Jalen Hurts had far from his best stuff in the Philadelphia Eagles' 34-29 win over the Green Bay Packers in Brazil. But did Hurts clearly have a worse performance than Daniel Jones of the rival New York Giants in Week 1 of the NFL season?
C’mon, man.
Pro Football Focus released its player grades for all 32 teams coming out of opening weekend, and the results should spark some good fodder among fans of the NFC East. Hurts received a career-worst grade of 29.8 after leading the Eagles to victory in South America. Jones, meanwhile, received a grade of 57.2 following his dismal performance in the Giants’ 28-6 loss at home to the Minnesota Vikings.
With all due respect to PFF, which offers fans an excellent service with grades on every player from the quarterback to the 53rd man on the roster, the math isn’t quite mathing here.
More: PFF’s lowest-graded Eagles on defense in Week 1. A complete dud for Nakobe Dean?
Yes, Hurts and the entire Eagles offense had to rebound from a brutal first quarter. Hurts’ two interceptions — one thrown from his own end zone, the other intercepted in the opposing end zone — are on him and can’t happen.
But essentially playing on ice skates, with players dropping left and right on a surface more suitable for the Brazilian version of football, the Eagles and their quarterback settled into the game and made enough big plays to leave South America with a W.
Hurts notably picked the Packers apart against the blitz, which was a major point of emphasis for the Eagles this offseason:
Best passer rating against the blitz -- Week 1
— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) September 9, 2024
1. Jalen Hurts -- 158.3
1. Sam Darnold -- 158.3
3. Baker Mayfield -- 152.6
4. Josh Allen -- 143.1
5. C.J. Stroud -- 136.6#Eagles #Vikings #Buccaneers #Bills #Texans
Jones was laughably bad in his first game back from last year’s season-ending knee injury. According to Next Gen Stats, he recorded a -17.3% CPOE (completion percentage over expectation) on 49 dropbacks against the Vikings. That was the worst mark among NFL quarterbacks in Week 1. His -22.5 EPA (expected points added) was the second-worst mark, and his -0.46 EPA per dropback was third worst.
Then, of course, there’s this stat that’s been doing laps on social media:
Daniel Jones has thrown THREE PICK-SIXES and only TWO TD's since signing his 4-year, $160M deal 😬 pic.twitter.com/RSZG3EUjW4
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 9, 2024
All-22 breakdowns, advanced stats, the naked eye… there’s no justification for grading Jones higher than Hurts in Week 1, never mind by almost double. And it's worth pointing out that the Eagles grades were all over the place. Running back Kenneth Gainwell received a higher grade (63.9) in the game than Saquon Barkley (59.7), who went off for 132 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns in a scintillating Eagles debut.
Dallas Cowboys EDGE rusher Micah Parsons, of all people, has Barkley as his early favorite for NFL Offensive Player of the Year coming out of last Friday’s game, but Barkley can’t get a better grade than his backup?
C’mon, man.
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