Tramel's ScissorTales: Why Jalen Hurts might surpass Kyler Murray as an NFL quarterback

The OU quarterback debate of the National Football League — Kyler Murray or Baker Mayfield? — has taken on a new twist.

Mayfield is out. Jalen Hurts is in.

Hurts put on a remarkable display of quarterbacking Monday night as his Philadelphia Eagles thrashed the Vikings 24-7, and Philly now is one of just six unbeaten NFL teams after only two weeks of the season.

Hurts completed 26 of 31 passes for 333 yards, one touchdown and one (not his fault) interception. Hurts also rushed for 57 yards, including a highlight-reel scramble of 26 yards for the second of his two TDs.

It’s time to reassess Hurts as an NFL quarterback. He seemed lacking in the skills of Mayfield or Murray, Heisman Trophy winners and overall No. 1 picks. Hurts seemed a major stretch for the Eagles when picked 53^rd overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.

But Mayfield’s career has stagnated, now with the Carolina Panthers, and Murray remains a mercurial talent with a mysterious disconnect from the Arizona Cardinals.

Going forward, most people still would choose Murray if picking from the Sooner club. But I might go with Hurts, because of his remarkable improvement and his obvious leadership abilities.

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"I wouldn't say I'm surprised. I've seen the growth," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said of Hurts’ emergence. “We talk about this so much with Jalen. Why is he going to continue to reach his ceiling? Because he's tough, he has high football character and he loves football. He's going to reach his ceiling. It's fun watching him grow.”

We saw at OU that Hurts was lacking in false bravado. He was steely-eyed, stout of heart and seemed as serious as any Sooner I can ever remember.

His NFL prospects seemed limited by the aerial requirements of professional quarterbacking, but there was no doubt that Hurts was capable of commanding an NFL huddle or an NFL locker room.

And now the aerial seems part of Hurts’ package. His deep-ball throws against Minnesota – no pushover – had to have the rest of the league alarmed, that a quarterback with a linebacker’s aggression and a strong safety’s body suddenly was passing with aplomb.

Hurts was considered an inferior thrower despite starting two years at Alabama and being the Southeastern Conference offensive player of the year in 2016 as a true freshman. In 2018, Hurts was beaten out by Tua Tagovailoa and spent that season on the Bama bench.

But Hurts rallied Bama to victory in the SEC Championship Game when Tagovailoa was hurt and became an Alabama folk hero even when he decided to transfer. Hurts landed at the Lincoln Riley School of Quarterback Reclamation.

Hurts quarterbacked the Sooners to the College Football Playoff and finished second in the Heisman voting.

Hurts wasn’t as endearing as Mayfield or as spectacular as Murray, and while Sooner Nation was quite appreciative of his mercenary year in Norman, few thought of him as a franchise NFL quarterback.

But the Eagles gave Hurts four starts as a rookie, then Philadelphia went 8-7 with Hurts last season and made the playoffs, though the Eagles were blitzed 31-15 by Tampa Bay.

Hurts has not been a run-first quarterback in the NFL, but he’s been a run-best QB. Hurts’ passing a year ago was sub-standard – 61.3 completion percentage, with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Hurts hurt teams with his legs as much as his arm.

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But that has changed in 2022. Hurts’ game against Minnesota was not just the best of his career. It was the best of many a career. In the NFL’s 102-year history, Hurts was the first player with an 80-plus completion percentage, 300-plus passing yards and two rushing TDs in a single game.

“He's put in so much work,” Sirianni said. “He is further into his process, and we're talking about getting better every day and he lives that.

“He's one of our of captains, one of our leaders, and he lives the theory of getting better every day. That's why you're seeing major improvements, it's because of the type of person and the type of player he is.”

That’s not the vibe we’ve gotten from Arizona, where Murray has been a marvel with the Cardinals but also has quarterbacked in controversy. Arizona can be a dysfunctional franchise, so we can be hesitant about embracing the leaks that came out about Murray. The lack of leadership skills and the lack of commitment to film study, even to the point of including requirements in his new contract.

And Mayfield, considered a messiah in Cleveland only two years ago, was banished from the Browns, who preferred the sordid Deshaun Watson. Mayfield is trying to resurrect his career with the lowly Panthers, who are 0-2, with Mayfield completing just 53.1 percent of his passes.

Meanwhile, Hurts is one of the breakout stories of the NFL 2022.

He is not the athletic marvel that Murray is. Even though Hurts is quite a runner, he never will produce a play like the 23-second, 2-point conversion run that Murray pulled off against the Raiders last Sunday, pulling Arizona within 23-15 in the fourth quarter of a game the Cardinals won 29-23 in overtime.

But Hurts might be the best of the OU quarterbacks, and even if he’s not, he might still get there.

Let’s get to the predictions:

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Berry Tramel's NFL Week 3 predictions

Steelers at Browns: Pittsburgh 20-17. I was bullish on Mitch Trubisky as the Steeler quarterback. But Trubisky has been sluggish through two starts, and Pittsburgh is lucky to be 1-1.

Texans at Bears: Chicago 18-13. Second-year Bears quarterback Justin Fields is off to a lackluster start. In the old days, QBs usually got some time to develop. Not so much anymore.

Raiders at Titans: Las Vegas 27-24. The loser goes to 0-3 and officially enter crisis mode.

Chiefs at Colts: Kansas City 38-10. Indianapolis entered crisis mode last week, when it was shut out by the Jaguars 24-0. The Colts’ 0-1-1 start isn’t a death sentence – Indy could be leading the American Conference South by Sunday night – but the Colts have a ton of problems.

Bills at Dolphins: Buffalo 32-28. Miami’s got the oranges, but Buffalo’s got the Juice, and I don’t mean O.J.

Lions at Vikings: Minnesota 24-23. Detroit is a feel-good story. Beat Washington. Almost beat Philadelphia. The Lions-Vikings winner will be tied for first in the National Conference North.

Ravens at Patriots: Baltimore 23-17. Baltimore squandered a 35-14 fourth-quarter lead last week against Miami. That’s probably not good news for New England.

Bengals at Jetropolitans: Cincinnati 31-16. The Bengals are off to an 0-2 start. Lose to the Jets, and the defending AFC champs will spend all season trudging uphill.

Eaglers at Commanders: Philadelphia 24-21. Carson Wentz was the Eagles’ franchise quarterback from 2016 through most of 2020. This is his first game against the Eagles.

Saints at Panthers: New Orleans 23-21. Jameis Winston threw three interceptions last week against Tampa Bay, a game New Orleans could have won. But Mayfield hasn’t been much better; quarterbacking Carolina is a tough gig.

Jaguars at Chargers: Los Angeles 20-17. Will Justin Herbert recover from a rib injury and quarterback against Jacksonville? If not, the Jags could get to 2-1.

Rams at Cardinals: Los Angeles 34-24. The angst-filled off-season in the Valley of the Sun seems long ago after the Murray-directed comeback against Las Vegas.

Falcons at Seahawks: Seattle 26-15. The Seahawks are favored to reach 2-1 in what many thought was a tanking season.

Packers at Buccaneers: Tampa Bay 25-20. Aaron Rodgers vs. Tom Brady. Enjoy it while you can.

49ers at Broncos: San Francisco 21-17. The 49ers are the ultimate enigma. They just lost their starting quarterback, Trey Lance, for the season, and their Super Bowl hopes went up. Went up significantly. Jimmy Garoppolo isn’t great, but he’s that much better than Lance.

Cowboys at Giants: Dallas 20-16. Can Cooper Rush win again? Can the Giants get to 3-0? Monday Night Football will be glad to tell the tale.

Last week: 7-9. Season: 15-16-1.

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Big 12 pregame: Iowa State-Baylor reversal

Last September 25, the football teams from Baylor and Iowa State met in Waco.

The Cyclones were ranked 14^th despite a disappointing, 27-17 loss to Iowa. Baylor was unheralded despite a 3-0 start. The Bears won 31-29, turning back an Iowa State 2-point conversion with 24 seconds left in the game.

Baylor went on to win the Big 12 championship, while the Cyclones finished 7-6.

Three hundred sixty-two days later, the roles are reversed. Baylor is ranked 17^th, despite a disappointing overtime loss at Brigham Young. Iowa State is unheralded despite a 3-0 start.

And Saturday, the teams meet in Ames, Iowa. Could the same script unfold?

This much we know. These are two solid programs that have overcome downtrodden years. They major in different attributes – Iowa State toughness, Baylor athletic ability – but both have enough of everything to be Big 12 challengers.

Either Iowa State or Baylor has made the last three Big 12 title games.

“They have elite team speed across the board,” ISU coach Matt Campbell said of Baylor. “When you look at this football team, it doesn’t matter what the position is, what jumps off the film is the speed.”

Meanwhile, Baylor coach Dave Aranda wants his program to emulate Iowa State.

“As far as the view of who we want to be and consistently look like, I would say Iowa State kind of is that in a lot of ways,” Aranda said. “They don’t beat themselves. They’re efficient with all their movements in what they do.

“They’re a tough outfit. I have a lot of respect for them and a lot of respect for their coach. It’s going to be a challenge for us, so I’m excited for that and to see how much we’ve grown.”

The winner gets a jump in the Big 12 title race. Just as the 2021 Baylor-Iowa State winner did.

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Coach on the hot seat: Sonny Dykes

Southern Methodist went 30-18 in four-plus seasons with Sonny Dykes as head coach. That’s a winning percentage of .625 that is the Mustangs’ best since Bobby Collins’ teams went 43-14-1 (.750) from 1982-86, the Pony Express Days, before the death penalty. SMU football went dormant in 1987 and 1988, due to NCAA violations.

But Dykes committed a major crime on the Hilltop. He left for cross-metro Texas Christian. And now Dykes’ Horned Frogs play at SMU on Saturday.

The Iron Skillet rivalry has been staged 100 times, going back to 1915, with only a few interruptions, and those for the pandemic, conference realignment or SMU’s death penalty.

But few of those 100 games will hold the emotion of Saturday. Dykes left SMU for obvious reasons – higher-profile conference, more resources, better program.

Still, Dykes built the Mustangs into a viable mid-major, and though SMU didn’t get the callup from the American Conference like Cincinnati, Central Florida and Houston did for Big 12 expansion, the Mustangs are formidable.

In fact, 2-0 TCU is just a two-point favorite over the 2-1 Mustangs, who lost 34-27 last week at Maryland.

Dykes’ personality and pedigree seem perfect for almost any Texas school, so his honeymoon isn’t over with a loss to SMU. But on a personal side, the Mustangs will be out for revenge, and Dykes will want to show his new employer, in a high-pressure game, it made the right choice.

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Upset special: Duke over Kansas

The Kansas Jayhawks haven’t won more than three games in any season since 2009. Entering 2022, KU had 23 wins in the previous 12 years.

But Lance Leipold is working magic. His Jayhawks routed Tennessee Tech 56-10 at home, then won back-to-back road games, 55-42 in overtime at West Virginia and 48-30 at Houston.

Saturday, KU hosts Duke, another basketball blueblood off to a surprising, 3-0 start.

Kansas is ranked 34^th in The Associated Press poll, quarterback Jalon Daniels appears to be a breakout star, and KU could be sniffing bowl eligibility with a victory over Duke.

But the Blue Devils are better than anyone thought, in Mike Elko’s first year as head coach. Duke routed Temple 30-0 in their season opener, then stunned Northwestern 31-23 when the Wildcats were coming off a victory over Nebraska.

The Blue Devils were 8-5 as recently as 2018, and David Cutcliffe built a solid foundation before Duke slipped in recent years. Suddenly potent Kansas is a 7-point favorite, but let’s go with the Blue Devils in the upset.

Big 12 upset special record: 1-2.

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Ranking the Big 12 games

Kansas State at Oklahoma, 7 p.m. Saturday, Fox: K-State often struggles as a big favorite in September. The Wildcats lost to Tulane last week, squeaked past Division I-AA Southern Illinois 31-23 last year, lost to Arkansas State in 2020, barely survived I-AA South Dakota 27-24 in 2018, lost to Vanderbilt in 2017 and lost to I-AA North Dakota State in 2013. Yet the Wildcats rallied most years to be quite competitive in the Big 12.

Baylor at Iowa State, 11 a.m. Saturday, ESPN2: ISU coach Matt Campbell is 31-23 in Big 12 play. The last Cyclone coach with a winning conference record was Stan Willaman, who went 11-10-2 from 1922-25 in the Missouri Valley.

Texas Christian at Southern Methodist, 11 a.m. Saturday, ESPNU: Dykes’ new TCU staff includes former Sooners Malcolm Kelly (outside receivers) and JaMarkus McFarland (defensive line), as well as former OSU player and assistant coach Doug Meacham (inside receivers).

Duke at Kansas, 11 a.m. Saturday, Fox Sports1: How many Jayhawk fans will turn out? In his second year in Lawrence, KU coach Lance Leipold has given Jayhawk football hope, and retaining Leipold has become a major hot topic on Mount Oread, especially with Nebraska kicking Leipold’s tires. But it will be a lot easier to sell Leipold on sticking around if Memorial Stadium is more than half full, which it almost never is.

West Virginia at Virginia Tech, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, ESPN: Great regional rivalry that was played every year from 1973-2005 but just twice since. WVU lost the Backyard Brawl three weeks ago to Pittsburgh. Beating the Hokies would soothe some of those wounds.

Texas at Texas Tech, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPN: Texas’ version of the Bedlam scheduling flap. Tech people believe Texas committed to keeping the series alive annually, once the Longhorns head to the Southeastern Conference. UT people say, uh, no, that’s not what we said.

Wyoming at Brigham Young, 9:15 p.m. Saturday, ESPN2: Cool, old rivalry that dates back through the Mountain West, Western Athletic, Skyline, Mountain States and Rocky Mountain conferences. BYU leads 45-30-3.

Rice at Houston, 5 p.m. Saturday, ESPN Plus: You’d think this would be an age-old, crosstown rivalry. But no. Rice and UofH didn’t start playing until 1971.

Georgia Tech at Central Florida, 3 p.m. Saturday, ESPNU: Over the last 10 years, UCF is just 2-4 against Atlantic Coast Conference teams.

Indiana at Cincinnati, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPN2: The Hoosiers haven’t been impressive, but they’ve scratched out a 3-0 start, so a UC victory would earn some stripes.

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Mailbag: More Bedlam

The impending demise of the Bedlam football series continues to intrigue Oklahomans.

Patricia: “I’m an OU alum and have three OSU alum brothers. We’ll miss the game. And I completely agree with your oft-stated opinion that non-conference scheduling has become embarrassing – and offensive to college football fans. I’ve often wondered over the last several years whether the CFP committee could help the situation by creating a rule that eligibility for the CFP would be limited to teams who play only Division I(-A) schools and only one team from a lower conference level (Power 5 vs. Group of 5).  Or something similar. This would ensure that teams with championship aspirations wouldn’t face a competitive disadvantage for scheduling integrity. Other teams could continue to play ‘little league’ games, but they’d be telling their fans that they had no interest in competing for championships. With changes coming in the CFP format, it seems like now might be an opportunity to address the excessive amount of non-competitive games.”

Tramel: I agree in theory. This is prime opportunity for the playoff committee to get serious with establishing some standards. But I don’t believe in hard and fast rules. Playing North Dakota State (a Division I-AA program) is much more difficult than playing Rice. Playing Boise State is a much tougher assignment than playing Vanderbilt.

The committee just needs to show that it doesn’t reward weak schedules. Don’t give a bunch of credence to a 12-1 team that played three easy games. Go on record by discounting wins over I-AA teams or overmatched I-A teams.

When it comes to statistics, don't use data from rumdum games. I mean, the better path is to not use statistics, but if you do, don’t count games against inferior competition. Why should anyone care what numbers OU posted against Texas-El Paso or OSU posted against Arkansas-Pine Bluff?

Then vote by rewarding tougher schedules. Don’t let teams try to backdoor their way into the playoff.

The playoff has a lot of power. Use it for the common good.

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Why is Jon Runyan making NFL decisions?

Jon Runyan Sr. is the NFL’s vice president of rules and policy administration. He’s been on the job since 2016, and most fans didn't know it. Which is good. Anonymous administrators are good administrators.

Still, Runyan is quite prominent. A 14-year NFL offensive lineman, mostly with Andy Reid’s successful Philadelphia Eagles, then a four-year congressman, a New Jersey Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives.

But only now is Runyan making news.

Runyan this week suspended Tampa Bay wide receiver Mike Evans, after an altercation with New Orleans defensive back Marshon Lattimore.

The suspension: one game, this Sunday against Green Bay.

The twist: the Packers’ left guard is Jon Runyan Jr.

Some have decried the suspension, based on the assumption that Runyan Sr.’s judgment is clouded by his family connections to the Green Bay-Tampa Bay game.

And the NFL has no great counter. This is a conflict of interest. A classic conflict of interest.

This isn’t the sweat and tears that would connect Runyan Sr. to any decision involving the Eagles (or Titans or Chargers, other franchises for which he played). This is blood that connects him to the Packers.

Don’t question Runyan’s character or credibility. I assume he’s held in quite esteem by most people in the NFL. James Thrash, the pride of Wewoka and the NFL’s appeals officer, upheld the suspension after Evans appealed.

But we absolutely question the NFL placing Runyan in this position in the first place. The NFL should never have allowed this situation to become possible. Runyan Sr. should not be in a decision-making job concerning possible Packer outcomes.

If the NFL values Runyan as an employee, which I assume it does, find another role for him until his son retires. The league’s integrity should be above reproach.

Runyan Jr. jumped to his father’s defense this week.

“He was just doing his job," Runyan Jr. said. "He's been doing that job for over a half-decade now. It just so happens that we're playing the Buccaneers this week. Everybody's trying to make it this conspiracy theory, which it's not.”

No offense, but Runyan Jr. defending Runyan Sr. doesn't make anyone feel any better.

Runyan Sr. described the play in a letter he wrote to Evans: “After a play had ended, you were walking toward your sidelines. When you noticed your teammates engaged in a confrontation with Saints' players, you ran toward that area on the field and violently threw your body into and struck an unsuspecting opponent who was part of that confrontation. You knocked your opponent to the ground and a melee ensued involving players from both teams. Your aggressive conduct could have caused serious injury to your opponent and clearly does not reflect the high standards of sportsmanship expected of a professional.”

That description warrants a suspension, according to NFL rules and guidelines.

As Runyan Jr. said, Evans’ actions were “a lapse in judgment on the field. Sometimes, that stuff happens … you can't be running 15 yards trying to head-hunt somebody when the play's over. It is funny, though, how stuff works out sometimes."

It’s not funny. It’s not even strange. A Runyan Sr. decision was going to affect a game involving Runyan Jr. at some point, and that’s why the NFL should never have allowed its integrity to be compromised.

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The List: Big 12 football parity

Conference play begins in earnest Saturday in the Big 12, with three games. A league not so long ago known for OU dominance has become wide open.

Who will make it to Arlington for the Big 12 Championship Game? Seems wide open. In the five years since the Big 12 title game returned, six of the 10 schools have reached Arlington. Here’s a ranking of parity for each Power Five Conference, using percentage of league members that have made at least one championship-game appearance.

1. Big 12: 60 percent. OU has made four of the five Big 12 title games since the format was brought back, and each time the Sooners faced a different opponent – TCU in 2017, Texas in 2018, Baylor in 2019, Iowa State in 2020. Then OSU and Baylor staged that 2021 classic.

2. Atlantic Coast, 42.3 percent: The ACC is more difficult to count, since Notre Dame reached the title game in 2020, when it was a temporary, full-time member of the league. Clemson has reached the title game four times, Pittsburgh twice and Miami, Virginia, Wake Forest and Notre Dame once each.

3. Pac-12: 41.7 percent. Oregon and Utah each have made three championship games, Southern Cal two, Washington and Stanford one each.

4. Southeastern: 35.7 percent. Only five of the 14 SEC schools have made it to Atlanta – Alabama thrice, and Auburn and Louisiana State once each from the West Division, Georgia thrice and Florida twice from the East.

4. Big Ten: 35.7 percent. Again, just five of the 14 schools have qualified. Ohio State has made it four times and Michigan once from the East Division; Northwestern and Wisconsin twice each, and Iowa once, from the West.

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today. 

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Jalen Hurts trumps Kyler Murray & Baker Mayfield as an NFL quarterback