makes his homecoming against the on "Thursday Night Football", as he was born in Houston and grew up about 25 miles from NRG Stadium. He will do so as an MVP candidate for the 7-0 , drawing high praise from Texans head coach Lovie Smith."He's maybe the most improved ball player in the league this year," Smith told reporters Tuesday. "What he can do, there's a lot of good quarterbacks that can throw it, but he brings so many more things to the table." PHI QB #1 CMP%67.0YDs1799TD10INT2YD/Att8.49 Hurts is making the leap to a franchise quarterback in a make-or-break season. He ranks fifth in pa ser rating this year, right behind , after ranking 22nd last year, right behind . Only one player has seen a bigger jump in his pa ser rating from last season: Hurts' former Alabama teammate .Hurts' biggest improvement has been from the inside the pocket. Garrett Celek Jersey It's no longer as simple to game plan against him, Smith explained. "I think for us, it's better keeping him in the pocket," Smith said. "In the past that's what we've all said. I don't know if that's nece sarily the case. Just know right now, he's been pretty accurate in and out of the pocket."Hurts' pa ser rating has increased by +23.1 points inside the pocket from last season, again the second-biggest gain in the league behind Tagovailoa. He's top three in the NFL in completion rate, yards per attempt and pa ser rating inside the pocket.20212022Completion percentage66%72%Yards per attempt7.39.2Pa ser rating87.6110.7His pocket play was on full display in a 35-13 win over the in Week 8. All of his career-high four touchdown pa ses came from inside the pocket, where he posted a near perfect 146.4 pa ser rating.He's taking full advantage of Philadelphia's supporting cast, as evidenced by two beautiful deep balls down the right sideline for touchdowns to . Hurts' pa ser rating from the pocket is 121.9 targeting Brown this year, the fourth-best among any duo in the NFL (min. 40 targets).It hasn't just been the addition of Brown, though. His pa ser rating targeting everyone else on those throws is 107.1, still good enough to be fifth in the league. So what's changed besides a new No. 1 wide receiver? Hurts has made strides with accuracy, decision-making and ball security on these throws.Accuracy: Hurts is more than just "pretty accurate" inside the pocket, as Smith described. He has the lowest off-target rate on throws inside the pocket in the entire league this year (4.6%).Decision-making: There's a lot le s hero ball and a lot more quick decision-making, as Hurts' average pa s length and time to throw have both been trimmed significantly this year. He's gone from 29th to 15th in average time to throw in the pocket. He's not always just one read and throw, either. He showcased his ability to scan the field and deliver a strike under pre sure in one of the Eagles' few high-leverage situations this season in a win over the in Week 5.Ball security: The accuracy and decision-making both play into Hurts' third area of improvement in the pocket. He's been the leading force behind an Eagles team that has controlled the ball this season, leading the NFL in time of po se sion and fewest turnovers. Hurts has 291 combined pa s and rush attempts this season, but just two turnovers.Hurts' pocket play was his mi sing piece of the puzzle. Combine that improvement with his scrambling ability and athleticism that makes the Eagles' zone-read option and RPO offense go, and you get a player who is third in MVP odds for a Super Bowl contender. He's also off to a historic start.Hurts is the fifth player since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger to total 300 yards per game (pa sing and rushing) and two or fewer turnovers through seven games.2022 Jalen Hurts2019 2017 2016 2015 He's a more complete player for perhaps the most complete team in the NFL. If he's going to help his team take the next step, there are still other improvements to make. He currently operates with one of the cleanest pockets in the NFL, as the Eagles have the top pa s-blocking grade in the league, per Pro Football Focus. He'll face tougher pa s rushes in January, though, and he can also expect defensive coordinators to pour out the kitchen sink in the form of more exotic blitz packages to create that pre sure. He ranks 23rd in pa ser rating when pre sured this year and 26th when the defense sends extra pa s rushers. The next step may not be far behind, though, as three of his four touchdown pa ses against Robbie Gould Jersey the Steelers last week were against their blitz.If he keeps that up, it'll be more than just Houston who has a problem this week.
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