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On Monday night, the Eagles suffered a humiliating loss to the Buccaneers, finally putting their 2023 season out of its misery. After going to the Super Bowl just last year and then starting this year 10-1, expectations couldn’t have been higher. And yet, they got bounced in a favorable matchup in a Wild Card game.
Yesterday, Joe DeCamara of 94WIP sports radio tried to describe the flaws he saw in the latter half of the season. His most eye-opening commentary came with a dismal outlook on Jalen Hurts’ career arc.
When talking about the Eagles quarterback, he said, “What we saw last night, in my opinion, is the beginning of the end of Jalen Hurts…He’s clearly going to be back and be the starter next year. But what we saw last night is someone who I would put at serious doubt that he’ll be the starting QB in 2026.”
Now, if you’re a Hurts fan or if you’ve decided the coaching staff should bear a lot of the blame then you’re likely trying to dismiss a comment like this with all your being. But a quick look at the numbers can lay the groundwork for what DeCamara saw on the field this year.
Hurts Saw Some Regression in 2023
Though Hurts may have had more total yards in 2023 over 2022, he also played two less games. His yards per game average went down from 246.7 in 2022 to 226.9 in 2023. His total touchdowns went from 22 to 23, but his touchdown percentage went from 4.8% to 4.3%. Once again, we have to remember he played two more games than last year to only get one more touchdown. Hurts’ QB rating also went from 101.5 to 89.1.
Playing injured for a good part of the season, he also went backward in rushing. In the past two seasons he ran for 784 yards and 760 respectively. He played 15 games in both, but this year when he played 17 games, he was only able to come away with 605 yards on the ground. That’s a difference of 50.6 yards per game in 2022 to 35.6 in 2023.
The Most Damning of All Statistics for Hurts Were His Interceptions in 2023
The most damning of all statistics though has to be the increase in interceptions. Though, Hurts has been criticized in the past for being a running QB who wasn’t consistent in the pocket, he never had double digit interceptions until this year. In 2021, he had 9. Then, in 2022, he had 6, but in 2023 he had 15. One has to wonder if his limitations in the run game caused him to force more throws than usual.
It’s certainly not a death sentence and if he goes back to his old ways then any team would love to have him. But since he’s now been in the league four years, it’s likely his limitations are what they are. If he can get back to his 2022 form, he’ll be fine, but if this year was a sneak peak at his future trajectory then DeCamara’s prediction could prove true. It’s also important to note that next year, Hurts likely won’t have veteran and 7-time ProBowler Jason Kelce hiking him the ball.
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