Why Jalen Hurts rushing less makes Philadelphia even more dangerous

In the last two weeks of the NFL season, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is seeing the game a little bit differently. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Hurts ran just two times. Four days later, against Houston, he only ran nine times. And on the season, he has 88 carries for 326 yards. As of late, Hurts […]

Ian Kayanja

Nov 9, 2022 12:41 PM EST

In the last two weeks of the NFL season, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is seeing the game a little bit differently.

Against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Hurts ran just two times. Four days later, against Houston, he only ran nine times. And on the season, he has 88 carries for 326 yards.

As of late, Hurts is running less. And it is actually a good thing for Philadelphia's offense. It means he's developing as a legit NFL passer.

He's completing 68.2 percent of his passes this season. In comparison to last season, he's roughly five percentage points better (63.8). As a result, his need to run the ball isn't as pressing as it was last season and early into 2022.

“I saw it coming,” said Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen on Tuesday as the Eagles ramp up preparations to host the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football.

“It started towards the end of last year. You saw the progression going up and then you saw it through training camp and then you saw it starting the season. The more you play and the more you see, I think at any position, you're going to grow as a football player. That's what he's doing.”

On pace for history

Currently, Hurts has thrown for 2,042 yards. And he is on pace to become the second quarterback in Eagles history to throw for more than 4,000 yards. The other quarterback to do so was Carson Wentz, who did it in 2019.

“It [helps] when you're throwing it the way he's throwing it and being able to see it,” said Steichen. “The way we're throwing it right now has been pretty good. We're play action, we're drop back, doing a lot of different things with him.

“I think the more you play and the more you see, you're going to become a better player. That's what's happening with him right now. It's continuing to show up. I know we have a lot of football left. We're only eight games in, we have nine left in the regular season, but we want to keep seeing that growth with him every week.”

With Hurts rushing less, the offense has clearly opened up a little more.