Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles will seek to bounce back against Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants in a Week 6 NFC East TNF showdown at MetLife Stadium. The reigning Super Bowl champions suffered their first defeat of the 2025 season falling 21-17 to the Denver Broncos in Week 5. Jalen Hurts has spoken about Giants QB Jaxson Dart, with the two sharing a mutual respectGettyThe Giants, however, have won just one game on the year so far, which came in a 21-18 win against the Los Angeles Chargers in rookie quarterback Dart’s rookie starting debut after taking over from the exiled veteran Russell Wilson.Ahead of their primetime clash on Thursday, Super Bowl LIX MVP Hurts candidly spoke about the respect he has for Big Blue’s rookie signal caller, with the two having both been coached by Lane Kiffin during their college careers at Alabama and Ole Miss, respectively.“I got a lot of respect for his game. I know he’s played for (Lane) Kiffin. He’s a hell of a player. He’s honestly in a great situation to learn a lot. Rooting for his success,” Hurts said, via The Athletic’s Zach Berman.Dart, a former standout at Ole Miss, was selected by the Giants with the 25th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and has been outspoken about the Eagles star, who he identifies as a player in the league who he feels he closely resembles as it pertains to his style of play. “I think it’s a little bit of a cop-out because he just won the Super Bowl, but I love J Hurts and what he does,” Dart said at the NFL combine back in February. “I feel like I’m very similar in my play style to him. I feel like we can do a lot of the same things.“Obviously, he’s an elite player and I’m trying to reach that level. But he’s been somebody that I’ve tried to resemble my game after just because of his versatility — being able to run and throw the ball, and just how strong he is in the pocket. “That’s something that I’ve had a lot of fun watching, observing his play style.”Kiffin, in an appearance on NFL on ESPN in September, shared some insight into the similarities between the two NFC East quarterbacks.“There is a lot of similarities there,” Kiffin said. “The way that they play and run with the ball and their passion for it.” Daboll offers positive health update on DartIn Dart’s victory over the Chargers, in which he threw 13-of-20 of his passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for an additional 54 yards and a touchdown from 10 carries, there was some element of concern when he suffered a slight hamstring injury.Dart will be playing against his NFL role in prime time in only his third startGettyDaboll has said that Dart is ready to go on Thursday night amid a hamstring injuryGettyHowever, the 22-year-old did suit up in New York‘s loss to the then-winless New Orleans Saints, playing all 70 offensive snaps. Entering a short week, Dart was a limited participant in practice, but G-Men head coach Brian Daboll put any worry around his status at ease on Tuesday.When asked about Dart’s health and availability for the game against the Eagles, Daboll said: “Yeah, he’ll be fine.”Dart, though, was fired up about the contest, and said that there was “never a doubt” that he wouldn’t play against his quarterback icon for the very first time in his professional career. When speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the 2024 first-team ALL-SEC quarterback once again reiterated the huge respect he has for his opponent, and what specifically it is that he admires about Hurts.“First of all, I love his mentality, his every-day accountability of himself, and at the same time raising the bar for his teammates,” Dart said on Tuesday. Dart is hyped to be playing against Hurts and the Eagles amid injury concerns“That was something, as an early college player, being able to look up to guys like that. It’s going to be really cool to be on the same field with him and being able to compete against him. “At the same time, him just being a really good competitor and being able to do a lot of things with his arm and with his legs and putting his team in really good situations to win.”Under the bright lights of a primetime slot on Thursday night, Dart will no doubt rise to the occasion as he finally gets to battle against the quarterback whose game he has aspired to emulate.Strap yourselves in, this could be blockbuster.Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the offseason news, interviews and more.