Comparing Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields to Jalen Hurts
While Jalen Hurts is now an MVP frontrunner and the Philadelphia Eagles are on their way to a playoff run for the second straight year, there were still plenty of people doubting him as recently as this offseason. However, his progression, combined with the offense evolving around him now has the Eagles as dangerous as ever. There can be parallels to the Chicago Bears here.
Justin Fields is slowly taking similar steps, and with a big offseason that involves building up the line and adding playmakers, you could start to see Fields take the progression that Hurts did. It is interesting to see how Fields and Hurts compare through two seasons before Hurts took his 2022 step forward.
Below are their raw metrics. They are not all that different, with Hurts having 57 more attempts.
| Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Rush | Rush | Rush | Rush | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Rate | Lng | Int | Sk | Y/A | AY/A | NY/A | ANY/A | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A |
| 1 | Justin Fields | 315 | 523 | 60.2 | 3766 | 20 | 79.1 | 64 | 20 | 76 | 7.2 | 6.24 | 5.45 | 4.61 | 200 | 1325 | 10 | 6.6 |
| 2 | Jalen Hurts | 342 | 580 | 59.0 | 4205 | 22 | 84.7 | 91 | 13 | 39 | 7.3 | 7.00 | 6.46 | 6.22 | 202 | 1138 | 13 | 5.6 |
Fields is very likely to have 57 attempts in the next four weeks, so the numbers will have Fields throwing more attempts soon. Still, They are within one percent in completion rate. They have about the same yards per attempt. The huge differences come from sacks and turnovers. That is why the NY/A, and ANY/A favor Fields so greatly.
You can see the per-game comparison below.
| Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Rush | Rush | Rush | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int | Sk | Yds | Att | Yds | TD |
| 1 | Justin Fields | 13.1 | 21.8 | 156.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 20.9 | 8.3 | 55.2 | 0.4 |
| 2 | Jalen Hurts | 11.4 | 19.3 | 140.2 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 7.0 | 6.7 | 37.9 | 0.4 |
Justin Fields throws about two more passes but has 16 more yards. Still, 0.4 interceptions per game, and 1.9 more sacks per game kill Fields. However, he does average about 18 more rushing yards per game.
34 more yards combined is not worth the huge increase in sacks and picks. Still, if he brings those down, the comparison is dead on, if not leaning to Justin Fields.
Below is an advanced stats breakdown, thanks to rbsdm.com.
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The EPA + CPOE composite shows a combination of pass accuracy and play-making ability. The two are very close, and Fields leads a bit in EPA/Play, which is expected points added. Hurts lead in CPOE, which is completion percent over expected.
Fields is a bit less accurate but also throws the ball a bit further down the field. Either way, when you combine the two, it is a slight edge to Hurts, but you can certainly see the comparison.
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When you see Jalen Hurts and Philadelphia Eagles take on the Chicago Bears Sunday, keep an eye on the differences between Hurts and Fields. It may open your eyes that Justin Fields is not as far away from having that breakout year as Jalen Hurts is having this season.