Jalen Hurts has often been the subject of doubt. Even with him about to play in his 2nd Super Bowl in 3 years, there are still many, both within the city and outside of it, who do not believe in the Eagles franchise QB.
They say that he merely benefits from the team around him. They say his passing stats are not good enough. But it is time for everyone to get on board the Jalen Hurts hype train. Because while he may not have the big passing yard numbers of other elite QBs, the facts tell you he belongs up there among the best QBs in the league. These 7 Facts Prove The Greatness Of Jalen Hurts.
1) Multiple Super Bowl Starts In First 5 Seasons
This is Jalen Hurts’ 4th year as the Eagles starter, and his 5th total. And yet, he is about to play in his second Super Bowl.
That puts him in exceptionally rare territory. How rare? He is 1 of only 8 QBs to accomplish that. It is Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Ben Rothlisberger, John Elway, Kurt Warner, Troy Aikman, and Russel Wilson. 5 Hall of Famers, 1 guy who is going to get in (Big Ben), and Russell Wilson who is borderline.
2) 2nd Most Total TDs in Last 3 Seasons
TDs are TDs. Whether they are through the air, or on the ground, they count for 6pts. There is only one QB who has more total TDs than Jalen Hurts over the last 3 seasons, Josh Allen. ‘
Jalen Hurts has 105 total TDs in the last 3 seasons, the 2nd most in the league. This is despite him being 6th in games started over that time. Patrick Mahomes, Jared Goff, Geno Smith, and Justin Herbert all have played more games and have fewer Total TDs. Lamar Jackson has played 2 fewer games and has 11 fewer TDs.
Many discount that because of the Tush Push. But here is the simple question… If Tush Pushes are so easy, why don’t other QBs pad their stats with those TDs? If it is not a skill thing, surely everyone would do it. Hurts and the Eagles are alone in having that extreme level of success.
Tush Push is a skill play. No matter what any national critics say. It might not be the prettiest of plays, but no other team has replicated it quite how the Eagles run it. That is a credit to the Eagles O-Line, but it is also a credit to Jalen Hurts.
3) All He Does Is Win
As we established, Jalen Hurts has the 6th most starts since 2022. He also has the 2nd most wins. 37 wins over 3 seasons. Tied with Josh Allen, and 2 behind Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes has played 2 more games than Hurts in that time, and Allen has played 3 more.
Before you go saying he is carried by his team, they are 2-3 without Hurts at QB. They lost both games he missed in 2022 and lost the 1 game he missed in 2023. They won both games this season but did lose the game he was knocked out of, which counts as a game played for Hurts even though he was injured on the 2nd drive.
4) Passing Yards Are Low, But Yards Per Attempt Are High
People who doubt Hurts will cite his low total passing yards. And yes, he is 18th in Yards Per Game in that time, and 9th in total yards. Someone looking for a reason to discredit him could certainly grasp onto those stats.
But even before this season where Saquon Barkley became the greatest player in the league, the Eagles liked to run the ball. They were 3rd in rush attempts in 2022, 6th in 2023, and 1st this season. The Eagles were outside the top 20 in pass attempts all 3 seasons. The Eagles more than any team slam on the breaks and focus on running out the clock when they have a lead, and they have had a lot of leads over the last 3 seasons.
If you take totals out of it, Hurts passing numbers look far more impressive. In the past 3 seasons, he is 6th in Yards Per Attempt at 7.7. When he does pass, he is efficient, and rarely turns it over.
He is close to setting a franchise for consecutive passes without an interception. Nick Foles currently holds the record at 338, and Hurts has thrown 201. And as Rueben Frank recently pointed out, Hurts has thrown just 1 interception in his last 328 passes.
5) Never Misses The Playoffs
Jalen Hurts has led his team to the playoffs in 4 straight seasons. Only two other QBs can say that. Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. One of those seasons came when he had very little help in 2021. Another came when he had the 3rd worst defense in the league in 2023. So the argument that he has been carried by his team does not really carry water.
The Bucs have made the playoffs in 5 straight seasons, but only 2 of those came with Baker Mayfield at QB. The other 3 were with Tom Brady. Meaning of active QBs, Hurts is in a very elite class.
6) Knocking On The Door of A Super Bowl
Like Herm Edwards once said, you play to win the game. And that is all Jalen Hurts does. He wins and gets to the playoffs. He is the only QB to get to the Super Bowl twice in that time besides Patrick Mahomes.
He is back in the Super Bowl this year, and if he wins, he will be one of only 6 active QBs to have done so. Keep in mind that 3 of those other QBs have one foot out of the league (Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, and Aaron Rodgers) and another is Matthew Stafford who is up there in age.
Once again, Hurts is in a class with pretty much just him and Patrick Mahomes. You will notice those two names come up a ton in things that matter like winning.
7) One Of The Best Deep Ball QBs In The League
Something Hurts does not get enough credit for, at least Nationally, is how good his deep ball is. This season Hurts had the 3rd best Passer Rating on balls thrown past 20 yards.
When the Eagles ask him to hit someone deep down the field, he is usually on the money. With all the talk about him not having an arm, very few QBs throw a prettier deep ball. They have taken fewer chances deep this year, just because Saquon Barkley provides the explosive plays they need. But any time they do call upon him, he comes up clutch.
Just watch this deep ball from earlier in the season and try to argue it is not one of the best in the league.
Patrick Mahomes clearly is the cream of the crop. But based on everything that actually matters, Jalen Hurts is right up there as one of the most successful QBs in the league since he took over as the Eagles QB.
So stop doubting Jalen Hurts. The guy is a winner. And at the end of the day, does anything besides being a winner really matter?