Eagles QB Jalen Hurts' most concerning stat is tied for 34th in NFL with Jets backup Tyrod Taylor

Billy Heyen

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts' most concerning stat is tied for 34th in NFL with Jets backup Tyrod Taylor image

Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles are 2-0.

That doesn't mean there isn't at least a bit of reason for concern with what Hurts has done so far.

And the most concerning stat is quite terrible.

Hurts has completed two passes of 10-plus air yards this season. That's tied for 34th in the NFL, with Jets backup QB Tyrod Taylor, according to CBS Sports analyst Mike Renner.

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There are a couple of obvious things to note here.

First, for the uninitiated, air yards measure how far down field the ball travels on a given pass. It's meant to see if QBs are taking shots on deeper passes, or if they're getting a lot of yardage thanks to after catch running by their wide receivers.

Second, as you're surely aware, there are 32 teams in the NFL. So for a starting quarterback to rank 34th in a QB stat after two weeks is not good at all.

And to be tied with a backup, that's just as unencouraging. 

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Taylor only played a bit on Sunday, coming on in the fourth quarter of the Jets' blowout loss to the Bills after starter Justin Fields got a head injury. And just in that time, he had a pair of completions down the field.

Hurts' inability to complete passes down the field has totally neutralized the early contributions of A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith, the star receiver duo in Philly.

It seems like it should still pick up. Why would Hurts be an entirely different QB this season?

But until it does, there's at least slight reason for concern. In the early going, the Eagles' passing game isn't quite right.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle