Rams' Jared Verse Defends Jalen Hurts from Critics, 'That Motherf--ker Can Throw'

Amid the seemingly never-ending discourse about Jalen Hurts' ability as a passer, Los Angeles Rams defensive end Jared Verse stepped up to defend the Philadelphia Eagles star.

Speaking to reporters in the aftermath of the Eagles' 33-26 win over the Rams, Verse said "that motherf--ker" can throw when discussing Hurts and the criticism about him running a traditional dropback offense.

It's becoming an annual tradition that fans and analysts spend multiple weeks during the NFL season debating if Hurts is actually a good quarterback or someone being propped up by his surroundings.

Even after a 22-10 win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC wild card game in January, there were stories about how out of sorts Philadelphia's passing attack looked.

Hurts threw for fewer than 200 yards six times in a seven-game period from Week 12 through the divisional round last season.

Even though Hurts lit up the Kansas City Chiefs and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo in Super Bowl 59 by going 17-of-21 for 221 yards with two touchdowns through the air, the discussion about him picked up once again at the start of this season.

When The Athletic's Mike Sando released his quarterback tiers article in August, which polls coaches and executives around the league, Hurts finished tied with C.J. Stroud as the ninth-best player at the position.

The main quote from an offensive coordinator about Hurts labeled him as a "really good player on a team with a bunch of really good players." Another head coach said "the whole plan" against the Eagles is to make Hurts beat you from the pocket.

Hurts threw for a total of 253 yards with no passing touchdowns through the first two games. The narratives were poised to be supercharged coming out of Week 3 against the Rams when he had just 18 passing yards in the first half and Philadelphia trailed 26-7 in the third quarter.

When the Eagles needed to rely on their passing game to bring them back, Hurts went 17-of-24 for 209 yards and three touchdowns. Those three touchdowns came on drives of 79 yards, 87 yards and 91 yards.

On top of that, the Eagles running game with Saquon Barkley hasn't been very effective so far with just 3.3 yards per carry and a 44.8 percent success rate. He averaged 5.8 yards per attempt and a 52.5 percent success rate in 2024.

It's true that Hurts also has the luxury of playing behind a strong offensive line and throwing to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, but anyone who thinks those things aren't important to a quarterback's success are the probably the same ones screaming about the situation Patrick Mahomes is dealing with right now in Kansas City.

There's been ample evidence that Hurts can lead the Eagles to success using his arm. He had one of the best performances ever by a losing quarterback in the Super Bowl loss in the first matchup with the Chiefs during the 2022 season.

Hurts' stats are never going to be as eye-popping as some of the best quarterbacks in the league because that's not the offense the Eagles have designed, but he's proven himself as someone capable of being successful no matter what he is asked to do.