Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts have started the 2022 season on an historic pace, showcasing both quarterbacks are the early front runners for the league's Most Valuable Player award. Both Jackson and Hurts are coming off strong games in Week 3 to separate themselves from the pack in the early going.
Jackson finished 18 of 29 for 218 yards with four touchdowns to just one interception in the Baltimore Ravens' 37-26 victory over the New England Patriots. He also finished with 11 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown in the win. Sunday was Jackson's first game with four pass touchdowns and one rush touchdown and he became the second quarterback in NFL history to have four pass touchdowns, one rush touchdown, and 100 rushing yards in a game -- joining Randall Cunningham in 1990.
Hurts finished 22 of 35 for 340 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions in the Philadelphia Eagles' 24-8 win over the Washington Commanders. Most of Hurts' damage was done in the first half as he threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns in the first half -- becoming the first quarterback to throw for that many yards and touchdowns in the first half of a game since Donovan McNabb in 2008 vs. the St. Louis Rams.
Those impressive performances set the stage for history-making starts through three games for Jackson and Hurts:
Lamar Jackson
- Jackson is the first player in the Super Bowl era with 10-plus passing touchdowns and 100-plus rushing yards in the first three games of a season.
- Jackson leads the NFL in touchdown passes (10) and passer rating (119.0) while ranking third in yards per attempt (8.5).
- Jackson is tied for fourth in the NFL in rushing (243 yards) while leading the league in yards per carry (9.3).
- Jackson is the first quarterback to have back-to-back 100-yard rushing games twice in his career. He has two 100-yard rushing yard games and consecutive games with 100 rushing yards and a touchdown.
- Jackson is the first player in NFL history with three-plus passing touchdowns and 100-plus rushing yards twice in the same season. He has accomplished the feat in back-to-back games.
- Jackson is the only player with a 75-yard rushing touchdown and a 75-yard passing touchdown in the same game (Week 2 vs. Dolphins)
Jalen Hurts
- Hurts is the first player in NFL history to average 300 passing yards per game and 50 rushing yards per game in the first three games of a season.
- Hurts is the 3rd player since 2000 with 250 passing plus rushing yards in the first half of three straight games, along with Aaron Rodgers (2014) and Patrick Mahomes (2019).
- Hurts leads the league in 10-plus yard plays (45) and is tied for first in 20-plus yards plays (13).
- Hurts leads the NFL in yards per attempt (9.35) and yards per completion (13.88).
- Hurts is second in the league in first downs per completion (41.8%) and second in yards after catch after completion (6.56). He's also second in the league in rushing touchdowns (three).
- Hurts is second in total offense (pass yards + rush yards - yards lost from sacks) with 1,057.
- Hurts is fifth in passer rating (106.5) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (4.0).
The Eagles are 3-0 and have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL because of Hurts while the Ravens are 2-1 and Jackson has more touchdowns has more touchdowns than 30 teams (not counting his own). Both quarterbacks are leading the way in the early MVP race and don't appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
