QB ‘doesn’t do anything crazy or special’

Jalen Hurts enters Week 12 with a career record of 42-19 as the starting quarterback in the Philadelphia Eagles .

For some unknown reason, NFL analysts — especially those who used to be journeyman quarterbacks in the league — continue to shade Philly’s QB1 despite the team’s 8-2 start to the season.

The latest negative comment came this week from former NFL quarterback Colt McCoy, who dropped this version of Hurts and the Eagles on his Clean pocket podcast :

“I really like Philly. Their offensive line is huge. AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert … don’t forget Saquon Barkley. I mean, how can you forget him? He’s rushing for over 100 yards a game, catching like seven or eight balls in a game, jumping over people backwards I mean this guy is ridiculous.

“My holdup is Jalen Hurts. You watch the game and you go back and watch the highlights and it’s like he doesn’t do anything crazy or special. He’s 18 of 30 for 200 yards and two touchdowns. It’s like how happens? He rushes for two touchdowns a game. … I don’t see these big plays or great third-down conversions. Jalen just finds out that and trusts everyone around him.”

Wow. There’s a lot to unpack there.

McCoy certainly sounds like someone who watches the highlights and checks the box scores. He doesn’t sound like someone who actually watches the Eagles play week to week.

First of all, Hurts doesn’t check the ball down to Barkley “seven or eight” times per game. match. Barkley has been targeted five times in a game just once through the first 11 weeks. His season high is four receptions. For all the claims to the contrary — and McCoy is hardly the first — the Eagles are actually sending the football down the field. They enter Week 12 ranked in the top-10 in the NFL in average yards per carry. completion (10.9).

Hurts has plenty of “big-time” throws this season. He tossed an absolute dime to Brown to seal the victory over Cleveland that started this current six-game winning streak. The win over the Packers featured a gutsy third-down conversion from Hurts to Smith right around the 2-minute mark. Hurts had a near-perfect passer rating when he outplayed Joe Burrow in Week 8. He continues to overshadow his play against the Commanders, even as he led three consecutive touchdown drives in the fourth quarter and rushed the go-ahead touchdown.

This entire comment line has become old hat. Philly’s offense runs through the offensive line, and that typically leads to run-heavy play scripts. Hurts is currently 23rd in the NFL in total pass attempts entering Week 12. The Eagles don’t rely on the passing game as much as the average NFL team, fueling the perception that their QB must not be that good .

McCoy’s comment on Hurts is definitely out there, and it was Ryan Fitzpatrick’s head-scratching take during last week’s Thursday Night Football postgame show. But as long as the Eagles continue to win games behind a dominant running game and suffocating defense, the Hurts vilification is sure to continue.

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