“I respect this grind, I respect the process, and I respect what it takes to be great.” Said Jalen Hurts once. Well, after missing out on action for a couple of weeks, he made a comeback for the Eagles against the Packers. He had a concussion injury and probably that was the reason behind his rusty performance. All being said, the next challenge is coming from the Los Angeles Ram in the Divisional round and the eyes will be on him. As the focus is on the quarterback, an NFL analyst has some revelations and advice for the quarterback.

NFL analyst Chase Daniel had his fair share of opinion backed with stats. Talking on The Facility‘s channel on Jan 16, Daniel remarked, “Keys that are outside of your physical realm.” Daniel explained what he should focus on. “Block out the outside noise,” he added. This is true as Hurts himself refers to public opinion and media coverage as “rat poison”. The analyst also made it clear that “Jalen Hurts is a winner” no doubt about that, but the playoff career stats indicate something else.

Daniel had this discussion after Hurts’ performance against the Packers. In that game, Hurts was rusty and had a sub-par game as per his standards. He completed only 13 of 21 passes for 131 yards, though he did throw two touchdowns; there is room for improvement as the Eagles are inching closer to the Super Bowl. Let’s pop up his stats chart for a better understanding.

Can Hurts lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl win?

Contrary to popular belief, the playoff numbers in wins are underwhelming for a player like Jalen Hurts. He has 3 wins and losses each in the playoffs and there’s a surprising difference. Daniel explained with a chart. He went on with his analysis, quoting, “Passing yards per game, 271, that’s a lot.”

In the playoffs, Hurts averaged 135 passing yards per game in winning games. Daniel added, “In wins, you’re throwing for half of the amount of yards” while comparing pass yards per game in won games to losses. There could be a possibility of his prioritizing efficiency. This is what Daniel meant when he said “outside of your physical realm”. He added, “Just go out and play the plan presented by your offensive coordinator. Find a way to make plays and win the game.” There could be a possibility of Hurts prioritizing efficiency and minimizing mistakes over racking up big passing numbers. Also, he tends to focus on shorter passes. This results in fewer passing yards but higher completion rates and fewer turnovers. These could be the reasons behind his numbers dropping off.

Looking at what Daniel wants to say, maybe he wants Hurts to not be under pressure due to the occasion. But can he lead them to the Super Bowl? All being said, we’re not far away from seeing Hurts taking on the Rams. the Eagles are now two wins away from reaching the Super Bowl in New Orleans. But the next challenge comes with Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay-led men. Also, snowy Philadelphia is not going to help either. So any rustiness has no room at this stage of the season. Looking at the history, the Eagles lead the head-to-head series against the Los Angeles Rams with 24 wins to 20, including one tie. In the regular season, the Eagles secured a 37-20 victory over the Rams in week 12.

But fans know the QB can make a comeback at any stage. Remember when Hurts made an NFL record for the most consecutive victories by a quarterback after trailing by 10 or more points? Or that 2021 season where he used to do fourth-quarter comebacks. So count him out at your peril.