Throughout the first two weeks of the regular season, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was taking some unfair criticism for not throwing a touchdown pass and having just 253 yards passing.
All of that changed on a dime with his heroic second half performance in the Eagles' 33-26 comeback win over the Los Angeles Rams. Hurts finished with 226 passing yards and three touchdowns, adding 40 rushing yards and a touchdown.
It was an impressive second half as anyone could have asked for. Hurts struggled in the first half due to the Rams stopping the running game and Hurts being sacked and pressured multiple times. After his emotional chat with offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo and a change at right tackle from Matt Pryor to Fred Johnson, Hurts put the team on his back like in the Super Bowl and completed over 75% of his passes and threw three scores.
That gutsy performance from Hurts now has the attention of everyone in the media, praising his ability to get the Eagles back on track. Where does that leave him ranked against the other quarterbacks in the NFL?
Hurts getting his much-deserved respect with high ranking
NFL Spin Zone writer Sayre Bedinger shared the latest quarterback rankings after Week 3 play, and Hurts found his way as number four.
"You can call it whatever you want, but Jalen Hurts feels more like a chameleon than anything else. If the Eagles ask him to air it out and throw 40 times, he can do that and do it effectively. If they want to grind out the clock and run the ball into the ground, he can do that as well. If they need him to be clutch…He does it all. Hurts was marvelous against the Rams on a day in which the running game struggled. He put his team in position to win, and they did."
Statistically, Hurts has some catching up to do on the season as he is now at 479 yards and three touchdowns through the air, but also has 117 rushing yards and four scores. Everyone focuses on the passing (which is something that is out of his control), but he's so dynamic with the ball in his hands, running.
One thing the Eagles did well with Hurts on Sunday was run more RPO plays with him, which helped open things up when the ground game was struggling. That's something to watch out for in the upcoming weeks, as to how often the Eagles will run that play.
Read more: Eagles' injury statuses for Week 4 went from bad to worse with latest update
Hurts showed it all on Sunday, from being a vocal leader to silently slinging the ball around on the Rams. He deserves to get back in the conversation for the top five quarterbacks in the NFL.