The Philadelphia Eagles have been on fire recently, and their success can be directly linked to quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley. The former has head coach Nick Siriani all fired up. Following the Eagles’ 24-19 win over the Baltimore Ravens, Siriani praised Hurts to anyone who would listen. The coach scoffed at the label of “game manager” that the media could apply to his star player.
“You can’t say enough good things about how Jalen managed that four-minute,” Sirianni said. “You’ll say, ‘Well, game manager,’ That’s all BS. Jalen played an awesome game. His stats are going to say, ‘We didn’t throw it a lot.’ We were 11 of 19. He had 118 yards, but that guy made runs when he needed to make runs. He made good checks. He managed the game in a four-minute [offense] to take the clock down to use as much time as he can.”
Siriani also suggested that Hurts, along with Barkley, should be in consideration for the NFL MVP award. “We haven’t thrown in a lot in the fourth quarter in the past month and a half of the season,” he added. “Jalen’s stats aren’t going to say this, but Jalen deserves, like, Saquon deserves, being an MVP consideration. Jalen Hurts deserves to be an MVP consideration because of how clean a football game he’s playing.”
The biggest thing that could cost Hurts votes would be the play of his running back. Barkley currently leads the NFL with 1,499 rushing yards and has 11 rushing touchdowns. He is currently on pace to break Eric Dickerson’s record for most rushing yards in a season. Since Hurts directly benefits from Barkley’s production, voters may wonder who deserves more credit, and that will cost both of them in the long run. Siriani is correct that they both deserve to be considered, but the more consideration they get, essentially the less consideration they each get.
It’s no secret the league’s Most Valuable Player is reserved for the best quarterback. It’s been 18 years since a non-quarterback has won the award. It’s been accepted that every year, the NFL will award the best non-quarterback the Offensive Player of The Year instead of the MVP. If Barkley is given this award, that leaves Hurts to compete with the other quarterbacks in the league. His primary competition would consist of Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow.
Hurts is currently 10-2, completing 68.4% of his passes for 2,494 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. He has added 485 yards on the ground and 12 rushing touchdowns. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow may be having the best season for a signal caller this year, leading the NFL in passing yards (3,337) and touchdowns (30), and has only five interceptions. He has a losing record though (4-8) and the MVP will not go to a losing quarterback.
Josh Allen is also 10-2 and is completing 64.6% of his passes for 2,691 yards. He has 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. He has also rushed for 334 yards and six interceptions. Hurts’ completion percentage and rushing yards/TD’s this year could give him the edge over Allen. Allen isn’t going to have a 2,000-yard back to elevate his passing stats. Lamar Jackson poses a bigger obstacle for Hurts. He is 8-5, but that’s still a winning record.
Jackson is second in passing yards this year (3,290), and is completing 67% of his passes. He also has 29 touchdowns to just 3 interceptions. On the ground, he has contributed 678 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns. He would have to be considered the current favorite, and likely could only be derailed by a stretch of horrible play. Siriani is right that Hurts deserves consideration, he just may not win MVP when all things have been considered.
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