Stephen A. Smith thinks the criticism of Jalen Hurts is fair. He just doesn’t buy the idea that the Eagles quarterback has forgotten how to win when it matters.
On Thursday’s edition of “First Take,” Smith took aim at the uneven version of Hurts that showed up last season, saying the quarterback’s 2025 discourse has to start with what people actually saw on the field.
“You won a Super Bowl championship a couple of years ago. It wasn't last year," Smith said.
"Last year we watched 17 games played. We watched you be a shell of what you were at times compared to what we saw, particularly in key moments, in the season before.
And because of that, you know, when people are critical of what they're seeing, it's fair because you're calling it like you see it.
"Now, when you characterize him and act like he's somebody that's incapable of doing something when you know better, when you've seen him show up in clutch moments, when you've seen him produce in big moments. That's where it's foul. This brother can play the game of football."
Smith’s point was simple: Hurts may not live in the top tier of NFL passers when it comes to weekly accuracy or raw explosiveness, but reducing him to regular-season numbers alone misses the bigger picture. In Smith’s view, Hurts has already shown enough in pressure moments to separate legitimate critique from overreach.
That debate has only gotten louder this offseason. The Athletic’s annual QB Tiers survey, put together by Mike Sando through interviews with dozens of general managers, assistant GMs, head coaches and coordinators, placed Hurts 17th among NFL starters. In that ranking, he came in behind quarterbacks such as Justin Herbert, Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold.
The skepticism in Sando’s report centered on how much Hurts’ production depends on the talent around him. Some anonymous evaluators questioned whether his game can keep holding up if the supporting cast changes, while one coach pointed to the amount of deep “go-ball” throws he makes to receivers like A.J.
Brown and DeVonta Smith. That same report also noted that Hurts is now working through a sixth offensive coordinator since Philadelphia drafted him in 2020.
Still, the Eagles’ front office has been quick to defend him. General manager Howie Roseman, speaking with sportscaster Kay Adams, praised Hurts for handling all that turnover without making noise.
“He’s been thrown a lot of offensive coordinators at him, and he hasn’t blinked,” Roseman said. “The guy continuously overcomes adversity, never complains and puts his head down and goes to work.”
Hurts’ numbers from last season show why the conversation remains split. He completed 64.8% of his passes for 3,224 yards, threw a career-high 25 touchdowns against six interceptions and added eight rushing scores in 16 starts. That was enough to earn his third Pro Bowl selection, even as the larger discussion around his play kept drifting between doubt and defense.
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