Bleeding Green Nation
Stop doubting the Eagles’ QB.
Some people can’t recognize a good thing if it falls out of a tree and smacks them in the face.
Incredibly, there are still Jalen Hurts critics out there.
I know, I know, I can’t believe it either, but it’s true. There are still people in the world who believe Jalen Hurts to be a mid quarterback, a mediocre talent propped up by a star-studded roster, nothing more than a system guy who lucked his way into a Super Bowl title.
If you spend enough time on the internet (always a terrific idea), you’ll even find folks pooh-poohing the idea that winning a Super Bowl is all that big an accomplishment for an NFL quarterback.
One can only hope the medical community comes up with a medication to treat those afflicted with Hurts Delusion Syndrome.
The truth about Jalen Hurts is actually quite simple.
He is an incredibly good quarterback. He’s elite. He’s a winner. He’s everything you wanted Donovan McNabb to be, but wasn’t. He plays his best in big games, sacrifices personal statistics for team goals, and performs at his very best on the NFL’s biggest stages.
In his two Super Bowl appearances, Hurts was named MVP of one and was the best player on the field in the other. He threw for 525 yards, ran for another 142, completed 73.3% of his passes and accounted for seven total touchdowns in those two games. That 73.3% completion rate is the highest of any QB in Super Bowl history, besting Troy Aikman’s 70.0% in three Super Bowls.
If you’re ranking NFL QBs, Patrick Mahomes is still likely at the top of anyone’s list, but Hurts’ postseason performances have to put him in the top-five. No, he’s likely never going to throw for 4,500 yards in a season, toss 45 touchdowns or lead the league in passer rating, but when you combine his ability to throw as well as run, he becomes one of the most dominant forces in the NFL.
In crunch time, is there anyone else you’d rather have on the field?
Did Hurts look like a top-five QB for sustained stretches of this season? No, and let’s be honest, 2023 spiraled into an utter disaster, too. There were honest and real reasons to be skeptical of Hurts, even during the course of this Super Bowl season, as the passing game play-calling turned vanilla and the team turned to Saquon Barkley and their rushing attack to lead the way. The team’s star wide receiver was even throwing shade at their ability to throw the football at one point, and there were times when Hurts looked slow to react, held the ball too long, took too many sacks, and was out of sync.
But it’s fair to wonder how much of that was on the coaching and how much was on Hurts. It sure looked like the playbook opened up a bit late in the playoffs, specifically in the NFC Championship Game and the...
