Philadelphia’s love affair with its Eagles burns hotter than a summer tailgate grill. After hoisting the Lombardi trophy again this February, the city rides a wave of justified pride. Jalen Hurts, the stoic field general, delivered that championship. But a peculiar offseason hum persists.
A dissonant note beneath the victory parade anthems. Why does the Super Bowl MVP find himself constantly defending his place among the elite?
Fox Sports’ Danny Parkins dropped a blunt assessment on The Herd. He crowned the Eagles the best roster alive. Then he slotted Hurts at QB10. Boom! They take Philly Twitter like a Fourth of July fuse. "Here's everything I've said publicly and will say again about Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles," Parkins began.
"They are the best organization in the NFL, the best offensive line in the NFL with the best running back in the NFL, with a top three wide receiver duo in the NFL, with a top three defensive tackle in the NFL, with a top linebacker and a top young secondary and a top general manager," the Fox veteran added. He praised the line, the backs, the pass rush, and the front office. Yet he refused to hand Hurts the top-five label.
Jalen Hurts and the Eye-Test War
"Do I also have to believe that you have a top five quarterback?" He wondered. "I think Jalen Hurts is the 10th-best quarterback in the NFL, who is clutch, is a great leader, and is unbelievably smart, but it's like I have to say that he's a top-five quarterback. If they are really that, well, then it's the best team in the history of the NFL. And I don't think anybody looks at Philly that way." Ouch!
The math, he claims, would make these Birds the greatest NFL team ever. And he doesn’t buy that. This echoes ESPN’s recent quarterback rankings, which placed Hurts ninth. He landed behind rookie Jayden Daniels and veterans like Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff. Does draft pedigree haunt Hurts?
"I'm just focused on being the best that I can be... Purely focused on being the best I can be," Hurts told reporters during the camp. Remember, he was the fifth quarterback taken in 2020, a second-round pick. Only non-first-rounder in that top 10. Tom Brady’s shadow looms large over every underestimated signal-caller. Hurts, like Brady, simply wins. His career record?
A staggering 89-20. That includes seven playoff appearances and four title game trips in seven seasons starting. He’s the only Eagle quarterback to start multiple Super Bowls. Numbers scream winner, yet the doubt lingers. What fuels this persistent skepticism?
Beyond the Box Score
Perhaps it’s the ever-changing systems. Hurts has navigated 10 different playcallers since 2016. Only once in his NFL career did he have the same coordinator for consecutive seasons (Shane Steichen, 2021-2022). That 2022 season? He was the MVP runner-up. The instability would sink many, but Hurts thrives.
He owns an NFL record 10 postseason rushing touchdowns and is the only player ever to have 10+ passing and 10+ rushing touchdowns in the playoffs. His clutch gene is undeniable. Since Week 5 last year, he posted a league-leading 132.5 passer rating in the fourth quarter, with as many total touchdowns as incompletions (eight) in that critical frame. Pure, icy-veined execution. But where does Hurts truly rank?
Parkins sees a very good quarterback elevated by an elite roster. Others see a transcendent winner unfairly penalized for the talent around him. His own coach, Nick Sirianni, blasted the "along for the ride" narrative earlier this summer: “I think that’s bulls---... He plays the most important position in all of sports." Former Eagle receiver
Jordan Matthews, who caught passes from Hurts, offers a compelling counterpoint to critics like Cam Newton (who omitted Hurts entirely from his top 10). Matthews declared on July 24th: “If I had a young quarterback... it would be Jalen Hurts... Jalen’s a finisher. That’s why I love watching him play.”
For Matthews, Hurts embodies the leadership and consistency young quarterbacks should emulate. He ranked him firmly among the league's best after Patrick Mahomes. Ultimately, Hurts embodies his own words from his $255 million contract signing: "Money is nice. Championships are better."
While analysts debate his spot on their lists, Hurts focuses on the only list that matters—the win column. He’s proven doubters wrong at every turn, from Alabama benching to Super Bowl MVP. Parkins may keep his QB10 label. Vegas already lists the Eagles as favorites for Super Bowl LX. At the whistle, labels fade. And Hurts keeps score on the left column.
-1748714743-q80.webp "Virat Kohli not an all-time great? Ricky Ponting makes big 'numbers have dropped' claim")
