Jalen Hurts’ play dipped last season, just a year after the Eagles quarterback was the driving force behind a run to the Super Bowl.
Hurts, who played at Alabama and Oklahoma, is in his fifth season in the NFL and has been named to two consecutive Pro Bowls. He has a 35-17 record as a starter.
Hurts’ passing and running ability keeps defenses off balance and that sometimes leads to big plays, like the 67-yard touchdown pass he threw to A.J. Brown in the season-opening win over the Packers.
Containing Hurts on his read-pass option runs will be key for the Falcons’ outside linebackers.
“It’s going to be huge,” Falcons outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s going to be a big rules game, so we have to follow our rules. Make sure that we have our eyes in the right places and just don’t play in that dirty-eye game.”
Hurts rushed 13 times for 33 yards. The Packers focused on Hurts, but let running back Saquon Barkley loose for 109 yards rushing. The key for the Falcons is to stop both Hurts and Barkley.
“The first part is defending the zone-read part of it, when he actually takes off and run,” safety Jessie Bates III said. “The other part of it is when he can extend plays. As a defense, we talk about plastering and getting tight on both of your guys if we are in a zone. You’ve got to tie in on one guy.”
The Falcons are hoping to flash their pass-rush against Hurts.
“Our (defensive line) didn’t have a lot of opportunities to go and get the quarterback (against the Steelers) with a lot of the boots (boot leg roll outs) and stuff we got,” Bates said. “This week, I think will be a little bit more drop-back, true drop-back. Hopefully, those guys can go get the quarterback.”
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