As the end of the regular season rapidly approaches, the Eagles are still looking to find consistent success on the offensive side of the ball. While much of the focus on the Eagles offensive woes have centered around the struggles with underperformance of star reciever A.J. Brown and running back Saquon Barkley, more attention has recently been paid to Hurts’s decreased production as a runner this year.
Through 12 games this season, Hurts has carried the ball 84 times for 329 yards and eight touchdowns. While he has more carries than any other quarterback this year, he is on track for his lowest rushing totals since he became the Eagles’ permanent starter in 2021.
Multiple reporters have suggested that Hurts has wanted to run the ball less this season, including because of recent injuries he’s sustained while running the football.
When asked if these reports were true, Hurts asked back, “If you don’t mind me asking, how did we come to that conclusion or rationalize that?”
After the reporter clarified that there have been reports about him wanting to run the ball less, Hurts said, “I’ve always been focused on doing whatever it takes to win and I’ve always put my energy on trying to bring the game-plan and the strategy that week to life, so I’ll continue to do that.”
Earlier this week, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was also asked if Hurts’s rushing numbers have dipped because he wants to run less.
Sirianni replied, “We’re always thinking about how to protect Jalen and make sure that he is healthy for the long haul. Different plans have different reasons of why you run different things, and like I said, we will do everything we need to do to help this offense get rolling. Jalen’s talented in running the football. He is talented in also holding the backside when he doesn’t run the football, so a lot of different ways to do that. Again, always looking at everything and how we can improve.”
Neither Hurts nor Sirianni outwardly confirmed or deny that the sixth-year quarterback wants to run the ball less. Hurts running the ball less is far from the primary issue with the Eagles offense, but when he does use his legs it can certainly help create more opportunities for Barkley or in the passing game. It’s understandable if he wants to protect himself more, but with the current state of the offense, they could use any edge they could get.
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