The Philadelphia Eagles are riding quite the wave this season. The team’s combined talent is the best the franchise has seen in years, and much of it is thanks to quarterback Jalen Hurts.
After leading the Eagles in their Week 8 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia is now 7-0. Better yet, Hurts is the only player in Eagles’ history to start and win ten consecutive regular-season games.
THE RISE OF JALEN HURTS
Critics had a lot to say about Jalen Hurts during the 2021 season — a terrible passer, only relies on his feet, will lose his job to a draft pick, a predictable player — the list goes on.
But, instead of letting it tear him down, he threw the negativity to the ground, climbed on top of it, and is now standing high as the only undefeated team in the league.
Hurts made massive progress this past offseason after working with a quarterback and pitching coach. His arm strength improved, his accuracy became pristine, and he developed better agility in and out of the pocket. His confidence never wavered; however, his ability to lead Philadelphia became second to none.
On Sunday, Hurts played his most complete game to date, finishing with 285 yards, four touchdowns, and zero turnovers. His four scores were a career-high — each of them 25+ yards. His 140.6 passer rating against the Steelers was the highest by an Eagles’ quarterback since Nick Foles in 2017.
In seven games this season, Hurts has completed 67 percent of his passes for an average of 257 yards per game (1,799 total). His 105.0 passer rating is fifth-best in the league. Hurts also ranks second in interception ratio, fifth in total touchdowns (16), and seventh in accuracy.
In his second full season as starting quarterback, Hurts is now a MVP candidate. He has the second-best odds, moving from +500 to +350, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. And, he’s chalking it up to be a “triple-threat”.
“I think it’s bigger than the overall development of one part of my game. I think it’s about being able to be a threat in many different ways. That’s something that a guy like me has the ability to do. Naturally being able to run, we’ll call it a dual-threat, but I like to call it a triple-threat. You have to be able to kill them with your legs at times, make the throws when you need to in the passing game, and kill them with your mind and with what you see and how you react. Because you get to a point where you get different looks, and they try and get you but, you have to be ready for all of those looks and have an answer for it,” Jalen Hurts stated after Sunday’s game.
“That’s a testament to the preparation and the people that I have around me. It’s an uphill climb. I honestly feel that there is no arrival, there is no arrival. You;; never get a point to where you say ‘I’ve arrived’. There is no arrival, there’s only the journey, and I’ve embraced that journey and I’ll continue to do that, and take it day by day and just try and climb.”
Hurts will continue to build upon greatness after a short week. The Philadelphia Eagles travel to Houston for Thursday Night Football. The Birds will look to extend their streak against the Texans who are 1-5-1.
