National Football League

Eagles looking better than the Cowboys in NFC East

Published Jul. 5, 2022 4:16 p.m. ET

Despite getting a quick boot from the playoffs, the Philadelphia Eagles' 2021-22 season is viewed by many as an outright success.

The squad got stomped by Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round, but even getting to the playoffs came as a pleasant surprise for the Philly faithful.

Their postseason push came in large part from Jalen Hurts, who carried the team through a late-season stretch that included six wins in its last seven contests to slide into the playoffs.

Hurts became one of two QBs to throw for at least 3,000 yards (3,144) and rush for at least 750 (784). He also ranked second among quarterbacks in rushing yards per game (52.3) and fourth in broken tackle rate (6.5%).

Hurts' committed work ethic has Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni fully confident that he can guide his crew to a second consecutive playoff appearance in 2022. And according to Pro Football Focus, the Eagles' roster is top-10 in terms of talent.

The outlet wrote: "If they don’t have the best offensive line in the NFL entering the 2022 season, the Eagles are near the top of the list, [but] safety remains a potential weak point on defense. While the Eagles have done a good job of bolstering this roster over the past year, they’ll go only as far as Jalen Hurts takes them."

Eagles ranked as most talented team in NFC East

Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe discuss whether Jalen Hurts and the Eagles are a threat to the Cowboys.

For avid Cowboys fan Skip Bayless, Hurts poses an immense threat to their NFC East hopes. Dallas ranked 16th in PFF's roster rankings.

"The point is, can my quarterback [Dak Prescott] take it up a level from last year when he made $75 million and just crumbled down the stretch of the season?" he said of Dallas Tuesday on "Undisputed." "Will Zeke [Elliott] on a do-or-die year? The Eagles' roster is just better than the Cowboys.'

"It's like the margin between Jalen Hurts and Dak Prescott was shrinking all year long. Dak was way up there to start [the season], and Jalen Hurts just started getting a little better, and a little better and a little better. Then the Eagles make the playoffs. You don't think that created momentum in that franchise?"

According to Bayless, though pure throwing mechanics may not be Hurts' strong suit, he's just got that "it" factor.

"However far intangibles will take an NFL quarterback, he'll go that far," Bayless stressed. "He's got high intangibles, and leadership and playmaking, not pure throwing intangibles. I don't see a Pro Bowl in the future, but I just have respect for him. He scares me to death. He made throw after throw, after throw at Oklahoma, and obviously he can mix in some runs. They say pound-for-pound, he's the strongest guy in the weight room."

Shannon Sharpe, on the other hand, wasn't as sold on Hurts' potential to guide Philly to utmost success.

"Games are going to come down to points where you're going to have to make throws," Sharpe said.

"In both championship games, quarterbacks made throws. You're not always going to win by 14, 17, 21. It's going to be a nip-and-tuck ball game. And the difference in that ball game is a second, third-down completion. Can Jalen Hurts consistently do that at a level that top quarterbacks can do?

"You've got to show me. If Jalen Hurts comes out this year and throws the ball with consistency and accuracy, I'll come out and say ‘I was wrong, I misjudged it.’ Until then, no."

Philadelphia is ranked ahead of Dallas on paper heading into the 2022-23 campaign, but both teams enter at 0-0. Can Philly make good on its projections?