Patriots QB Mac Jones on Eagles’ Jalen Hurts: ‘Really Proud of Him!’

Former Alabama quarterbacks Mac Jones and Jalen Hurts will face off in a Week 1 matchup between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.

There are plenty of intriguing storylines worth monitoring in Week 1's matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots. 

How will new offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien's system look for the Patriots?

Will the Eagles -- who lost both offensive coordinator Shane Steichen and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon this offseason -- go on without skipping a beat? 

Will the pregame ceremony honoring Tom Brady give Bill Belichick's underdog Patriots any extra juice? 

Another interesting subplot will be the quarterback matchup between Jalen Hurts and Mac Jones, two former college teammates. Hurts, of course, began his NCAA career at Alabama, spending the 2016-2018 seasons playing for Nick Saban before transferring to Oklahoma for his final collegiate campaign. Jones spent the entirety of his college career with the Crimson Tide, including two seasons, 2017 and 2018, that overlapped with Hurts. 

Jones -- who was redshirted in 2017 -- spoke glowingly about Hurts before the two former college teammates square off this Sunday. 

“Obviously a great player,” Jones said when asked about Hurts. “I’ve been [fortunate] to play with him and I learned a lot from him. Definitely a great quarterback, and I just think back on the times we had. I’m just really proud of him and everything he’s done in the NFL.

Hurts has made drastic strides as a passer since his time at Alabama, culminating -- at least to this point -- in him finishing runner-up in NFL MVP voting in 2022. In addition to rushing for 13 touchdowns last season, Hurts threw 22 touchdowns to six interceptions, while racking up over 3,700 passing yards. Belichick suggested this week that Hurts is "one of the best players in the league." 

Jones -- who waited his turn behind Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa at Alabama -- rode the success of a tremendous final collegiate season to being selected by the Patriots in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. 

But after a strong rookie season, Jones regressed in his second NFL campaign, in large part because Belichick chose to replace departed offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels with a combination of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, a disastrous decision. With O'Brien now back in New England, there will be quite a bit of pressure on Jones to cement himself as the team's long-term answer at quarterback this season, beginning Sunday with a duel against one of his former Alabama teammates.