Jalen Hurts vs. Joe Burrow, the Rematch: Who ya got? Today? Tomorrow? Forever?

The last time Joe Burrow faced Jalen Hurts, Burrow’s team won by 35 points and went on to win an NCAA championship. Burrow emerged from those playoffs a matinee idol, with his boy-band hair and its come-hither forelock and his James Dean insouciance, famously sitting cross-legged on a couch in full uniform, pads, and cleats, puffing on a thick cigar. Of course he was going first in that spring’s NFL draft.

Hurts? He went back to Oklahoma, posted videos of himself squatting the equivalent of a Harley-Davidson Cruiser, and went 53rd.

They face each other in earnest on Sunday for the first time in almost five years (Hurts ran two running plays against the Bengals as a rookie). Each has prospered in the interim; Pro Bowl nods, Super Bowl appearances, wealth, and fame beyond most peoples’ dreams.

The long-term potential for greatness of that 2020 draft class simply is staggering. Tampa Bay tackle Tristan Wirfs, now-Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen (he was taken 28th overall by the Ravens), a flock of stud receivers, like Burrow’s teammate, Tee Higgins, not to mention CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson, and everybody’s favorite, Jalen Reagor.

Sitting atop the class: Hurts and Burrow. Or, if you prefer, Burrow and Hurts. And while they meet as starters for the first time as professionals Sunday in Cincinnati, there’s a chance they might meet in a much bigger game in the not-so-distant future.

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The Eagles and Bengals entered the season with top-five odds to represent their conference in Super Bowl LIX, according to BetMGM and Fanatics. The Birds are 4-2 and the Bengals are 3-4, but both are still pretty good. Each team was rated so highly largely because of the presence of Hurts and Burrow.

Each team has gone to the Super Bowl with its current head coach and quarterback; the Bengals, with Zac Taylor after the 2021 season, and the Eagles, with Nick Sirianni after 2022 (in fact, the Bengals lost the AFC title game in 2022 to the Kansas City Chiefs, who beat the Birds two weeks later, so both coaches and both QBs lost to Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo).

The obvious discussion revolves around which quarterback drafted in 2020 is better, and/or more valuable and/or has the higher ceiling. Is it Burrow, who won the 2019 Heisman Trophy and national championship at LSU before becoming the No. 1 overall pick? Or is it Hurts, who‘s overachieved beyond anyone’s expectations? The answer, of course, is Justin Herbert, but he plays for the Los Angeles Chargers, and therefore might never be relevant, since the Chargers have won one playoff game in the last decade, and they’ve only played three. So, let’s focus on the quarterbacks who matter.

Who would you rather have today? Tomorrow? Forever?

Either answer is fine for any scenario. Me? I’d take Hurts today and tomorrow, but I’d take Burrow forever.

Hurts landed in a perfect situation for him. In 2020, as he sat behind Carson Wentz, former Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, a former quarterback and QB coach, and Pederson’s QB coach, Press Taylor, refined Hurts’ mechanics and footwork and taught him the basics of a pro-style offense.

By the end of his rookie season, Hurts was starting. He was operating behind an elite offensive line, led by future Hall of Fame center Jason Kelce, who held his hand for four seasons before retiring. In 2021, the Eagles added Sirianni and receiver DeVonta Smith and made the playoffs. The next year, they added receiver A.J. Brown in running back Miles Sanders’ contract year and won the NFC title, and, in 2023, they bolted out to a 10-1 start before the league caught up with Hurts and began to exploit his weaknesses. In the middle of 2021, Sirianni relinquished play-calling, the Eagles became a run-first team with Hurts as its fulcrum, and have amassed 36 wins since Game 7 of the 2021 season. Only the Chiefs have more wins since that point, and only Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and Chicago/Pittsburgh’s Justin Fields has more rushing yards as a QB since 2021.

That’s today.

Now bolstered by the presence of Saquon Barkley, the best all-purpose back in the NFL, Hurts should helm the best offense in the NFL for the next three seasons, the length of Barkley’s contract. The offensive line remains elite. Smith and Brown are in their primes; only Miami’s Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle compare as a tandem. Hurts has limitations, but the scheme and personnel were fitted to his abilities to minimize those limitations, which will maximize the effectiveness of the attack.

That’s tomorrow.

Forever? That’s a different discussion.

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The chief criticism of Hurts is that he processes defenses too slowly. This might one day change, but it hasn’t, and he’s in his fifth season. Combined with a slow release, moderate arm strength, and a height issue — he’s a 6-foot-1 QB throwing over 6-6 linemen — and even Hurts’ staunchest defenders have to admit that he has issues. His speed, strength, instincts, and courage compensate for these issues. At least, they do for now. Hurts has been injured in each of his four seasons, be it a hamstring, shoulder, knee, or ankle. All were injuries related to him running.

History is unkind to running quarterbacks, especially those who don’t develop into excellent all-around passers. Just ask Randall Cunningham, Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair, or Steve Young. They get about 110 peak-performance games before their bodies give out. Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, and Peyton and Eli Manning, preserved by rules that protect the quarterback, grew old in the pocket.

Similarly, Burrow does not run. He doesn’t need to. Burrow has 14 touchdowns compared to two interceptions and ranks No. 4 in the league with a 70.4 completion percentage, exactly the number with which he led the NFL in 2021. This should come as no surprise since Burrow is the most accurate passer in NFL history.

At 68.2%, he doesn’t lead by much: Brees is 0.5 percentage points behind. He doesn’t lead a particularly distinguished top 10: Jimmy Garoppolo (?) ranks third. He hasn’t done it very long: among the top 10, only Tua Tagovailoa has played fewer games (55) than Burrow (59).

But Burrow is lethally accurate, partly because he’s a fast processor and a savant at reading and anticipating defenses. He’s also 6-4, has a quick release, has balletic footwork in the pocket, senses pressure like a ninja, and throws passes with painful velocity and magical touch.

Like Hurts, Burrow has been injured, mainly his hands and knees. On the other hand, Burrow did not and does not expose himself to injury the way Hurts does — and, it seems, the way Hurts always will.

Neither Hurts nor Burrow is Patrick Mahomes, who looks like he’ll be the best quarterback in history. Neither of them compares to Jackson, the most talented quarterback alive. Neither is Josh Allen or Herbert, whose arms should be registered weapons, and neither is Rodgers, who is the most gifted and the weirdest passer in history.

But Hurts and Burrow are excellent at what they do, and on Sunday, they’ll do it against each other for the first time in a long time. In the moment, Hurts does his thing for his team better than Burrow does his thing for his team.

So, give me Hurts today, and give me Hurts tomorrow.

But give me Joe Burrow forever.

The Eagles play in Week 8 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Paycor Stadium.