The NFL MVP race is heating up and the only thing we know for sure is that Eagles star quarterback Jalen Hurts is firmly in the mix for the award.
The reigning Player of the Week, Hurts was honored after his dominant performance against Green Bay last Sunday night, snagging his first career honor.
Hurts gained 157 yards on the ground against the Packers, Breaking Michael Vick’s single-game rushing record set against the Giants in December 2010.
The third-year quarterback also completed 16 of 28 passes for 153 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Eagles raised their record to 10-1 and Hurts became the third quarterback in NFL history – joining Vick and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson – to run for 150-plus yards and throw for 150-plus yards in the same game and the first to do so while throwing a pair of touchdown passes.
Hurts was 29 of 39 passing for 380 yards and three touchdowns becoming the first Eagle to accomplish the feat since Michael Vick in 2010.
With the NFL experts undecided at this point, let’s break down and compare the current favorites.
1. Jalen Hurts
On the season Hurts has 2,940 yards passing, and 609 yards rushing with 29 touchdowns on the year (20 passing, nine rushing).
Hurts ranks 4th in the NFL in total yards (3,549), behind the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes (4,091), Bills’ Josh Allen (3,987), and Bengals’ Joe Burrow (3,670).
He also has the 4th-most total touchdowns (29) in the league, trailing only Mahomes (32), Allen (30), and Burrow (30) in that category.
Since Week 8, Jalen Hurts leads the NFL in total touchdowns (17), passing TDs (14), and passer rating (118.8).
In that span, Hurts has completed 69.4% of his passes, including a league-leading 9 TDs of 20+ yards, with only 1 INT over 173 attempts (0.6%).
Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes has logged 3,808 yards passing, 283 rushing yards, and 32 touchdowns (30 passing, two rushing).
The Chiefs quarterback the most passing yards and passing touchdowns while also having one of the NFL’s best passer ratings despite an overhauled skilled group.
He’s also the league leader in Expected Points Added per dropback, per TruMedia.
Mahomes lost Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins, and yet his 54 completions of 20-plus yards lead the NFL per Dane Brugler.
Joe Burrow
Burrow completed 25 of 31 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns while rushing 11 times for 46 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s win over the Chiefs.
He has a looming matchup with Josh Allen and the Bills after Jalen Hurts faces the Cowboys.
Burrow is fourth in EPA per dropback and fifth in passer rating (103.7) this season.
Burrow has 3,446 passing yards (2nd), 25 passing touchdowns (2nd), 8 interceptions, and a QBR of 59.0.
Josh Allen
Allen has battled an elbow injury while leading Buffalo to three road wins in a 12-day span.
Buffalo is the top seed in the AFC currently, and Allen is the biggest reason with 3,406 yards passing, 25 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
Allen completed 22 of 33 passes for 223 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the Bills’ 24-10 win over the Patriots on Thursday night. He also rushed eight times for 20 yards and lost a fumble.
Tua Tagovailoa
The Dolphins are 8-1 in the games he started and finished, but he’s coming off a miserable performance against San Francisco.
He leads the NFL in overall passer rating (112.0) and ranks second in EPA per dropback.
Tua has 2,859 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions.
Justin Jefferson
Jefferson has 88 catches for 1,277 yards and six touchdowns.
The Vikings star was bottled up by the strong Jets’ secondary last week, logging seven receptions on 11 targets for 45 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s 27-22 win. He also chipped in two rushes for 11 yards.
