Eagles QB Jalen Hurts tops Lamar Jackson in this wild stat comparison

We’ve only seen one week of Philadelphia Eagles football, but you’re either on the Jalen Hurts hype train, or you’re not. Birds fans tend to be…. opinionated about these kinds of things.

Hurts impressed in the Eagles’ season opener so much that his jersey sales saw a 500 percent increase, but there’s still bound to be those stiff-nosed critics who aren’t so easily swayed by the second-year’s standout performance.

This is the part where we throw out a few statistics to convince you that Hurts is, in fact, the real deal.

You already know Hurts threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1. You probably even know a thing or two about Hurts’ starting record last year that still saw him record over 1,000 passing yards in four games.

How about a comparison to Baltimore Ravens’ star Lamar Jackson for a change of pace?

At first glance, this stat just seems… okay. It’s well-known that Jackson plays for a run-heavy Ravens offense that doesn’t hurl the pigskin nearly as often as, say, the Chiefs or the Packers.

But given Hurts’ and Jackson’s similar playing styles, the fact that Hurts already shows promise as a potentially prolific passer in the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense should raise his stock even more.

Like Jackson, Hurts poses a dual-threat as a running quarterback, accumulating over 3,000 rushing yards in his collegiate career.

Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts could be a better passer than Lamar Jackson in 2021

In his rookie year in 2020, Hurts replaced Carson Wentz and recorded six touchdowns and three interceptions while running for 354 yards.

In Jackson’s rookie year in Baltimore in 2018, he replaced Joe Flacco and recorded six touchdowns and three interceptions while running for 695 yards.

Notice the similarities?

Jackson can boast a slightly higher passing completion rate (58 percent) compared to Hurts (52 percent) that year, but Jackson has since integrated himself in one of the most rush-heavy offenses in recent history.

By contrast, Hurts is very much expected to throw the ball in Sirianni’s new offense. With eager and capable targets in DeVonta Smith and Jalen Reagor, Hurts should be primed for even more 300-yard passing games this season. Let’s just hope that 52 percent jumps up to at least the 60s.

Jackson will beat him any day in the running game, but Hurts has the leg up in one passing yardage stat, and in due time, he may beat Jackson in other passing categories, too.

For now, Hurts has only a few small accomplishments to celebrate compared to the 2019 league MVP.

He’s not a ‘Jackson 2.0’, nor is he just ‘better than Carson Wentz’. This season, Hurts can make his own future on his own terms, and we’ll be lucky enough to watch him do it.