Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, and Tua Tagovailoa. These three quarterbacks represent the three favorites for the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. Each player has their own merits for the award. Tua has battled early-career injuries to put in some remarkable football and Mahomes has firmly supplanted himself as the best quarterback in the league.
While both quarterbacks have played exceptional football to start the season, Jalen Hurts is absolutely an MVP candidate through 11 weeks. At 9-1, Hurts has shown that he is the key reason for Philadelphia’s success.
Jalen Hurts lifts the Eagles to victory
Sunday’s 17-16 win over the Colts was another spoke on the wheel. Philadelphia’s offense was bad all game. Their top weapons kept making key mistakes, the offensive line kept shooting themselves in the foot, and the coaching staff was poor.
And yet, Hurts’ still found a way to drag his team to the win. Those are games and victories that franchise quarterbacks make. It’s games that cement an MVP candidacy.
Mahomes and Tua both have had great years as well. Tua is undefeated as a starter while Mahomes leads the league in touchdowns and yards. But again, numbers don’t tell the whole story. With over 400 rushing yards, Hurts’ dual-threat skills make him a top-five player in the NFL this season. He’s simply doing more for the Eagles than the Dolphins are asking from Tua.
Eagles could learn from the Chiefs
In Mahomes, the Chiefs do the one thing that the Eagles coaching staff has yet to do: trust their quarterback.
It’s the one thing that COULD keep Hurts from winning the award. The Eagles’ coaching staff was very bad on Sunday, specifically on the offensive side. Questionable in-game decisions, a lack of adjustments, and just bizarre play calls made the game much harder than it needed to be. On the game-winning drive, the Eagles ran nine straight times with four straight going to Boston Scott.
It was weird but it shows the lack of trust the Eagles have in Hurts as a passer. They don’t need to either. Hurts has repeatedly shown to make the smart decision as a passer in the red zone. It’s time the Eagles’ offensive staff allows Hurts to win games with his arm and not just his legs.
Jalen Hurts is playing like the NFL MVP. While the race is certainly close with Mahomes on his heels, Hurts’ ability to win the award will come down to if the coaching staff will actually allow him to do so.
Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire
