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Just How Much Did Jalen Hurts’ Rushing Production Dip in 2025?
By Sean Barnard
Published:
The Philadelphia Eagles failed to reach their sky-high Super Bowl expectations in 2025, and an offseason full of introspective analysis is already underway.
As is the case in the sport of football, conversation must start with the level of quarterback play, and Jalen Hurts is no exception to this, as the microscope is placed over the 27-year-old after the dismissal of offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
Hurts’ sixth NFL season was his fifth as a starting quarterback. He completed 64.8% of his pass attempts for 3,224 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, and six interceptions, while adding 421 rushing yards on the ground. The offense just never reached full potential, extending well beyond the quarterback play.
But one topic that must be brought up to project forward into next year is Hurts running the ball. The 2025 Super Bowl MVP is a better passer than he is sometimes given credit for, and there are matchups when he can have success using only his arm. However, it is undeniable that a major part of the package that makes him special as a football player is his dual-threat ability. This has become increasingly necessary in the modern NFL, and the Texas native has more than just looked the part over his time in the league.
Jalen Hurts’ Rushing Numbers
Excluding his rookie season, in which Hurts started just four games, he posted career-low rushing marks across the board this season.
Jalen rushed the ball 105 times, or 6.6 attempts per game. Starting in the 2021 season, he tallied 139, 165, 157, 150, and 105 rushing attempts, good for 9.3, 11.0, 9.2, 10.0, and 6.6 rushing attempts per game.
Looking at the yardage, Hurts tallied 784, 760, 605, 630, and 421 total yards during that five-year window, which averaged out to 52, 51, 36, 42, and 26 rushing yards per game.
Where he has been especially dynamic has been around the goal line. The addition of Saquon Barkley changed the rushing equation to an extent, but Hurts has served as the de facto goal-line back even before the inception of the tush push, with empty set QB runs and RPO featuring earlier in his career. With his 6-foot-1 and 223-pound frame, Hurts has 63 rushing touchdowns across his 93 games, in addition to 10 rushing touchdowns in his 10 postseason games.
Starting in 2021, he tallied 10 rushing touchdowns. Hurts then had 13 rushing scores in 2022, 15 in 2023, 14 in 2024, and just eight this season. He finished tied for second in the NFL in rushing scores in 2022 and 2023, as well as fifth in 2024. This season, though, he was tied for 15th in the league.
What Led to the Decrease?
The why for this decrease in rushing production is more difficult to answer. There have been plenty of whispers and reports of Hurts’ not wanting to lean on his legs as frequently. Availability matters, and Hurts puts himself at risk in these types of plays, such as the concussion he sustained against the Commanders in 2024:
Play calling has been a major talking point all season, and this will be changed for next year. There has also been finer pointing regarding who deserves the most blame. The hit pieces are already leaking out as it is C.Y.A. season within the NovaCare walls. Some reports will entirely put the blame on Patullo’s play callingdecisions for this lack of run-game impact for the quarterback. There have also been plenty of whispers about Hurts’ desire to scale back on his rushing workload leading into this year. We will never truly know which voice was the loudest inside these meetings, and this is a situation that falls under the Crossing Broad core principle that more than one thing can be true.
Statistically speaking, the Sportradar data notes that Hurts scrambled 40 times this season after dropping back to pass. That number was 39 in 2024, so not much different. He threw 22 passes away this year and 25 last year, so another negligible change there. The only noticeable change is a 54.7% dropback + scramble rate this year compared to a 47.3% dropback + scramble rate from 2024, which runs concurrent with Saquon’s incredible first-year success.
The data also has Hurts with a 28.1% play action + RPO rate this year, compared to a 33% number last season, which would support the thought that Kellen Moore’s offense was a little less predictable and more dynamic.
Kevin touched a little bit on this in a December story titled Every Jalen Hurts Discussion is Pointless if it Does Not Start with the Fact that he is a Dual-Threat Quarterback, writing this after the Chargers’ loss:
…it seems like detractors are arguing for Jalen Hurts to be something that he never has been and never will be. He threw the ball 40 times the other night and only ran it four times, for eight whopping yards. As we mentioned in a recent story, Hurts is 1-8 in games when he has to throw the ball 39 times or more. Make it 1-9 now. Conversely, he’s 13-0 in the regular season when running the ball 14 times or more, and 3-1 in the playoffs when running it 10 times or more. In both Super Bowls, he had 70+ rushing yards and, not coincidentally, played some of his best football.
To a certain point, it does not matter. The responsibility of Jalen Hurts is to keep the main thing the main thing and do whatever is necessary to maximize the Eagles’ chances of winning. This includes utilizing read options, designed runs, and lining up in tush push formations when the situation requires. The responsibility of the offensive coordinator, as well as Nick Sirianni, is to maximize Hurts’ skillset. This involves keeping these a key part of the game plan on just about an every-week basis.
If a star pitcher has leaned on his fastball for success for the bulk of his career, there is no reason to become a junk baller as he enters his athletic prime. Jalen Hurts has already found his identity as a quarterback, with his impact as a rusher a key part of this. You can evolve as a player without sacrificing what got you to this point.
There are plenty of questions that need to be answered about the future of the Eagles. But maximizing Hurts’ ability with his legs should be an essential part of the goal when having conversations with these potential offensive coordinators. The guy literally holds the record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in the Super Bowl, and it is not a far cry to see him replicate or surpass this. Don’t overthink it and play to your quarterback’s strengths, whether he wants this to be the case or not.
Sean Barnard has covered the Philadelphia 76ers and general Philly Sports for over six years in a variety of roles and for multiple outlets. Currently works as a Content Writer for DraftKings Network, Sixers/NBA Insider for Philadelphia's Fox Sports the Gambler, and co-host of Sixers & Phillies Digest on Youtube. Forever Trusting the Process.