weapon in AJ Brown and improved the defense to help take pressure off of Hurts and the offense.
Head coach Nick Sirianni has also seemed to develop a bond with Hurts, putting complete trust in him and his ability to run the offense. When the GM and Head coach believe in their quarterback and give him the tools necessary to exceed, it typically unlocks the full potential in a quarterback, and that’s precisely what it has done with Jalen Hurts. It’s putting him on a path to great things and maybe even an MVP.