Jalen Hurts has as many tackles as two Eagles defenders so far this season

It's hard to explain this turn Jalen Hurts' career has taken. We've made this next statement before. We need to make it again for the sake of argument. He threw 19 interceptions during his first 45 games with the Philadelphia Eagles. He has now thrown 19 picks in his last 20 games.

His tally now stands at six turnovers this season. Three games... Six turnovers... That includes two fumbles lost. We won't even get into the number of times Philly's O turned the ball over on downs.

Not good!

It's hard to win in the NFL anyway. The task gets harder when you give the opposing offense extra opportunities. That's never a recipe for a successful mixture.

Believe it or not, Eagles QB1 Jalen Hurts has as many tackles as two Eagles defenders. One was a prized offseason acquisition.

Despite a talented roster, Philly's pair of wins haven't come easy by any means. The defense has bailed this team out on multiple occasions. Give them a game ball for this past effort, but there's also much to discuss on their side of the ball. How is it possible that Jalen Hurts has as many tackles on his stat sheet as one of Philly's prized offseason acquisitions and a second-year player they are excited about?

Bryce Huff, edge rusher

Let's begin with Bryce Huff. Added by the Philadelphia Eagles this past March during free agency, he was given a $51 million contract including $16,125,000 signing bonus. He got $34 million guaranteed and an average annual salary of $17.03 million.

What has Philly gotten in return? We're glad you asked!

Huff, after being blanked on the stat sheet during Philly's two most recent outings, has one tackle to show for the confidence Philly placed in him. Yes, you read that correctly. He has one tackle (though Pro Football Focus credits him with two stops)...

We'll stick with giving him credit for one because, frankly, we can't remember when the second occurred. He has yet to register a quarterback sack or any other defensive stat we care about.

Jalen Hurts also has one tackle, thanks to being forced to put a defender on the turf following one of those six turnovers. Being loose with the football and those sudden changes of possession have forced QB1 to play a little defense.

Huff wears the Number 0 jersey. That's a coincidence. The Eagles have gotten zero from him.

Frankly, we're more excited about a second-year player who's a former seventh-round draft choice who, like Hurts and Huff, is credited with one tackle on the season.

Moro Ojomo, defensive tackle

Like Huff, Moro Ojomo's tackle was a stop he made while assisting a teammate. Unlike Huff, Ojomo's numbers are satisfactory based on what he has been asked to do. In other words, Ojomo's numbers can be explained.

Though a talented prospect, the former Texas Longhorn is at the bottom of Philly's depth chart. He has played 47 defensive snaps during Philly's first three games. He has played another 15 on special teams, but he's managed to do something Huff hasn't, push O-linemen back into the quarterback's space to cause issue.

Pro Football Focus gives him an overall grade of 61.5 and a pass-rush grade of 73.2. He is credited with a QB hit and three hurries. That's more than Bryce has done. Huff's sheet carries with it another story.

Bryce has been given an overall grade of 53.2 and a pass-rush grade of 56.8. They again credit him with two tackles (we disagree) and two pressures, but as stated, that doesn't justify his price tag.

Final thoughts:

So, let's end this on a positive note. We haven't given up on Bryce Huff yet. Several guys have gotten off to slow starts. Let's not turn this young man into Byron Maxwell.

As far as QB1 goes, we believe in him too. We know he can get the job done because we have seen him do so constantly.

Had he not gotten injured in 2022, he would have had a shot to snatch the MVP trophy away from Patrick Mahomes. Ultimately, he didn't, but he outplayed him in the Super Bowl (despite losing). One year later, he was the odds-on favorite to win MVP honors in most sportsbooks after Week 12 when the Eagles outlasted the Buffalo Bills in overtime. He also opened with impressive MVP odds this season.

Every NFL star faces adversity at some point, especially at the quarterback position. There were times when we saw Peyton Manning and Tom Brady struggle. The questions now are about how Jalen bounces back.

We've seen greatness. We've seen flashes this season. There's no reason to believe that Jalen isn't still in there somewhere. Still, he must make smarter decisions with the football. We don't need to see him make tackles. We've seen QBs get hurt while doing so.

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