Giants vs Eagles NFL Divisional Round: QB matchup | Daniel Jones vs Jalen Hurts
The top seed Eagles will host NFC East rival Giants in the NFC Divisional Playoffs when MVP contender Jalen Hurts takes on Daniel Jones.
Before Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts injured his shoulder and missed two games at the end of the season, he was up there in the MVP conversation. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was never and is still not in that conversation, but he is coming off of his best performance ever when he faces the Eagles in the playoffs this week.
Jones put up 400 total offensive yards and two touchdowns in the Giants’ 31-24 win over the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round last week, shutting up the critics, at least for now.
The Eagles are the NFC’s top seed and thus earned the first-round bye week. They’ll be coming into the Divisional game against the Giants fresh, rested, and ready to play.
When the two quarterbacks meet on Saturday, it will be the first NFL playoff game in history in which both starting quarterbacks had at least 600 rushing yards in the regular season.
Daniel Jones vs Jalen Hurts: How do they compare?
This may come as a shock to you, but Jalen Hurts beats Daniel Jones in nearly every statistic. (I’m kidding, the only shocking part of that statement is the “nearly” part.) Jones hasn’t had a bad season by any means. It’s just that he took longer to have the good part of his season, while Hurts has been on fire since Week 1.
Hurts finished the regular season with a 67% completion rate, 3,701 passing yards, 760 rushing yards, 35 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Jones finished the season with a 67% completion rate, 3,205 passing yards, 708 rushing yards, 22 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Where Jones bodes well here is in running the ball. In passing, however, Hurts has the clear edge. Hurts ranks 10th in passing yards and 11th in passing touchdowns while Jones is 15th in passing yards and tied for 21st in passing touchdowns.
Let’s talk about the weapons they have around them. Hurts has two very talented receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Jones has one talented running back in Saquon Barkley. Unfortunately for Jones, he doesn’t have any reliable or consistent receivers he can count on. Richie James finished the season as the Giants’ lead receiver with just 57 catches and Darius Slayton finished with the most yards with 724. The Eagles defense allowed just 22 passing touchdowns but had 17 interceptions in the regular season.
When the two met during the regular season, the Eagles and Hurts got the best of the Giants and Jones, both times. The Week 14 game was a bit more telling, as Week 18 had Hurts just back from an injury and the Eagles doing the bare minimum to get the win and earn the top seed. Against the Giants, Hurts has a 62.1 completion percentage, 446 passing yards, and two touchdowns. Against the Eagles, Jones has a 66.7 completion percentage, 169 passing yards, and one touchdown.
Despite the fact that Hurts is coming back from an injury, he has the edge over Jones. Jones had an incredible performance last week and he’ll be riding that wave when he meets the Eagles on Saturday, but taking them on in Philadelphia is a whole different ball game. Hurts is making his second NFL playoff start this weekend and is continuing his quest to make his original critics eat their words.
The Giants vs Eagles game kicks off this Saturday evening at 8:15 p.m. ET at Lincoln Financial Field.