There is no escape from it. Jalen Hurts continues his trend. Since we started this annual activity in 2022, Hurts has done well in every even year and fallen off in every odd year. In the 2022 and 2024 seasons, for example, Hurts reached the Super Bowl, winning Super Bowl MV in 2024. In odd years, like 2023, there was a dramatic drop off, like some would argue the 2025 season was for Hurts.
In 2025, Hurts was ranked 20th in the NFL in quarterback rating (98.5), a drop from his career-best 103.7 in 2024.
He threw for a career-low 7.1 yards per pass, and his 64.8% completion percentage was the second-lowest of his career as a full-time starter beginning in 2021. What cannot not be lost is that Hurts also threw for a career-best 25 touchdowns in 2025, with a learning-on-the-job offensive coordinator and patchwork, ailing offensive line.
When we did this two years ago, Hurts came out 10-7 (he finished 12-3 as a starter and looked good). Three years ago, we had Hurts 16-1 (he went 11-6, though lost six of his last seven starts, and didn’t look good). Four years ago, we had Hurts coming out 4-13 over the 17 games we predicted in the quarterback challenge. It was terribly wrong.
Last year, we had Hurts as the better quarterback in 12 of the Eagles’ 17 games in 2025—and the Eagles finished 11-5 and were knocked out of the Wild Card round of the NFC playoffs by the San Francisco 49ers.
This year, we have Hurts as the better quarterback in a comfortable majority of Eagles’ 17 games.
We with the odds—after all, it is an even year.
The Eagles will be facing two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks, one who defies time and is coming off his best season as a pro, the Los Angeles Rams’ ageless Matt Stafford, and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers, on the downside of his career in what may be possibly be his last season.
Though the Dallas Cowboys are coming off a disappointing and dismal 7-9-1 finish in 2025, Dak Prescott remains the best quarterback in the NFC East, and only one of two, along with Stafford and we are going to put Caleb Williams here, too, who will be better than Hurts this season on paper and their resumes.
The rest of the Eagles’ schedule is filled with a few quarterbacks still searching for an identity like Washington’s Jayden Daniels, Carolina’s Bryce Young, Tennessee’s Cam Ward, the New York Giants’ Jaxson Dart, someone who really bears watching, and Houston’s C.J. Stroud. Then you have your retreads, like Arizona’s Jacoby Brissett and the Indianapolis Colts’ Daniel Jones, and some that are still looking to fulfill expectations, like Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, and some that have gone beyond expectations like Seattle’s Sam Darnold and San Francisco’s Brock Purdy.
Here’s a look at who the Eagles will face in 2026 and a brief summary as to who the better quarterback will be.
2026
Week 1 – Washington Commanders (Sunday, Sept. 13, 4:25 PM, FOX)
Week 8 – at Washington Commanders (Sunday, Nov. 1, 8:20 PM, NBC)
JAYDEN DANIELS
2025 games started: 7
Record as a starter: 2-5
TDs/INTs: 8/3
Pass completions: 114/188 (60.6%)
Yards: 1,262
Passer rating: 88.1
JALEN HURTS
GS: 16
Rec: 11-5
TDs/INTs: 25/6
Pass completions: 294/454 (64.8%)
Yds: 3,224
Passer rating: 98.5
Summary: Daniels was supposed to be the bane for Eagles fans in years to come after the 2024 season. That conjecture came crashing down last season under a barrage of injuries that limited Daniels seven games last year. He was slowed by elbow problems, knee problems, hamstring problems, and went from a quarterback rating of 67.7 in his 2024 rookie season to 44.7 his sophomore season in the NFL. In 2024, he threw for 3,568 yards with 25 touchdowns and ran for 891 yards. The Commanders have to wonder where Daniels is as far as progression. They may find out this season. For now, there is no question who the better quarterback will be in these two games.
Winner: Hurts.
Week 2 – at Tennessee Titans (Sunday, Sept. 20, 1:00 PM, FOX)
CAM WARD
GS: 17
Rec: 3-14
TDs/INTs: 15/7
Pass completions: 323/540 (59.8%)
Yds: 3,169
Passer rating: 80.2
JALEN HURTS
GS: 16
Rec: 11-5
TDs/INTs: 25/6
Pass completions: 294/454 (64.8%)
Yds: 3,224
Passer rating: 98.5
Summary: Ward found out what it was liked being picked No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft. Yes, sure, tons of brand-building facetime come with it, though as soon as that wears off and reality sets in, welcome to the NFL’s version of nightmare city. Ward started at rock bottom. He had little or nothing around him, had to deal with a coaching change, and that uncertainty translated into a 3-14 finish. Ward and the Titans have a long way and some years ahead before they will be competitive with the Eagles.
Winner: Easy,Hurts.
Week 3 – at Chicago Bears (Monday, Sept. 28, 8:15 PM, ESPN)
CALEB WILLIAMS
GS: 17
Rec: 11-6
TDs/INTs: 27/7
Pass completions: 330/568 (58.1%)
Yds: 3,942
Passer rating: 90.1
JALEN HURTS
GS: 16
Rec: 11-5
TDs/INTs: 25/6
Pass completions: 294/454 (64.8%)
Yds: 3,224
Passer rating: 98.5
Summary: The Bears were the most exciting team in the NFL last season. Much of that had to do with Williams, who threw 27 touchdowns against seven interceptions last season in getting the Bears to the NFC Divisional round of the playoffs and leading them to their first NFC North title since 2018 and first postseason victory since 2010. Chicago beat the Eagles up, 24-15, on Black Friday last season. Williams did not play a large role as he did in Chicago’s amazing fourth-quarter comeback against Green Bay on Wild Card Weekend. Besides Stafford and Prescott, Williams on this occasion is the better quarterback based on his command of an offense he will be running for the second-straight year and his exceptional poise under pressure. He can beat you running or passing.
Winner: Williams.
Week 4 – Los Angeles Rams (Sunday, Oct. 4, 1:00 PM, FOX)
MATTHEW STAFFORD
GS: 17
Rec: 12-5
TDs/INTs: 46/8
Pass completions: 388/597 (65.0%)
Yds: 4,707
Passer rating: 109.2
JALEN HURTS
GS: 16
Rec: 11-5
TDs/INTs: 25/6
Pass completions: 294/454 (64.8%)
Yds: 3,224
Passer rating: 98.5
Summary: The reining NFL MVP had the season of his career in 2025, throwing for a career high 46 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. He is 4-4 lifetime against the Eagles throwing 16 touchdowns against two interceptions. He was one Jordan Davis blocked field goal and scoop-and-score play from beating the Eagles last season, and he was the only threat that came near derailing the 2024 Super Bowl champion Eagles. What is more astonishing is that Stafford is doing this in his late-30s. Hurts is a winner and Super Bowl champion. He does not have the passing ability of Stafford.
Winner: Stafford.
Week 5 – Jacksonville Jaguars (Sunday, Oct. 11, 9:30 AM, NFL Network)
TREVOR LAWRENCE
GS: 17
Rec: 13-4
TDs/INTs: 29/12
Pass completions: 341/560 (60.9%)
Yds: 4,007
Passer rating: 91.0
JALEN HURTS
GS: 16
Rec: 11-5
TDs/INTs: 25/6
Pass completions: 294/454 (64.8%)
Yds: 3,224
Passer rating: 98.5
Summary: Lawrence has always looked the part, tall, strong, a strong arm, though seems to fade when the heat gets turned up. He’s been a serviceable pro, although has a 35-42 overall record as a starter, with 98 career touchdown passes and 58 interceptions. In the last five years, Hurts is 56-22, with 104 touchdowns and 41 interceptions. Hurts lifetime is 2-0 against Jacksonville, with 10 fourth-quarter wins and 13 game-winning drives. Lawrence has eight and 13 in those two categories. Lawrence was the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft and Jacksonville did not draft with the expectation of looking for flickers of light—like last year was. So far, Lawrence has not been what he was supposed to be.
Winner: Hurts.
Week 6 – Carolina Panthers (Sunday, Oct. 18, 1:00 PM, CBS)
BRYCE YOUNG
GS: 16
Rec: 8-8
TDs/INTs: 23/11
Pass completions: 304/478 (63.6%)
Yds: 3,011
Passer rating: 87.8
JALEN HURTS
GS: 16
Rec: 11-5
TDs/INTs: 25/6
Pass completions: 294/454 (64.8%)
Yds: 3,224
Passer rating: 98.5
Summary: Young may not be tall enough to see over the steering wheel, but he proved he could play in the NFL. He is coming off a 2025 season in which he threw for a career-high 23 touchdowns, against a career-high 11 interceptions, and a career-best 3,011 yards. He did lead the Panthers to their playoff berth since 2017. As a fulltime starter, Hurts has guided the Eagles to the playoffs in each of the last five years, reaching the Super Bowl in two of the last four years. Hurts did take a dip in 2025, although he guided the Eagles to their second-straight NFC East title, something no NFC East team had done since the Eagles in 2003 and 2004. Young proved he could play in the NFL. Hurts proved doubters wrong on a far larger scale.
Winner: Hurts.
Week 7 – Dallas Cowboys (Monday, Oct. 26, 8:15 PM, ESPN)
Week 12 – at Dallas Cowboys (Thursday, Nov. 26, 4:30 PM, FOX)
DAK PRESCOTT
GS: 17
Rec: 7-9-1
TDs/INTs: 30/10
Pass completions: 404/600 (67.3%)
Yds: 4,552
Passer rating: 99.5
JALEN HURTS
GS: 16
Rec: 11-5
TDs/INTs: 25/6
Pass completions: 294/454 (64.8%)
Yds: 3,224
Passer rating: 98.5
Summary: Prescott is 10-5 lifetime against the Eagles, throwing for 26 touchdowns against just nine interceptions. He threw 30 touchdowns and tossed for 4,552 yards, which included leading the Cowboys to a 24-21 victory last November in a game in which the Eagles blew a 21-0 lead. Prescott wins without the kind of team Hurts has around him. He reads defenses well, has a strong arm and plays under control. His only drawback may actually have nothing to do with him, but meddlesome owner and general manager Jerry Jones.
Winner: Prescott.
Week 9 – New York Giants (Sunday, Nov. 8, 1:00 PM, FOX)
Week 18 – At New York Giants (TBD)
JAXSON DART
GS: 12
Rec: 4-8
TDs/INTs: 15/5
Pass completions: 216/339 (63.7%)
Yds: 2,272
Passer rating: 91.7
JALEN HURTS
GS: 16
Rec: 11-5
TDs/INTs: 25/6
Pass completions: 294/454 (64.8%)
Yds: 3,224
Passer rating: 98.5
Summary: If there is a time to get at Dart, this season would be the time to pounce, because it seems the Giants, under Dart, are only going to keep getting better. Maybe the Giants catch a little of the mojo left by the Knicks. Dart beat the Eagles once last year and lost to the Eagles. In his short timeframe, he’s thrown for more yards against the Eagles (a combined 388) than any team he faced in his rookie season. He threw for 2,272 yards and 15 TDs, while rushing for 487 yards and nine touchdowns. He could beat you various ways—and is averse to risk trying. Hurts still carries experience and poise over Dart, whose one glaring drawback is his propensity to put himself in danger when he scrambles. It’s a lesson Hurts has learned.
Winner: Hurts.
…
Week 10 – BYE WEEK
…
Week 11 – Pittsburgh Steelers (Sunday, Nov. 22, 4:25 PM, CBS)
AARON RODGERS
GS: 16
Rec: 10-6
TDs/INTs: 24/7
Pass completions: 327/498 (65.7%)
Yds: 3,322
Passer rating: 94.8
JALEN HURTS
GS: 16
Rec: 11-5
TDs/INTs: 25/6
Pass completions: 294/454 (64.8%)
Yds: 3,224
Passer rating: 98.5
Summary: A few years back, Rodgers, sure. But not now.
Winner: Hurts.
Week 13 – at Arizona Cardinals (Sunday, Dec. 6, 4:05 PM, FOX)
JACOBY BRISSETT
GS: 12
Rec: 1-11
TDs/INTs: 23/8
Pass completions: 315/485 (64.9%)
Yds: 3,366
Passer rating: 94.1
JALEN HURTS
GS: 16
Rec: 11-5
TDs/INTs: 25/6
Pass completions: 294/454 (64.8%)
Yds: 3,224
Passer rating: 98.5
Summary: Who knows if Brissett will still be starting by December, or if third-round pick Carson Beck will have taken over by then. In 12 starts last year, Brissett went 1-11 and averaged 280.5 passing yards, which was deceiving since had a below-average 41.2 QBR. Hurts and the Eagles pound the Cardinals in early December.
Winner: Hurts.
Week 14 – Indianapolis Colts (Sunday, Dec. 13, 1:00 PM, FOX)
DANIEL JONES
GS: 13
Rec: 8-5
TDs/INTs: 19/8
Pass completions: 261/384 (68.0%)
Yds: 3,101
Passer rating: 100.2
JALEN HURTS
GS: 16
Rec: 11-5
TDs/INTs: 25/6
Pass completions: 294/454 (64.8%)
Yds: 3,224
Passer rating: 98.5
Summary: Jones should be back from the torn Achilles he suffered last December. Up until the injury, Jones was doing well. He had thrown 19 TDs against a mere eight interceptions and threw for 3,101 yards. He could show moments of being dynamic. But he’s no Hurts—and poses no threat to the Eagles. He’s a journeyman who former Eagles’ coach and current Colts head coach Shane Steichen performed some magic on.
Winner: Hurts.
Week 15 – Seattle Seahawks (Saturday, Dec. 19, 5:00 PM, FOX)
SAM DARNOLD
GS: 17
Rec: 14-3
TDs/INTs: 25/14
Pass completions: 323/477 (67.7%)
Yds: 4,048
Passer rating: 99.1
JALEN HURTS
GS: 16
Rec: 11-5
TDs/INTs: 25/6
Pass completions: 294/454 (64.8%)
Yds: 3,224
Passer rating: 98.5
Summary: The Seahawks’ defense won the 2025 Super Bowl, Darnold made sure he did not get in the way. It is interesting how Darnold engineered consecutive 14-win seasons and still has problems when it comes to receiving respect. He still lacks it. Maybe it is because he finished 19th in QBR, and because the Seahawks jumped teams early last year and hung on in the end. He does not possess the physical skills or high football IQ Hurts does.
Winner: Hurts.
Week 16 – Houston Texans (Thursday, Dec. 24, 8:15 PM, Amazon Prime Video)
C.J. STROUD
GS: 14
Rec: 9-5
TDs/INTs: 19/8
Pass completions: 273/423 (64.5%)
Yds: 3,041
Passer rating: 92.9
JALEN HURTS
GS: 16
Rec: 11-5
TDs/INTs: 25/6
Pass completions: 294/454 (64.8%)
Yds: 3,224
Passer rating: 98.5
Summary: Who exactly Stroud is may still be in question.A few years ago, he looked like the next coming of John Elway.Now, it seems, he is slightly above ordinary on the quarterback greatness scale. Stroud still threw 3,041 yards in 2025, then imploded in a 28-16 Divisional Round playoff to eventual AFC champion New England, throwing four interceptions, sacked three times with a QBR of 28.
Winner: Hurts.
Week 17 – at San Francisco 49ers (Sunday, Jan. 3, 8:20 PM, NBC)
BROCK PURDY
GS: 9
Rec: 7-2
TDs/INTs: 20/10
Pass completions: 197/284 (69.4%)
Yds: 2,167
Passer rating: 100.5
JALEN HURTS
GS: 16
Rec: 11-5
TDs/INTs: 25/6
Pass completions: 294/454 (64.8%)
Yds: 3,224
Passer rating: 98.5
Summary: Purdy is not asked to do a whole lot in Kyle Shanahan’s system. He battled through some injuries last season, though came back to go 7-2 and completed 294/454 (64.8%) of his passes. Purdy and the Niners did beat the Eagles—at the Linc—in the Wild Card round of the playoffs last season, although they may not completely fall on Hurts. Purdy is a game manager, and despite what some may think in Philadelphia, Hurts is quite a bit more than that.
Winner: Hurts.
FINAL TALLY
Hurts is the better QB in 13 of the Eagles’ 17 games in 2026.
