Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles have lost three consecutive games and are in a rut. And the skid has Dan “Big Cat’ Katz asking a question: is Hurts this generation’s Russell Wilson?
“Hurts is a very good quarterback. Jalen Hurts is just a Russell Wilson 2.0,” Katz said on Tuesday’s edition of “Wake Up Barstool.” “That’s how I’ve thought about him for a while now, where he’s a very good quarterback who needs a good defense … Russell Wilson was a very good quarterback. It’s not saying that Jalen Hurts is bad. It’s okay to say that there are levels to this thing where Jalen Hurts is a very good quarterback. You can win a Super Bowl with Jalen Hurts. He has a set of skills that’s dynamic and very difficult to defend when he comes to running the football, which I think he should do more of. But if you asked me [would I rather have] ‘Jalen Hurts or Josh Allen’ or ‘Jalen Hurts on Patrick Mahomes,’ it’s not a debate.
“There are a few guys in the league who can elevate a roster that might not be perfect. Jalen Hurts is a perfect example of a guy who, if you put him on a very good roster, he can do what needs to be done to win a Super Bowl.”
The Seattle Seahawks started Wilson out of the gate in his 2012 rookie campaign, with them going 11-5 and advancing to the NFC divisional round. Then, Seattle won Super Bowl XLVIII in 2013 and reached the Super Bowl again in 2014.
This success came against the backdrop of a ferocious defense that featured star defensive backs Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor and Byron Maxwell, defensive ends Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril and linebackers Bobby Wagner and Bruce Irvin, among others. The Seahawks were first in the NFL in opponent points from 2012-15 and opponent total yards from 2013-14.
On the other hand, Wilson, who has made 202 career starts, is fifth in NFL history among qualified quarterbacks with a 99.3 passer rating, 12th with 353 passing touchdowns and 16th with 46,966 passing yards. A nine-time Pro Bowler with the Seahawks, Wilson led Seattle to double-digit winning seasons in eight of 11 seasons, posted a passer rating north of 100 in seven seasons and threw for 30-plus touchdowns in five seasons. He also rushed for 500.7 yards per season from 2012-20.
Since being traded by Seattle following the 2021 season, Wilson has played for three teams. He had a two-year stint with the Denver Broncos (2022-23), which ended with Wilson being benched for the final two games of 2023 and released in the offseason. He then had a one-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2024), followed by signing a one-year deal with the New York Giants, who benched Wilson after three games this season for rookie Jaxson Dart. Wilson’s teams are a combined 17-27 with him as the starting quarterback since 2022.
“If you look at Russell Wilson’s career arc, I kind of see the same thing coming from Jalen Hurts,” Katz said. “You spend a lot of money on him, you then have to give up money to other places, and you’re like, ‘you do it.’ He might have a couple years where he has to do a lot of it, and he’s thrilled, but is it winning football? I don’t know if it’s winning football.”
Hurts, who has been Philadelphia’s primary starting quarterback, barring injury, since the final four games of the 2020 regular season, has averaged 3,401.5 passing yards, 19.8 passing touchdowns, 8.8 interceptions and a 94.8 passer rating per season across his four complete seasons as a starter (2021-24), while completing 65.4% of his passes. Hurts, a two-time Pro Bowler who signed a five-year, $255 million extension with the Eagles after the 2022 season, also rushed for 694.8 yards and 13 touchdowns per season over that span.
The Eagles reached the Super Bowl in 2022 with Hurts under center and then won Super Bowl LIX in 2024, with Hurts earning MVP honors for their 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. In the regular season, Philadelphia’s defense was first in the NFL in opponent total yards (278.4 per game) and second in opponent points (17.8 per game); the Eagles were also second in opponent total yards when they reached Super Bowl LVII.
This season, Hurts boasts a 96.0 passer rating, while completing 64.7% of his passes. In Philadelphia’s Monday night overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Hurts threw four interceptions.
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