Jalen Hurts helped lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl win last season, but he was far from the brightest star on the team's talented roster. The quarterback's Week 1 performance on Thursday night may be an indicator that Hurts is ready to take a big step forward in 2025.
At first glance, Hurts' stat line in his team's 24-20 victory over the Cowboys looks pretty pedestrian. Throwing for 152 yards is not going to cement his spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame any time soon. Dallas' defense also kept Hurts' running ability in check, as illustrated by his total of eight rushing yards on the night.
But A closer look at Hurts' performance puts his play in a much brighter light. He did complete over 82% of his passes in the narrow win; that's a healthy increase over the 68% completion rate he posted in 2024. He won't continue to complete passes at that rate all season long, but it's a step in the right direction for the former Oklahoma star.
The most telling positive stat for Hurts was that he finished with a +15.2% completion percentage over expectation in Week 1. That's an exceptional number in a game that was so tight. The Eagles need Hurts to be a highly efficient trigger man for their offense to operate at the highest level possible. He did that against Dallas, which provides him with a nice platform to build on as the regular season progresses.
Jalen Hurts had a +15.2% completion percentage above expectation on his passes against the #Cowboys, via @NextGenStats.
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) September 6, 2025
More than 3x higher than any QB so far in Week 1. pic.twitter.com/cPA6ibvwLb
Jalen Hurts' growth as a passer is the final piece of the Eagles puzzle
The next step in Hurts' progression is to prove that he can get the ball to his most dangerous weapons at a higher clip. A.J. Brown only caught one ball against the Cowboys. DeVonta Smith caught three balls but only managed 16 yards receiving. Dallas Goedert, Saquon Barkley and Jahan Dotson were the three most productive receivers in Hurts' first game of the year. That is not a sustainable model of success for Philadelphia against opponents who focus in more on their short passing game.
But that is a problem for a future week. Hurts took a big step towards shedding his label as a game manager in his team's Week 1 win, distributing the ball on time and with accuracy. That progress could spell trouble for other NFL teams looking to knock Philadelphia off their Super Bowl perch this season. If Hurts finds a way to level up at the game's most important position it could lay the foundation for an Eagles' dynasty.