Jalen Hurts passes Michael Vick in Eagles record books

These days, it can feel like records are set every week. Between Pro Football Focus, NFL Next Gen Stats, and all of the other avenues that we have to access information, whenever you log into Twitter, you can find some story about how one of the members of the Philadelphia Eagles has done something that’s never been done before or how said feat hasn’t been seen since (fill in whatever year is appropriate). Just look at how the stats have, at times, to defend Jalen Hurts.

Now, that hasn’t always been a bad thing. Hurts has had his moments, but they used to say that people lie and numbers don’t. That actually isn’t true. Numbers lie all of the time.

How many of you began to grow weary after hearing all of the statistical diatribes that were supposed to convince us of Carson Wentz’s greatness when the eyeball test was clearly telling us that he was struggling? How many of you are sick of post-game takes about how amazing Jalen Hurts’ 32 of 48 performance was versus the Kansas City Chiefs when we all know for a fact that most of that didn’t happen when the game was on the line?

All records aren’t created equal. Some of them are worth mentioning though, particularly one we saw broken in Week 15.

Jalen Hurts moves past Michael Vick in the Eagles records books after a two-TD performance.

We’ve been talking for quite some time about how Jalen Hurts would bounce back following what has to be seen as the worst performance of his short NFL career, that Week 13 debacle versus the New York Giants. We definitely waited long enough to find out.

Hurts sat out of Week 13’s game versus the New York Jets before a Week 14 bye that, thanks to a Washington COVID-19 outbreak and some rescheduling by the NFL, meant 23 days passed between Hurts’ last game and his most recent.

Unfortunately, Philadelphia got off to a shaky start versus the Washington Football Team. Hurts’ first-quarter fumble had a lot to do with that.

As a matter of fact, Washington scored ten points off of Eagles turnovers in the first stanza, but Philly, led by their QB1, steadied the ship. By the game’s end, Jalen Hurts had tossed a touchdown pass to offset his early interception. In all, he completed 20 of 26 passes for 296 yards. He also reached the end zone twice as a rusher.

Those two touchdown runs placed him ahead of the great Michael Vick who ran for nine scores as the Eagles’ signal-caller in 2010. That was a franchise record at the time.

Say what you will, but that’s nothing to sneeze at. For a franchise that fielded gifted scramblers like Vick, Donovan McNabb, and Randall Cunningham before them, something like this should make you smile. If that arm talent ever catches up with what we know to be true about Jalen Hurts’ brilliance when he leaves the pocket, the Eagles might have something.

While you’re waiting, don’t forget about the fact that Randall, Donovan, Vick, and even Russell Wilson all entered the league as better runners than passers. If memory serves, things worked out for those other guys.