Jalen Hurts Shines as Eagles Look to Reclaim NFC Supremacy
Philadelphia (AP) — Jalen Hurts is proving that his best performance is yet to come, mirroring the form he showed in the Super Bowl. His recent string of impressive performances has reignited his chances for the NFL MVP award as the season progresses into its second half.
Over his last two games, Hurts has thrown for 505 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception. He even achieved a perfect passer rating in a win over Minnesota. Currently ranked third in the NFL in passer rating, Hurts has also thrown 15 touchdowns with just one interception this season. Additionally, he has five rushing touchdowns, showing his versatility on the field.
The reigning Super Bowl champions are currently tied for the most wins in the NFC at 6-2. They secured an early lead in the race for the No. 1 seed by defeating Tampa Bay in September. Green Bay leads the conference at 5-1-1.
“I think it’s so important that we are completely locked in and focused on finding ways to get better,” said coach Nick Sirianni. “Identifying issues, identifying strengths, and this is a really important week. We’ve benefited from this week in the past, whether that be going into playoffs or whether it’s in the regular season.”
Eagles fans remember how well Hurts, Saquon Barkley, and the rest of the team performed after the bye last season. The 2-2 Eagles went on a 10-game winning streak and only lost once on their way to the franchise's second Super Bowl championship.
“I think the best is yet to come,” Hurts said. “Who's going to doubt him?”
Hurts has already defeated some of the league's top quarterbacks, including Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, and Baker Mayfield, to secure the top spot in the NFC East.
Upcoming challenges include a game against Jordan Love in Green Bay next Monday night. The Eagles will then host Jared Goff and the Lions in what was expected to be a potential championship showdown last season, until Washington pulled off the upset in Detroit.
“There are going to be tests along the way, but you have to embrace those challenges as they come,” Hurts said. “And I think we do that as a group.”
A concerning development for the rest of the NFC is the potential return of Saquon Barkley to form. Last season's AP Offensive Player of the Year and a 2,000-yard rusher, Barkley struggled through the first seven games due to various factors, including defenses crowding the box, injuries on the offensive line, and poor calls from first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
However, Barkley had a breakout performance against his former team, the Giants. He recorded a 65-yard touchdown run on his first carry and finished with 150 rushing yards in a 38-20 win. This performance demonstrated that there is still life left in his legs, even if achieving back-to-back 2,000-yard rushing seasons remains out of reach.
With the game out of reach, Barkley did not play again after suffering a groin injury.
Barkley, however, claims he should be ready for the Packers game, and the extra days provided by the bye should help with his recovery.
A healthy and motivated Barkley means a dangerous Eagles offense. He has eight rushing touchdowns of 60-plus yards in just over one season with the Eagles, matching the total of the next three Eagles since 2000 combined. He leads all NFL running backs with 10 games with 150-plus yards rushing and has nine multi-TD games (including playoffs) since 2024.
“I thought that was just a matter of time,” said Sirianni. “We’ve been close with our run game and it popped (last Sunday). We want to build on that and continue on that, but I think that was just a matter of time because we have the players up front. Saquon looks great, and he was able to find some space to get some of those explosive runs that we were used to seeing from him.”