Jalen Hurts watched from the sidelines at the beginning of career before becoming the Philadelphia Eagles’ starting quarterback in the last four games of his rookie season. In that span, Hurts won just one game. It was his starting debut against the New Orleans Saints.
He faced the Saints again the following season. The results were the same. The Eagles walked away with the victory and Hurts terrorized Dennis Allen’s defense with his athleticism. Hurts has proven himself to be one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the game, and that’s a skill set the Saints struggle to defend.
Despite having an athletic linebacker like Demario Davis, the Saints haven’t done well tracking guys like Hurts once they break into the open field. Hurts feels like the epitome of their issues guarding players of this archetype. Kwon Alexander was a member of the team for both games versus Hurts. Even with two linebackers who could run, the Saints haven’t been able to defend Hurts appropriately.
In his first game versus New Orleans, Hurts ran for 106 yards. The Saints were able to keep Hurts out of triple digit yards in the rematch but he scored three touchdowns as a runner. The Saints haven’t been able to find the right combination in the front seven to stop Jalen Hurts. This goes all the way to his first career start. Maybe the third time’s the charm for New Orleans against Hurts.
