Eric Hartline
The season is still very young for the Eagles. Had Saquon Barkley caught a fourth-quarter pass from Jalen Hurts in Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons — whether you think that was a smart play call or not — the Eagles would be 2-0.
With that said, The 33rd Team released a chart that plots every quarterback through the first two weeks of the season based on their average air yards per attempt and average time to throw. It suggests that through the first two games, Hurts has held the ball longer than any quarterback in the league, and the payoff for doing so hasn't been great.
What should be your reaction to this chart? Really, just that it's something to monitor as the season goes along. It's worth remembering a few things in this case.
1. These are the first two games for Hurts in new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore's system.
2. The Eagles were without A.J. Brown in Week 2, and their wide receiver depth behind DeVonta Smith is pretty thin. Jahan Dotson had one catch for six yards in a Week 2 game that screamed out for him to emerge.
3. Hurts was particularly effective as a rusher in Week 2, which isn't necessarily considered in this chart. Through the first two weeks of the season, he's rushed for 118 yards.
At the same time, Hurts has three interceptions through two games, at least a pair of which were pretty bad. A fourth-quarter throw across his body into the end zone with the Eagles leading the Green Bay Packers in the fourth quarter is still flabbergasting to watch back more than 10 days later.
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Hurts had 15 interceptions in 2023 after being picked off 15 times combined between 2021 and 2022. It's not particularly encouraging to see him have three interceptions thrown through two games this season.
As far as the air yards per attempt, Hurts is at 6.03 so far this season, which isn't a drastic dropoff from the 6.77 mark he posted a year ago. However, two seasons ago when Hurts finished runner-up in NFL MVP voting, his air yards per attempt was at 8.42.
Again, it's two weeks, and Hurts affects the game in more ways than through the air. But the passing attack does need to begin to improve, particularly when you're about to face a New Orleans Saints team that's looked like the Greatest Show on Turf St. Louis Rams through the first two weeks of the season.
