Sports
We are going a obvious route this week and deciding on a coach in remark of an opposing player to conclude. Bucs’ head coach Todd Bowles has had some huge success in opposition to the Eagles and Jalen Hurts, who is 1-3 in his profession in opposition to Tampa Bay’s defensive guru, with two of those three losses coming in the Wild Card round of the playoffs by a mixed 63-24 accumulate. Bowles’ protection held Hurts and the Eagles’ offense to three touchdowns in those playoff losses—with two of the three coming when Tampa Bay turn into main 31-0 in the Bucs’ 31-15 Wild Card round victory that ended the Eagles’ 2021 season.
Bowles will assault Hurts, who has been larger in opposition to the blitz this season. With Eagles’ All-Skilled most exciting address Lane Johnson presumably out, it makes Bowles’ defensive schemes stronger.
Eagles’ offensive coordinator Kellen Moore got an various to pour over the leaks in closing year’s gameplan when the Bucs demolished the Eagles, 32-9, in the playoffs and had Hurts running for his existence the general evening.
“Clearly, they’d a stress opinion connected with stopping the breeze and inserting heaps of stress on the protection recreation,” Moore mentioned. “So, Todd is always going to own his assorted flavors. He’s going to play us, there would be some stuff that falls encourage on that and there would be some new components that he’ll pull out and strive and stress you in assorted solutions because he knows you’ll be expecting those.
“He does an elegant job. When I turn into at other places, we’ve performed him loads of times and every recreation appears to be a obvious model. It’s now now not essentially whether or now now not he won or lost, it’s going to be a obvious model and various discipline every and every week. Now we own to elevate out a honest staunch job of having our solutions and understanding our tools and the adjustments that we could perchance also or could perchance perchance also now now not wish to originate.”
Hurts has had concerns defending the ball. He enters the recreation with 26 turnovers since 2023, which, regrettably, leads all NFL quarterbacks in that span. Over the closing two seasons, Hurts has thrown an NFL-high 19 interceptions and lost seven fumbles. As a crew, the Eagles are minus-4 this season and ranked tied for No. 31 in turnover ratio. Of Hurts’ four interceptions this season, two own approach in the tip zone.
The closing time the Eagles won the turnover fight (2-1) in a recreation turn into of their 21-17 victory at Kansas City on Nov. 20, 2023, when Patrick Mahomes threw an interception and Travis Kelce lost a fumble in Week 11. Since then, the Eagles own either tied (in opposition to San Francisco and in the Tampa Bay playoff loss neither crew modified into the ball over) or lost the turnover fight in every recreation, turning the ball over 20 times and causing seven turnovers for a minus-13 over their closing 11 games.
With the stable possibility of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith out, alongside with Johnson, Hurts can own his points relying on Parris Campbell, Jahan Dotson and Johnny Wilson of their remark. Tight cease Dallas Goedert is coming off a profession recreation wherein he caught 10 passes for 170 yards—and made the play of the recreation with his 61-yard reception with 1:05 to play on a Third-and-16 on the Eagles’ 35.
And in step with Skilled Football Focal level, Hurts is seeing the discipline larger and recognizing blitzes. In 2023, of his 268 dropbacks in opposition to the blitz, he completed 63.1%, with 9 touchdowns, in opposition to 8 interceptions and turn into sacked 17 times (6.3%). This season, under Moore, his 38 dropbacks in opposition to the blitz own produced 72.7% completions, with 1 TD, 1 interception and he turn into sacked twice (5.3%).
Bowles will for certain strive and pressure Hurts into wretched scenarios, fancy pushing him left and making him throw across his physique. Moore says he’s prepared for that.
“Clearly any quarterback that’s most exciting-handed, you’re naturally going to roll out now and then whilst you get off-time desk to your most exciting,” Moore mentioned. “Jalen has done a comely job of constant to carry out confidence and luxury stage in that. I believed he had a few most exciting examples. All yet again, right here’s a pair weeks in a row the put now now not getting out-of-the-pocket, inserting in the pocket internal time and when he has to dawdle, he scrambles, and he stumbled on [RB Kenneth Gainwell] Kenny on one down the left sideline. He stumbled on [WR DeVonta Smith] Smitty on the left facet. Both most exciting examples of when he got into a dawdle drill to his left, stumbled on a completion and unexcited remained a passer. These had been astronomical-time plays.”