There were a lot of questions that fans wanted answers to heading into the Philadelphia Eagles Week 2 matchup against San Francisco. One of the most notable was on Jalen Hurts and if he could continue his hot start facing a legit 49ers defense.
The easy answer is no, Hurts was not good enough to win in Week 2. He finished with just 190 yards through the air, a passer rating of 80.0, and a completion percentage of 52.17 percent, along with zero passing touchdowns. Take away his 91-yard bomb to Quez Watkins, and Hurts doesn’t even have 100 yards passing on the day.
That stat line won’t win you many games in the NFL. You know that, I know that. We all know that. But this certainly isn’t the time to panic if you’re an Eagles fan.
You could point to a number of different aspects from Sunday’s game that led to the loss. Nick Sirianni’s play calling, inopportune penalties, leaving points on the board. Hurts deserves some of the blame here, he’s the starting quarterback after all. But these bumps in the road were bound to happen. This was never going to be a perfect season for Hurts.
Through two weeks, Hurts has been a prototypical game manager. He hasn’t turned the ball over and he’s been able to elevate the offense at times with his running ability. On nine designed runs this year, Hurts has gained 51 yards. But on scrambles, Hurts has been lethal, gaining 93 yards on an 11.6 YPC average. It has been a bit of a crutch for him, especially in Week 2, but having the type of athleticism that Hurts possesses is an invaluable asset to have as a quarterback.
Facing the vaunted 49ers defensive line, Hurts did struggle when under pressure. He was under pressure on 14 of his 30 dropbacks and he only completed two passes in those situations. Although he did have a number of explosive scrambles when under duress, he needs to be more efficient getting the ball into his receivers hands when the defense is closing in on him.
Overall, his numbers through two weeks are still very good. He’s completing 67.4 percent of his passes, his on-target throw percentage is a modest 77.1 percent, and his bad throw percentage is at just 11.1 percent. And again, no turnovers and only one fumble thus far.
It hasn’t been perfect, but Hurts has still shown vast improvement in a number of areas through two weeks this year. He’s still a work in progress in terms of decision making and holding onto the ball too long, but Hurts is trending in the right direction and should only get better as the season continues.
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