It’s easy to label Jalen Hurts as a running quarterback.
After all, Hurts led all NFL quarterbacks in rushing yards last season, with 784. And he began this season with 147 yards rushing in the first two games.
But that is misleading.
Hurts is having an MVP-caliber season and the Eagles are off to the best start in team history at 8-0 because of his arm, not his legs.
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In the Eagles’ 29-17 win over the Houston Texans on Thursday night, Hurts ran the ball nine times for 23 yards. He completed 21 of 27 passes for 243 yards with two touchdowns and a passer rating of 128.9. That’s the second-highest rating of his career. His best, 140.6, came just four days earlier in the Eagles’ 35-13 win over the Steelers.
Over the last three games, Hurts has run just 20 times for 60 yards, while completing 55 of 80 passes (68.8%). He has thrown for 683 yards with eight TDs and no interceptions. His passer rating is 128.3.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said Hurts’ running less is not necessarily by design.
“I just think that’s what we’ve done to win the game the last couple weeks,” he said. “Jalen’s running ability is going to be a big part to our success. … If we need to run him 20 times, we’ll run him 20 times. If we need to run Miles (Sanders) 20 times in a row, we’ll run him 20 times in a row. If we need to pass it 20 times in a row, we’ll do that.
“Whatever we need to do and whatever we feel is best to win the football game, we’ll do.”
For the season, Hurts has completed 68.2% of his passes and thrown for 2,042 yards. His passer rating of 107.8 ranks third in the NFL, behind only Tua Tagovailoa and Patrick Mahomes. Projected for an entire 17-game season, Hurts will shatter the Eagles’ record for passing yards in a season with 4,339. Carson Wentz is the only Eagles’ QB to surpass 4,000 passing yards in a season, with 4,039 in 2019.
Hurts completed 61.3% of his passes last season and had a rating of 87.2. In 2020, when Hurts replaced Wentz for the final 4½ games of the season, he completed 52% of his passes and had a rating of 77.6.
“I think he has improved maybe more than every player in the NFL,” Texans coach Lovie Smith said. “Outstanding player. He can throw the ball. He is mobile. A big guy to bring down.”
Hurts says he’s nowhere close to his ceiling.
“There’s still more work to be put in,” Hurts told reporters after the game. “I can only smile for so long. I’m hungry for it, and I’m going to keep going.”
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
