In what has been an impressive playoff run thus far, the Washington Commanders are headed to Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon to take on their division rival Eagles in the NFC championship game.
Washington's defense has faced two quarterbacks with limited mobility this postseason in Baker Mayfield and Jared Goff—but now takes on a different beast in dual-threat signal caller Jalen Hurts. Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. says his unit is ready for it:
"We've had a number of these guys that we've had to prepare for," the longtime NFL secondary coach said on Thursday afternoon. "The one thing is, if he's going to run the ball—and if the coordinator makes the decision for him to run the ball—we're going to treat him like a running back, and we're gonna hit him that way."
"So that's their decision if they want to get him hit the way that he gets hit," Whitt Jr. continued. "If they don't, they'll keep him in the pocket. So that's what we're going to do."
👀 Watch out Jalen Hurts?
— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) January 23, 2025
Commanders DC Joe Whitt Jr says they will hit Eagles QB #JalenHurts if he runs like a RB
"we are going to hit him that way. That's their decision if they want to get him hit the way that he gets hit"https://t.co/ZCfqwTKQDK pic.twitter.com/DkhcWE9zqM
Sounds like Hurts will need to have his head on a swivel.
Despite dealing with a knee injury in last weekend's win vs. the Rams, he finished the contest with 36 rushing yards on six carries. Hurts tallied 80 rushing yards combined in two games against the Commanders this regular season.
Sunday's NFC championship game kicks off from Lincoln Financial Field at 3 p.m. The game will air on FOX, with Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady on the call.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Commanders DC Gives Stark Warning to Eagles About How They'll Defend QB Jalen Hurts.
