The Philadelphia Eagles had 59 rushing yards against the Washington Commanders last week, their smallest total in the 46 games that Jalen Hurts has started at quarterback for the NFL team.

But the Eagles still beat the Commanders 38-31 as Hurts threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns, the second game in his career with that many TD passes.

For Hurts, it’s not how Philadelphia’s offense gets the job done as long as it gets done, and the Eagles own a 7-1 record.

“I think it’s just pure execution and just going out there and making it go,” Hurts said of Philadelphia’s success with a heavier reliance on its passing game. “I don’t measure numbers and all of that based off our success or whatever it is. It’s just about winning, and so, obviously, a lot of great things are going on. I can acknowledge that. But it means nothing if you don’t win.”

Although Philadelphia has gained an average of 132.3 rushing yards per game this season to rank seventh in the NFL, that’s a little more than 16 fewer yards than the Eagles were averaging through eight games last season, and they’ve averaged only 79.3 rushing yards per game over their past three contests.

In conjunction with the reduction in rushing numbers, Hurts has thrown 43 more passes and completed 30 more at this point in 2023 than he had in 2022.

RELATED: NFL WEEK 9: SCHEDULE, TV, ODDS

Reports indicate Hurts has been dealing with a bruised knee, although the former Alabama standout has declined to address that directly. His rushing numbers are down a little from last season – 326 yards and six touchdowns on 88 carries through eight games in 2022 and 280 yards and six touchdowns on 78 carries so far in 2023 – but that’s after Hurts had 6 rushing yards against Washington, the fewest in any game that he’s started in his career.

While Hurts became the sixth player in NFL history with at least 300 yards of total offense and two passing and/or rushing touchdowns in six consecutive games in the win over Washington, Philadelphia wide receiver A.J. Brown became the first player in NFL history with at least 125 receiving yards in six consecutive games.

“I think A.J. would be the first to say he’s grown so much as a person, as a player over the time that I’ve known him,” Hurts said, “and the things that he’s doing right now, it’s never been done before. It’s as simple as that. It’s never been done before, and I think within it all, and I don’t know exactly what he said to you guys, but it was along the lines of ‘I’ll enjoy that later.’

“Winning is the only thing that matters, and that’s not just me saying that. That’s every guy in that locker room saying that. And that’s just the mentality that we have right now.”

The Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys at 3:25 p.m. CST Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. With a 5-2 record, the Cowboys are chasing the Eagles in the NFC East.

RELATED: DALLAS QB DAK PRESCOTT EXPECTING AN SEC EXPERIENCE AGAINST JALEN HURTS IN PHILADELPHIA

Among the NFL’s 32 teams in 2023, Dallas ranks 17th in rushing defense yielding an average of 108.9 yards per game on the ground and fourth in passing defense yielding an average of 178.6 yards per game.

Despite deviations from last season’s winning blueprint, Philadelphia has the NFL’s best record as it seeks a second straight trip to the Super Bowl.

“I remember sitting here in this same room as a first-year starter and saying – things weren’t going great, but I said, ‘Experience was the biggest teacher,’” Hurts said. “That doesn’t change. That’s the truest thing. The reality is times have changed, but the mentality has never changed. Time has changed, but the mentality hasn’t, so the more you’ve experienced, you hope the better you grow or the further you go with the work that you put in. When you see these different things out there and you have more experiences to call on, it’s definitely always helpful.”

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.