Each time the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders have performed this season, each beginning QBs have been injured. Of their first matchup, rookie QB Jayden Daniels was nonetheless nursing a rib harm and couldn’t actually transfer or throw the way in which he used to, resulting in an Eagles’ victory. The second time, QB Jalen Hurts was knocked out of the sport with a concussion, and the Commanders got here again to win the sport.
Each sign callers must be wholesome when groups face once more within the 2025 NFC Championship Sport, which makes this sport actually attention-grabbing. My largest query for the Commanders is how they’ll drive QB Jalen Hurts to be uncomfortable within the pocket, and if their chaotic defensive type can drive Philly off their sport.
This 12 months, the Jalen Hurts discussions have been … attention-grabbing. Whereas he’s an extremely gifted participant and an automated plus-one in essentially the most feared run sport within the NFL, the passing sport has felt disjointed and out of types for nearly all the season. Whether or not you need to blame Hurts, or offensive coordinator Kellen Moore for that, it will possibly’t be missed that the Eagles’ dropback passing sport has been thrown astray.
This reveals up massively below stress, the place Hurts is a wholly totally different QB. Amongst all QBs with at the very least 100 snaps below stress per Sumer Sports activities, Hurts has a -0.52 EPA per play, just one spot above QB Daniel Jones and never too far off from Will Levis. He additionally has a paltry 26.8% Success Charge in opposition to stress, which is in the identical area as Deshaun Watson. Not nice, Bob! This reveals up on the movie, the place the reply to this drawback isn’t that the offense isn’t constructing in lots of straightforward solutions or Hurts isn’t seeing them—it’s each.
Hurts was sacked seven instances in opposition to the Rams, and a majority of these sacks got here on simulated pressures that fooled Hurts and Kellen Moore. On this sack, the Rams present a mugged look that doesn’t change with the movement by RB Saquon Barkley. Philly is working double slants to Hurts’ left and a spacing idea to his proper. With everybody mugged and anticipating a blitz, Hurts takes the snap and expects to hit WR Devonta Smith the place the blitzing LBs had been purported to be. Nonetheless, one of many LBs blitz however the different drops on to Smith, and Hurts is compelled to return off it. You may make the argument that he ought to hit AJ Brown on the bottom of this play, however for essentially the most half every thing is wadded up and Hurts takes a sack.
Whereas that one reveals off a passer that couldn’t get to the bottom of the play, some ideas simply received found out by the Rams. There’s not many locations to go together with the ball on this passing idea. You’ll be able to see from the tip zone view that Hurts desires to go for the comeback path to WR AJ Brown, however comes off of it on account of good protection. To the entrance aspect of the idea, every thing is accounted for. There’s nowhere to go together with the ball, and Hurts isn’t going into artistic mode so he takes a sack (Jared Verse additionally decleated Mekhi Becton on this rep).
This stands out as a result of whereas the Commanders’ protection isn’t precisely a dominant unit, they thrive on chaos. They need explosive performs for the protection, that are sacks, interceptions and fumbles. Washington completed the common season twelfth within the NFL in sacks, however in opposition to Hurts and Philadelphia, they solely sacked Hurts twice and received stress on 14 of his 40 dropbacks. Most significantly, Hurts didn’t flip the ball over in opposition to the Commanders. What I believed was attention-grabbing going again via the snaps that the Commanders’ protection performed in opposition to Hurts was how little simulated pressures and video games they performed to try to get the Eagles’ QB off-balance. This one labored of their Week 11 sport, after they introduced a blitz and performed man protection behind it.
Hurts has Devonta Smith on a shallow route, however decides to not take it and eats a sack.
There’s a straightforward repair to all of those simulated pressures getting the perfect of Hurts and the Eagles’ passing sport: by no means put your self in these conditions within the first place. Most groups are going to unleash these form of pressures on apparent passing downs, however it’s actually exhausting to do them on third and 4. Within the Eagles’ first matchup with the Commanders and Hurts being wholesome, Philly had a 47% Success Charge and 0.15 EPA per run on early downs. This offense remaining on schedule opens up so many extra avenues for his or her playcalling, however most significantly it permits them to by no means be in a scenario the place they should move the ball.
Take the primary huge Saquon landing, for instance. It’s third and 4, and the Rams line up with three of their defensive linemen to at least one aspect, and each linebackers to the opposite aspect. Hurts sees this, realizing the down and distance, and checks right into a run play as a result of they’ve a very good probability at hitting LA exhausting with a run. Subsequent factor you realize, Barkley takes off for a landing.
I believe that is actually good by Hurts understanding the down+distance and in addition who they’re enjoying in opposition to. Mekhi Becton despatched Rozeboom to the higher room pic.twitter.com/W3SEsuk9e4
— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) January 20, 2025
The Commanders should win on early downs on this sport, beginning up entrance. Defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne should play their finest soccer, which comes after enjoying probably the greatest video games of their lives in opposition to the Lions. If the Eagles can stay in 2nd and 4 or 2nd and 5, they’ll win the sport. Nonetheless, if Philly will get compelled into apparent passing conditions, which Jalen Hurts reveals up?
