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When it’s all said and done, we may look back at Jalen Hurts’ career and think of a quarterback who won at an almost unprecedented level and was also criticized at an almost unprecedented level.
Hurts has been taking shrapnel like he was running through a minefield lately, despite the Philadelphia Eagles on a 9-game winning streak and sitting at 11-2 and still in contention for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
The latest grenades launched at Hurts came from The Ringer’s Steven Ruiz, who said Hurts was “closer to bottom 10” as an NFL quarterback on an episode of “The Ringer NFL Show” on December 11.
“(Hurts) is far worse than the quarterback we saw in 2022,” Ruiz said. “And I think that’s the biggest concern that it’s not like his play has regressed as things have regressed around him. I think you could kind of make the argument that things might be better around him … He’s just not making the throws and I don’t know how to quantify that.
“And it’s getting hard to rank him now. Because if I say, like, oh, he’s a bottom 10 quarterback, like that’s insane. We’ve seen him go to a Super Bowl. We’ve seen him play very well. We’ve seen him be on an All-Pro team. But I think he’s closer to bottom 10 than he is to top 10.”
Teammates Complain Despite 9-Game Winning Streak
The latest round of criticism of Hurts comes from a pair of highly-paid and disgruntled wide receivers in DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, who both took shots at Hurts following a 22-16 win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 14.
Hurts was 14-of-21 passing for 108 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions against the Panthers — his sixth game this season with under 200 passing yards. It’s also the second consecutive game in which Hurts has thrown for under 125 passing yards after he threw for 118 yards in a win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 13.
“(Hurts) is on track to record just over 3400 passing yards, his worst total since his first full year as a starter back in 2021,” Heavy’s Daniel Arwas wrote on December 10. “And this total may well end up lower, given the increasingly low passing totals of the most recent games against the Panthers, Ravens and Rams.”
Hurts has a record of 44-16 since taking over as the Eagles’ full time starter in 2021, including a 36-9 record over the last 3 seasons. He’s also a 2-time Pro Bowler and was an NFL All-Pro selection in 2022, when he led the Eagles to Super Bowl LVII.
Eagles Have Changed Offense to Suit Barkley in 2024
If you hear criticism of Hurts, you can bet that every time it’s going to go back to the 5-year, $255 million contract extension with $180 million in guaranteed money he signed in March 2023.
What needs to be pointed out is that neither Hurts, Smith or Brown is the focal point of the Eagles offense in 2024 — something that only Hurts seems to comprehend so far.
The focal point of the offense is running back Saquon Barkley, who has a real chance to become the first NFL MVP at his position since Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson in 2012.
Barkley has already set a franchise single-season record with 1,623 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns through 13 games and is averaging 6.1 yards per carry — he also has a chance to break the NFL single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards set by Los Angeles Rams running back Eric Dickerson in 1984.
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