Us Minnesota Viking fans that are still watching Championship Weekend, have two very good QB matchups. Patrick Mahomes, the next GOAT, vs Josh Allen is going to be epic and a lot of fun. It will be the QB matchup everyone talks about. However, it is overshadowing a very intriguing matchup in the 1st game. Jalen Hurts v Jayden Daniels is going to be awesome. I am certainly biased in this conversation, as I am a big fan of Daniels and I am not a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. I do admire Hurts determination over his career.
Jayden Daniels
The 2nd overall pick in 2024’s draft, Daniels was expected to be good. I don’t know if anyone expected him to be this good this fast. He is clutch in the 4th quarter with four comebacks in the regular season and another in the Wild Card round against Tampa Bay. Only Patrick Mahomes had more 4th quarter comebacks this year (some ref aided). Daniels is 46 for 66 with 567 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs. The passer rating of 122.9 against Detroit was video game like. He’s the leader the Washington Commanders have lacked for 30+ years.
Jayden Daniels has a 97.0 PFF Grade UNDER PRESSURE during the playoffs
Ice in his veins pic.twitter.com/14hGLK8Uk8
— PFF (@PFF) January 21, 2025
Jalen Hurts
Jalen Hurts sneaks up on a lot of people. I also liked Hurts a lot coming out of the draft. I was surprised he fell to the 2nd round. Hurts knows how to put his team in a position to win. He’s 46-20 in his first 5 seasons in the league. Hurts’ AY/A this year was 3rd to Lamar Jackson and Jared Goff. Not only is he an efficient passer, he is part of the best short yardage package the NFL has ever seen. Hurts has 52 rushing TDs in the last 4 seasons with all four 10+ TD years. He has Saquon Barkley rushing for over 2,000 yards to help, so his bulk passing stats aren’t great. Hurts knows how to take a step back and provide what the team needs.
Jalen Hurts is 12-0 in his last 12 games he’s started and finished.
– 29 TDs
– 3 turnovers
– 113.1 passer rating pic.twitter.com/5aMZ4h0Qf8— Brenden Deeg (@BrendenDeeg_) January 20, 2025
Long term, I think the answer is easily Jayden Daniels. He has more upside and seems to already have some of the same leadership qualities that make Hurts good. However, Jalen Hurts has been there. He’s been benched in a National Championship game and still stood by his coach and team. He’s taken his team to the Super Bowl and felt like he lost the game for them. Hurts knows how to bounce back. I won’t be shocked to see a strong performance from Daniels again on Sunday, but I think the surrounding cast will help Hurts.
