NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
Say it, spell it, use sign language, and do whatever you have to do, but when the words are settled, it should read that Jalen Hurts is an elite quarterback. Yeah, some can debate this, and the truth is, they will try to debate you because they like a certain quarterback other than Hurts.
One Super Bowl does not make a player elite. Okay, that’s a valid point. In that case, we can say that Nick Foles, Trent Dilfer, and Doug Williams are all elite QBs if I’m going that route with Hurts, right? Wrong. Hurts has always been in a different class. Those guys were stand-ins at best. It’s always been about Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and even Dak Prescott. Hell, you can throw in Matthew Stanford and Jared Goff just for good measure.
With his win against Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, Hurts not only climbed the elite ladder, he leapfrogged players in the process.
Stafford has one to his name. Mahomes has 3 to his name. But other than that, that list is short. Stafford is a different breed. He’s like Dan Marino. He has that gun-slinger mentality. The same can be said of Burrow. They pass for yards at an alarming rate. But yards and TDs are not just what makes a QB elite. It’s the winning. This is where Hurts separates himself from the pack other than Mahomes.
Jackson is a generational talent. But what has Jackson’s teams won? He has the MVPs but he also has the failures of the playoffs. Burrow has been to a SB but that’s looking to be more of a fluke than anything. Prescott, well, yeah, it’s not happening. Allen is a hell of a player and was a game away but he keeps taking shorts as well. He can’t beat Mahomes in the playoffs where it matters most.
That takes us to Jalen Hurts. He’s 2-1 against Mahomes. 1-1 in the Super Bowl and truth be told, he’s outplayed Mahomes in both of those contests. Hurts is racking up historical numbers doing other godly-like QB things. He’s a winner at his core.
Maybe, if the offense was tailor-made to sling the ball like it is for Stafford or Goff, he would have MVP-like numbers yearly. But that’s not how the Philadelphia Eagles are built. They are built to win games, not awards. That’s the difference.
Hurts has critics because he’s not passing for 4500 yards and 35 TDS. And yet, this man has led his team to two SB appearances in the 4 years he’s been a full-time starter. Let that sink in. A 4-year starter with two SB appearances to his name and a championship to go with it. Can Allen, Burrow, or Jackson say the same?
And why is that? For most, the argument will be made that they are in the tough AFC. Maybe it’s not the tough AFC. Maybe it’s the tough Chiefs and their QB. But Hurts doesn’t have that problem. He’s beaten them in the playoffs and the regular season. As far as the AFC goes, Hurts has a winning percentage against AFC teams and has defeated Burrow, Jackson, Allen, and Mahomes.
Winning makes you elite. Those who say differently are rooting for QBs who can’t win and all they have to look forward to are yards and TDs. There are levels to this shit here.
Jalen Hurts had to prove he could win with his arm. Well, that was the consensus saying leading up to the SB. But why? Did he not show this season and before that when needed to, he could do just that? The media needs a reason to dislike him. They need a reason to keep Burrow, Allen, and Jackson’s names going strong while Hurts keeps winning.
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