Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts are squaring off in a Week 7 “Sunday Night Football” game that will surely delight Alabama fans.
Hurts and Tagovailoa both played key roles in the dynastic success Nick Saban has enjoyed with the Crimson Tide. Hurts was the team’s first true freshman starter under Saban and helped lead the team to back-to-back national championship games.
And Tagovailoa? He was the one who relieved a struggling Hurts in the middle of the 2018 national championship game to lead Alabama to a comeback win over arch-rival Georgia.
Both Hurts and Tagovailoa enjoyed the highest of highs during their respective college careers, and their willingness to work together and help one another improve earned the respect of Saban.
“I never had two players that were really, really good players at the same position who actually supported each other the way those two guys supported each other when they were here,” Saban said of the duo, per The Tuscaloosa News. “I think that comes from mutual respect and both guys being great team guys and putting the team before their own personal feelings.”
Thus, it’s no surprise that each has found success at the NFL level.
Tagovailoa and Hurts were touted prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft. While Tagovailoa got more of the attention, Hurts has proved to be just as good as the top-five pick despite being selected in the second round.
BENDER: How Jalen Hurts getting benched at Alabama paved way to Eagles Super Bowl
But just how do Hurts’ stats as a pro compare to those of Tagovailoa? Here’s a breakdown of the former Alabama teammates as they are set to do battle in the NFL for the first time.
Tua Tagovailoa stats with the Dolphins
Tagovailoa’s NFL career got off to a slower start than was initially anticipated despite his being the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Why? Because he was dealing with the after-effects of a hip injury he suffered in college that very nearly derailed his professional career entirely.
The Dolphins brought Tagovailoa along slowly and used Ryan Fitzpatrick ahead of him during his rookie season. Ultimately, Tagovailoa started nine games as then-coach Brian Flores tried to raise the ceiling of his team, but he was merely OK at best.
In 2021, Tagovailoa was handed the reins of the Dolphins offense and performed erratically. He threw just 16 touchdowns compared to 10 interceptions across 13 starts, and there were questions about whether his lack of mobility and questionable decision-making would lead him to become a bust at the NFL level.
That made Tagovailoa’s third season all-important. He made it count and proved to be an excellent partner for coach Mike McDaniel. Tagovailoa executed the new-look Miami offense to perfection and was an early-season MVP candidate before a couple of early concussions slowed his progress.
Still, Tagovailoa continued to grow, and as he became more confident, his game improved. He began the 2023 season showing flashes of MVP form and was the NFL’s leading passer through six weeks.
Below is a look at Tagovailoa’s season-by-season stats with the Dolphins thus far.
| Year | Record | Comp. % | Passing yards | Pass TDs | INTs | Y/A | Passer rating | Rushing yards | Rush TDs |
| 2020 | 6-3 | 64.1 | 1,814 | 11 | 5 | 6.3 | 87.1 | 109 | 3 |
| 2021 | 7-5 | 67.8 | 2,653 | 16 | 10 | 6.8 | 90.1 | 128 | 3 |
| 2022 | 8-5 | 64.8 | 3,548 | 25 | 8 | 8.9 | 105.5 | 70 | 0 |
| 2023 | 5-1 | 71.1 | 1,876 | 14 | 5 | 9.5 | 114.1 | 29 | 0 |
If Tagovailoa continues at the pace with which he started the 2023 season, he will be the NFL MVP frontrunner. And under McDaniel’s watch, he has proven that he is a high-quality quarterback who will find a lot of NFL success — provided that he can stay healthy and avoid concussions.
MORE: Breaking down Tua Tagovailoa’s injury history, from Alabama to the Dolphins
Jalen Hurts stats with the Eagles
Hurts’ path to NFL stardom was a bit different than Tagovailoa’s. He transferred from Alabama to Oklahoma after losing his starting job to Tagovailoa and sitting a year behind the talented southpaw.
Hurts managed to improve his draft stock enough with Lincoln Riley to become a second-round pick, but it was widely expected that he wouldn’t be used much. After all, the Eagles had just signed Carson Wentz to a massive extension, so Hurts was just viewed as a high-upside pick.
However, Wentz was dreadful during the 2020 NFL season, and Hurts ultimately took over for him in the final four games. He went only 1-3 in those contests, but the Philadelphia staff liked what they saw out of him enough to trade Wentz and trust Hurts as the starter.
Hurts was always an elite runner, but he has improved his accuracy and field-reading abilities in each of his seasons as a starter. And though he has been a bit less consistent in 2023 while learning how to play under new Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, he has led the team to a 5-1 record a year after posting a 14-1 mark in the 2023 regular season.
Below is a look at Hurts’ season-by-season stats with the Eagles thus far.
| Year | Record | Comp. % | Passing yards | Pass TDs | INTs | Y/A | Passer rating | Rushing yards | Rush TDs |
| 2020 | 1-3 | 52 | 1061 | 6 | 4 | 7.2 | 77.6 | 354 | 3 |
| 2021 | 8-7 | 61.3 | 3144 | 16 | 9 | 7.3 | 87.2 | 784 | 10 |
| 2022 | 14-1 | 66.5 | 3701 | 22 | 6 | 8 | 101.5 | 760 | 13 |
| 2023 | 5-1 | 66.2 | 1542 | 7 | 7 | 7.2 | 84.7 | 253 | 5 |
Of course, it must be noted that Hurts has made playoff starts, something that Tagovailoa hasn’t yet done during his career. Overall, Hurts has a 2-2 record in four games and has completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 837 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in those contests while running for 182 yards and five touchdowns.
Hurts may not have led the Eagles to a win in Super Bowl 58, but his career numbers both in the regular season and postseason have been great.
MORE: What did Jalen Hurts get his Masters in?
Tua Tagovailoa stats vs. Jalen Hurts stats
So, which of the former Alabama quarterbacks has enjoyed the better career to date? It’s hard to definitively say, as both have been good.
Tagovailoa has been the better passer of the two, completing a higher percentage of his passes and posting an overall passer rating seven points higher than that of Hurts. He also is beating Hurts in the race to 10,000 passing yards and is averaging 0.3 yards per attempt more than his counterpart.
That said, Hurts has been the better of the two running the ball, to the surprise of nobody. He has more than five times as many rushing scores as Tagovailoa and better than six times the rushing production that Tagovailoa has posted during his career.
Below is a look at how the two stack up head-to-head during their three-plus-year careers.
| Stats | Tua Tagovailoa | Jalen Hurts |
| Record | 26-14 | 28-12 |
| Comp. % | 66.5 | 63 |
| Passing yards | 9,891 | 9,448 |
| Pass TDs | 66 | 51 |
| INTs | 28 | 26 |
| Y/A | 7.8 | 7.5 |
| Passer rating | 97.9 | 90.9 |
| Rushing yards | 336 | 2,151 |
| Rush TDs | 6 | 31 |
If you’re looking for a tiebreaker, Hurts has the highest finish in the NFL MVP voting — he came in second in the 2022 NFL MVP race behind Patrick Mahomes — and has played in a Super Bowl. Comparatively, Tagovailoa hasn’t yet played in a playoff game, as he wasn’t healthy for the Dolphins vs. Bills wild-card game last season.
But truthfully, you could justify a case for either quarterback and back it up with whichever stats best suit your argument.