Philadelphia Eagles star quarterback Jalen Hurts is a willing runner who has a long history of making plays with his feet. But if he has any designed runs during his weekend’s game against the Washington Commanders, it sounds like they’re going to make him pay physically.
During his press conference this week, Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. called out Jalen Hurts a little bit as he made it clear that if the Eagles do call on him to run the ball this weekend, they aren’t going to hold back.
Whitt said the team intends to hit him like a running back if the team uses him like a running back.
“The one thing is, is if he’s gonna run the ball and the coordinator makes a decision for him to run the ball, we’re gonna treat him like a running back,” Whitt told reporters according to Pro Football Talk.
“And we’re gonna hit him that way. You know, so that’s their decision if they wanna get him hit the way he gets hit. If they don’t, they’ll keep him in the pocket. So that’s what we’re gonna do.”
Hurts, of course, is no stranger to running the ball. In each of the past four seasons, Hurts has led all quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns, ranking in the top six in overall rushing touchdowns in each of those seasons.
Obviously, running the ball is a big part of Hurts’ game, but it sounds like he is going to have to be a little more careful this week.
We’ll have to see how he handles this threat from the Commanders.
