Jalen Hurts joins some rather exceptional quarterback company

You’ve been a Philadelphia Eagles fan long enough to know how this works, so by now, you’re either in the Jalen Hurts camp or you’re not. Chances are, you have an opinion one way or another, and seeing as how Hurts is the starting quarterback for 2021, there had to have at least been some potential seen there to lead the Birds to make that decision.

If you’re one of those Hurts haters that stumbled on this story by accident, at least consider reading until the end. You might be pleasantly surprised.

We may just be preaching to the choir here, but here’s an exciting stat to raise your hopes for Hurts, even if it only does so by a smidgen. Following QB1’s Week 4 performance, Hurts has already joined the ranks of some pretty recognizable names.

There’s plenty more where that came from. Eagles’ reporter Reuben Frank recently listed 10 Hurts stats that will surprise most people (in a good way), and it seems the young QB has been even more productive than we thought.

To name a few more notable facts:

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has accomplished quite a bit in 2021

1. He’s already in Eagles’ history books.

At age 23, Hurts has soared to the top of prolific quarterbacks in Philly’s franchise history. Frank notes that Hurts is the fourth Eagles QB to throw for at least 385 yards in a game without recording an interception.

The other names on that list? Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, and Nick Foles. Even more elite QB company that, no matter what you think of Hurts, reflects well for Hurts’ future development and growth.

2. He can throw. And run.

Hurts has shown off his arm all throughout 2020 and the start of this season, recording four games of 325 yards in his first eight career starts. He’s apparently only the second quarterback in NFL history to do so, which is truly a shocking stat. Hurts had two of those 325+ yard games in 2021, one in Week 3 against Dallas (326 yards) and one in Week 4 against Kansas City (387 yards).

As Hurts haters will snidely comment, Philly lost both those games, so clearly Hurts didn’t do enough. We recognize and appreciate the feat nonetheless.

Hurts’ rushing stats have also drawn comparisons to elite QBs, mainly Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson. Hurts is the second quarterback in history with 1,100 passing yards and 200 rushing yards four games into a season. Just for reference, Jackson had 1,110 passing yards and 238 rushing yards in 2019. Two words: Dual. Threat.

3. He’s clutch.

Here again some Hurts haters will angrily shout (into the void) that QB1 has only achieved the aforementioned stats during garbage time when the game has already been won or lost, yet Frank has dutifully done his research and discovered that when the Eagles are either leading or trailing by fewer than eight points, Hurts remains efficient as ever.

In those high-stakes situations, Hurts completed 68 percent of his passes for 737 yards with four TDs and one interception. He’s also added 132 rushing yards.

Do you hear that? It’s the sound of silence. The Hurts haters have probably already left the chat.

There are just some people that he’ll never impress, and that’s fine. It appears that Number 1 has a goal of being one of the game’s best. By the looks of things, he might be on his way.

Hurts earned the opportunity for a season-long audition to become Eagles’ starting QB in 2021, and as the numbers will reveal, he’s going to make the most of his time here whether you like it or not.