With Jalen Hurts as their starting quarterback, the Philadelphia Eagles have won 12 consecutive regular-season games against opponents with winning records. Only two NFL quarterbacks have had winning streaks to equal Hurts’ – Vinny Testaverde with the New York Jets from 1998 into 2000 and Peyton Manning with the Indianapolis Colts from 2008 into 2010.

Hurts’ most recent regular-season loss to a team with a winning record came on Nov. 7, 2021, when the Los Angeles Chargers edged Philadelphia 27-24 on a field goal with two seconds to play.

Hurts has lost to a winning team during the streak, but the defeat came in postseason play, when the Eagles fell to the Kansas City Chiefs 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12.

Hurts and Philadelphia get a regular-season shot at Kansas City on Monday night, and the Eagles QB would move past Testaverde and Manning with a victory. The Chiefs have a winning record at 7-2, and with Philadelphia at 8-1, the Monday night game features the teams with the best record in each conference — the fourth time this century such a matchup has occurred in Week 11 or later of an NFL season.

Even though Kansas City won Super Bowl LVII, Hurts recorded one of the best individual games in NFL history. The former Alabama QB become the only player to have at least 300 passing yards, 70 rushing yards and three touchdown runs in the same NFL game. And Hurts also threw a touchdown pass.

Hurts tied the record for rushing touchdowns in a Super Bowl, became the second quarterback to run for three touchdowns in an NFL playoff game and broke the Super Bowl record for rushing yards by a quarterback.

And when Kansas City lines up against Hurts on Monday night, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said his defense would be facing a better player than it did nine months ago.

“Every year, he’s gotten better,” Reid said. “He obviously has a full understanding of what they’re doing. Heck of a player. Understands the coverages that you’re throwing at him. Real good football player.”

In Hurts’ past three games, he has posted a passing-efficiency rating of 125.5 and thrown eight touchdowns passes – both the best marks in the NFL for Weeks 7 through 9 of the 2023 season – and he became the first Philadelphia quarterback to complete at least 73 percent of his passes in three consecutive games.

Hurts said the Eagles offense had improved as he’s gotten more experience with new coordinator Brian Johnson and vice versa. Last year’s offensive coordinator, Shane Steichen, left after Super Bowl LVII to become the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.

“You have to have a feel, and that’s a real thing,” Hurts said. “Obviously, the standard that we have for ourselves internally is very high, and that’s a thing of constant communication, everybody being on the same page and everybody being eager to grow. I think that’s always the attitude that I try and have whether it be with a coach or a player or whoever it is, and, obviously, you want that out of your coaches and teammates as well.”

Hurts has flourished as a passer in victories over the Miami Dolphins, Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys while his rushing stats have declined.

“I think that’s just who Jalen is,” Johnson said. “We constantly talk about how do we evolve, how do we get better, and Jalen just has that mindset to be the best version that he can be. Talks a lot about preparing for each and every opportunity, and each circumstance can be different. But that’s why I’ve always considered Jalen a triple threat of being able to beat teams with his arm, with his legs and his mind. He’s a guy that, obviously, we have a ton of confidence in, and he’s been playing well the last couple weeks.”

The drop in Hurts’ rushing numbers has been attributed to an undisclosed issue with his left knee. But after playing with a sleeve on that leg leading into the Eagles’ bye last week, Hurts returned to practice without it.

“The bye week came at great time,” Hurts said. “… Everything is trending forward.”

RELATED: WHAT’S JALEN HURTS LISTENING TO DURING THE EAGLES’ BYE WEEK

Hurts finished second to Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the voting for the 2022 Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award. While Mahomes has provided the Chiefs with an identity as an explosive offensive team, the Kansas City defense has done the heavy-lifting for the team this season. The Chiefs rank second in points allowed per game and fourth in yards allowed per game in the NFL this season.

“They’re a really good team,” Hurts said. “A team like that doesn’t have the success they have out of any light. They have great players on the D-line. They have great players on the back end. They make plays on the ball, and they’re very disruptive. Obviously, coached really well. So all three phases we have to be ready to execute and play our best versus a really good team.”

The Eagles and Chiefs square off at 7:15 p.m. CST Monday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. ABC and ESPN will televise the game.

The game will be the ninth that has matched the previous season’s Super Bowl participants. The Super Bowl winner posted a victory in six of the rematches.

But to consider Monday night’s game as a preview of Super Bowl LVIII flies in the face of history. Only once has the same pair of teams reached the Super Bowl in consecutive seasons. The Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills squared off to decide the NFL champion for the 1992 and 1993 seasons.

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.