Have you ever wondered what Jalen Hurts’ game would look like if you eliminated running from his arsenal?
It turns out it looks pretty incredible.
Due to a knee injury of unknown severity or cause, Hurts had just one rushing attempt on Sunday – without a goalie at the goal line, where he never got the ball, and two knee-ups at the end of the game – and his six rushing yards are his fewest ever in a game he started.
As a pure pocket passer, Hurts delivered one of the best performances of his young career. He completed 76 percent of his passes, threw for 319 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions and led the Eagles to a 38-31 victory over the Commanders at FedEx Field.
He’s had many brilliant passing performances over the last few years, but never one where his running game didn’t play a role.
“I know he’s tough and I won’t always know (how much he’s hurt) because he won’t tell me how he feels because he always wants it on him,” Nick Sirianni said.
“That’s what you want from your quarterback, your leader. He played outstandingly, completely outstandingly. I think what you see is how well he plays in the pocket, where maybe he’s not feeling as good as he can feel and can’t walk or doesn’t run as much that he plays excellent football. I thought he played “Lights Out.”
Hurts joined Donovan McNabb against the 49ers in 2005 and the Lions in 2007 and Nick Foles against the Raiders in 2013, becoming only the third quarterback in franchise history to complete 75 percent of his passes and throw for at least four TDs and 300 yards no interceptions.
His passer rating of 135.7 was the second-highest of his career – he had a rating of 140.6 in a blowout win over the Steelers at Linc last year – and was the highest by an Eagles quarterback in a road game since Foles’ 149.3 against the Packers Lambeau in 2013.
It was the highest passing rating by an opposing QB at FedEx Field since Josh McCown, of all people, posted 137.5 in a win for the Bucs in 2014 – one of McCown’s six road wins in his 18-year career.
It turns out that Hurts doesn’t need to run to be effective. To be effective, he doesn’t even need the threat of running away.
“He’s a warrior,” De’Andre Swift said. “All I saw was him doing what he had to do to get the win and making plays that he always makes. He Is hard.”
After his performance against the Dolphins – 74 percent, 279 yards, two touchdowns – Hurts became the second QB in Eagles history with back-to-back games at 70 percent, 275 yards and two passes. Carson Wentz did it four weeks in a row in 2018.
Hurts is now completing 68.4 percent of his passes and has rushed for 4,547 yards, 27 touchdowns and 12 rushing touchdowns. It hasn’t always been pretty, but he’s having a historic season and is on pace to break franchise records for passing yards and touchdowns for the team with the best record in the NFL.
Hurts was so accurate Sunday that he targeted AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith a total of 15 times, and they caught all 15 times for 229 yards and three touchdowns.
Brown set an NFL record in his sixth straight game with at least 125 yards receiving, and Smith caught seven passes for 99 yards.
With his 21st win in his last 23 starts, Hurts improved to 30-12 in his career as a starter and 29-9 under Sirianni.
The only quarterbacks in NFL history with more wins in their first 42 starts are Daryle Lamonica (36), Kurt Warner (34), Patrick Mahomes (34), Lamar Jackson (34), Dan Marino (33), Ken Stabler ( 32). and Ben Roethlisberger (31).
“I don’t want to speak for him,” Brown said. “I don’t even want to say he’s hurt or whatever. But he played a great game today. He beat us with pace, just controlled the game, controlled the scrum.
“You know, like always.”