Jalen Hurts Sets an Eagles Franchise Record

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts returned to the starting lineup for the first time since suffering an ankle injury against the New York Giants on Nov. 28. Hurts finished the night completing 20-of-26 passes for 296 yards with a touchdown, while rushing eight times for 38 yards and two scores as the Eagles defeated the Washington Football Team 27-17 on Tuesday. He set a new franchise record for most single-season rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 10, passing Michael Vick (2010).

Hurts also joined Cam Newton (2011) and Kyler Murray (2020) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history with 700+ rushing yards and nine-plus rushing touchdowns in a season.

The 23-year-old signal caller got off to a slow start in this matchup and was seen getting an earful from head coach Nick Sirianni on the sideline after committing his second turnover of the game, but Hurts took tough coaching on the chin and responded.

“He played a great football game — one of the best I’ve seen him play,” Sirianni said of Hurts. "Jalen is able to take tough coaching. He responded great and played a great game.”

Hurts capped off an 11-play, 77-yard drive with a one-yard quarterback sneak tie the game up at 10 heading into halftime. The former Alabama quarterback orchestrated a six-play, 75-yard drive to start the second half and added another one-yard touchdown run to give the Eagles their first lead of the night. Hurts then delivered a 19-yard strike to Greg Ward for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

“I told the guys we had to go in with the mentality of not being denied,” Hurts said. “We had so many things go wrong early in the game, but we overcame it.”

Philadelphia has found a healthy balance between run and pass in their offense. The Eagles finished with 238 yards rushing, becoming the first team with 175-plus yards on the ground in seven consecutive games since the 1985 Chicago Bears. The effective run game has opened up things in the pass game. Hurts went 12-of-15 for 216 yards and a touchdown off of play-action against Washington.

The Eagles remain alive the NFC playoff picture as they are a three-way tie with the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints for the No. 7 seed.  Philadelphia will have have a quick turnaround and host the Giants on Sunday, Dec. 26.