Sort of quietly, Jalen Hurts is looking like an elite quarterback and the Eagles are looking like real threats in the NFC.
In 2022, with the Eagles nearly winning their second Super Bowl on the heels of a breakout year from Hurts, the quarterback came in second for NFL MVP and might have won it had he not missed two games at the end of the year.
This season, after a very ugly start that saw him turn the ball over seven times in four weeks, he's been turnover-free in the four games since and has also led the Eagles to four wins in a row. He's done it in different ways, too.
Hurts can function as a game manager, he can sling the ball downfield, and he can also use his legs to extend plays, run for first downs and convert goal-line situations into touchdowns. He is more accurate and savvy than he's ever been before.
There are really no breakaway favorites for MVP right now midway through the 2024 season. In each of the last 11 seasons, the Associated Press has voted to give essentially the best quarterback on a Super Bowl contending team the award. Only four times since the turn of the millennium has the award gone to a non-QB, each of them running backs. And while Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley are making cases, the trend of late has still been to give the best QB the MVP and the best running back or wide receiver Offensive Player of the Year honors.
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Hurts entered Week 9 with MVP odds around +2000, but after beating the Jaguars on Sunday, he's already leaped to +1200 (via DraftKings). According to the fantasy football outlet fantasypros, Hurts has the easiest schedule remaining for a fantasy quarterback.
Philly has games ahead against the:
• 4th worst defense by DVOA (Cowboys, Week 10 and 17)
• 9th worst defense by DVOA (Commanders, Week 11 and 16)
• 5th worst defense by DVOA (Rams, Week 12)
• 15th worst defense by DVOA (Ravens, Week 13)
• 2nd worst defense by DVOA (Panthers, Week 14)
• 11th best defense by DVOA (Steelers, Week 15)
• 16th best defense by DVOA (Giants, Week 18)
Six games ahead against bottom-10 defenses and just two against teams in the top half of the NFL bode well for the Eagles offense — and for Hurts' MVP chances. All the Eagles need to do is win the NFC East and get a top two or three seed for Hurts to be a serious contender for the award.
Here's how he currently stacks up against the favorites for NFL MVP honors:
| Player | MVP odds | Stats |
| Lamar Jackson | +250 | 68.2%, 2,379 pass yd, 20 TD, 2 INT 505 rush yards, 2 TD, 120.7 rate |
| Josh Allen | +300 | 64.1%, 2,001 pass yd, 17 TD, 2 INT 211 rush yards, 3 TD, 105.8 rate |
| Patrick Mahomes | +600 | 68.4%, 1,651 pass yd, 8 TD, 9 INT 139 rush yards, 1 TD, 84.9 rate |
| Jared Goff | +700 | 74.9%, 1,840 pass yd, 14 TD, 4 INT 115.0 rate |
| Jalen Hurts | +1200 | 69.8%, 1,774 pass yd, 10 TD, 4 INT 322 rush yd, 8 TD, 102.4 rate |
| Jayden Daniels | +1200 | 71.5%, 1,945 pass yd, 9 TD, 2 INT 459 rush yd, 4 TD, 106.7 rate |
| Joe Burrow | +1600 | 70.2%, 2,244 pass yd, 20 TD, 4 INT 117 rush yards, 1 TD, 108.1 rate |
*MVP odds via DraftKings
Hurts is on the path – if the numbers continue against bad defenses and the Eagles keep winning – to be a real contender for the award. Jackson, Mahomes and Goff, for example, have a much tougher road ahead by way of stronger opposing defenses down the stretch.
The 18 total touchdowns Hurts is responsible for are close to the pace being set by the top quarterbacks in the league, and his completion percentage is at a career-high.
Has Hurts gone from being overrated to underrated in the span of two seasons?
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