Now that was a show.
As the Eagles picked apart the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1, it was impossible not not to be impressed with head coach Nick Sirianni, defensive coordinator Jonthan Gannon, and how the offensive and defensive lines took the game over in the second half.
And of course, there was the young quarterback.
Jalen Hurts was excellent in Week 1, but the numbers (27-of-35, 264 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, 7 rushes, 62 yards) don’t really do it justice. He was better than that. Hurts was in total control of the game, and never put the ball (or momentum) in harm’s way.
Some NFL fans seem shocked by the Eagles performance, especially Hurts' in particular. Even some fans right here in Philadelphia. That ought to change quickly, as should the misguided perception that Hurts can’t be a star quarterback in the NFL.
Yes, star.
Let’s talk about Hurts’ ceiling, which has for some reason been miscast due to perception, not reality.
Based on the eye test, there’s zero reason Hurts can’t be a star at the position in the NFL. Zero.
We’re talking about a quarterback that throws a catchable (like the perfect placement on the DeVonta Smith touchdown) ball, often in stride for his receivers to run with it. That seems like a routine thing for NFL starters, but (as we know too well here) it’s not. Swing passes and screens (like the ones that went for big plays vs. Atlanta) don’t just work due to design; they work due to execution from all 11 players. That includes the ball coming out on time and thrown exactly where it needs to for the pass catcher to grab it and go.
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Since taking over as the starter last December, Hurts has racked up three games with 250 passing yards and 60 rushing yards. Only six quarterbacks have more in their entire careers. Hurts has made five starts. We’re talking about rare production and dual-threat ability at the quarterback position.
If Hurts was a top-10 pick like Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert or Tua Tagovailoa, fans would be doing backflips right now and counting down the days until top-10 quarterback status was bestowed upon a young quarterback doing rare things. But because Hurts was “only” a second rounder, his ceiling is somehow thought of as less than those guys. Similar things were once said about Russell Wilson vs. names like Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III in 2012 or Dak Prescott vs. Jared Goff and Carson Wentz in 2017. We all know how those scenarios played out.
Physically, Hurts’ traits are more than good enough. He throws a nice deep ball, as we saw last season and throughout camp. His accuracy is good enough. His ability to navigate the pocket, step up and deliver over the middle seems to have taken a leap since last year. As a runner and scrambler, he’s in the elite class of NFL quarterbacks.
Then there’s the intangibles, which often matter just as much as the physical stuff when it comes to quarterbacks. We know Hurts is a leader. That’s been clear since Day 1. But one trait that keeps coming up as I watch him progress is poise.
Hurts has it, and plays with a rare amount of it as things break down around him. This quarterback never seems rattled. He never seems to panic in the face of pressure, often just stepping to his right, buying time (like on the touchdown strike to Goedert) and making a play. The same can be said for the exclamation point score on Sunday, when Hurts took a (low) hit as he accurately hit Jalen Reagor in rhythm for the screen pass that went to the house.
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Often, fanbases overrate young players. We see all the good, and discard all the bad. For some strange reason, the opposite has happened with Hurts in Philadelphia. The entire offseason seemed to be about what he isn’t, what he’ll never be, and why the Eagles are headed toward a dead end. Yet we’re talking about a quarterback who just became the youngest at the position to ever start a season as Eagles starter, won, and added another historical performance to his ledger.
Top quarterbacks all seem to have a combination of these five traits: Leadership, poise, smarts, pocket presence and either high-end accuracy or second-reaction ability. Hurts checks the first four boxes, and falls into the later category on the fifth. It's a winning formula.
The eye test doesn’t lie. The way his teammates talk about him doesn’t lie. It’s time to stop having a perception and living in reality. Hurts, like Wilson and Prescott before him, checks all the boxes of a star at the position. Let’s enjoy watching him try to reach a ceiling so few want to admit he has.