Tom Brady: Jalen Hurts ‘Playing at a Very, Very, Very High Level'

Tom Brady: Jalen Hurts 'playing at a very, very, very high level' originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Jalen Hurts put on a show Sunday night against the Packers on the national stage of Sunday Night Football. Anyone who follows football who wasn’t aware of the bust-out season he’s having was put on notice.

You can count the greatest quarterback in NFL history officially on that list.

Hurts was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his historic performance in the Eagles’ 40-33 win over the Packers. He became the first player in NFL history to rush for 150 yards, pass for 150 yards, and throw two touchdowns in a regular season game. It was a signature performance in what has been an MVP-caliber year for the third-year player.

Buccaneers QB and 7-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady had plenty to say about the Eagles’ signal-caller on his SiriusXM podcast, Let’s Go with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray.

“I’ve never rushed for more than a hundred yards in a season, I think. I mean, he did it for 150 yards in a game and made it look relatively easy… [H]e just has a great skill set to be able to, you know, you gotta have so much spatial awareness too, because when you run those guys are coming at you and they’re coming fast.”

“[W]hen you have his athleticism, but also he knows exactly when to get down, he knows exactly when to get out of bounds. He starts to run, he stops and throws the ball. So his ability to make plays in the run game is very impressive. And 157 yards for anybody is incredible. And then to have the ability to pass the football like he does as well, that’s why that team is so successful. He’s playing at a very, very, very high level and they’re a tough team to stop. And even if you think you’ve got him stopped for a lot of the game, like the Colts had him a few weeks ago, it comes down to a drive at the end of the game and he’s got a little more energy left in the tank and he makes a game-winning run there at the end for a touchdown.”

First of all, TB, don’t sell yourself short. You’ve had three 100-yard seasons running the football, the last coming in 2011, when Hurts was in eighth grade. Second, this is pretty high praise coming from the undisputed best quarterback to ever set foot on a football field. You can tell he’s well-aware of the kind of season Hurts is having. He knows.

You can bet Brady certainly has a different take on Hurts now than he did ten months ago, when Brady’s Bucs sprinted out to a 31-0 lead in the Wild Card round of the playoffs on the way to a 31-15 win.

There’s a real possibility of a postseason rematch in a couple of months. Tampa leads the terrible NFC South with a 5-6 record, making them the 4-seed in the NFC playoffs. If all the home teams advance in the Wild Card round, and the Eagles hold on to the top seed, the matchup would be set. Hurts/Brady II.

And if the Eagles win, maybe, just maybe, Hurts will earn himself a handshake from TB12 afterward. But don’t hold your breath.