Jalen Hurts has been bailing too quickly from the pocket too often, and the Eagles’ offense is suffering for it. Can he turn it around against the Cowboys?
In the Philadelphia Eagles’ 42-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was pressured on 27 of his 45 passing attempts. That’s not only the most pressures any NFL quarterback has had on his attempts this season. Only Andy Dalton of the Carolina Panthers in Week 3 (27) and Daniel Jones of the New York Giants in Week 1 (28) have had more pressures in a game this season in their total dropbacks. While we know that the 49ers’ front six is probably the league’s best, and we also know that the Eagles’ offensive line hasn’t quite performed to last season’s standard, this wasn’t primarily about the 49ers winning the battle in the trenches, and the Eagles’ front five unable to hold up.
More than anything, it was about Hurts’ inability to adjust and reset under pressure. Some quarterbacks will drop their eyes to look at the pass rush, and if they can’t quickly get their eyes re-focused on their receivers, the play will fall apart.
The 49ers pressured Hurts with just four rushers on 20 of those plays, and as San Francisco edge-rusher Nick Bosa said after the game, the whole plan was about putting Hurts in positions where he would have to do just that.
“There was definitely an assignment focus — we had to make Jalen focus on the rush, and not look downfield,” Bosa said. “That was the key to the game. Our whole mentality was that we’re not trying to set the record on sacks — we’re trying to close the pocket, and we’re trying to keep his eyes on us. It’s obviously a really good offensive line, and he helps them out with how he evades. You can’t really pick a side with those guys, because you know he’s gonna get out of the pocket and win that way. So, I think we did a really good job of closing in on him.”
Bosa also commented on those plays where Hurts is running around and pointing at receivers.
“You get a push, and he sees that, so his eyes immediately go off his receivers. He’s dipping and dodging right in front of you, and you’re just trying to keep him in the pocket. It’s tough to be blocked for 10 seconds on a play, but it was an unselfish mentality from everybody, and it ended perfectly.”
It was different for Bosa and his linemates to train themselves to NOT go after the quarterback as they usually do.
“Yeah — I mean, there are so many different matchups in a week, and some weeks, you’re [trying] to hit your move and get the sack. This week, the entire focus was closing it in, making him do what he does, and it was effective.”
It was highly effective, and in this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys got deeper into how Hurts is… well, hurting his offense by dropping his eyes and losing his reads.
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You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” featuring Week 14’s biggest NFL matchups, right here:
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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…
…and on Apple Podcasts.
Now, let’s get into the details, and why the Eagles’ passing game is regressing this season.
