The Eagles’ ability to handle blitzes from opposing defenses was one of the biggest storylines entering the season and, three games in, they’ve been much better.
But there’s a big test coming Sunday.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles will head down to Tampa to face the Buccaneers and Todd Bowles’ blitz-heavy defense. If there’s one thing we know about Bowles it’s that he’s not afraid to send extra rushers. He wants to heat up quarterbacks.
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And the Eagles better be ready.
“We've worked really hard at this for the past year and we've done a good job so far,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “But you're only as good as your next game.
“Excited about the challenge. I know Jalen has really played well against the blitz these last couple games, and he's worked his butt off on it. And just excited about the challenge, but we know there's going to be challenges against a Todd Bowles' coached defense. Again, we have done a nice job so far, but you're only as good as your next game.”
All you have to do is think back to the playoff game that bounced the Eagles in the wild card round in January. Bowles in that game blitzed Hurts on 27 of 39 dropbacks in the Bucs’ 32-9 win at Raymond James Stadium.
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You can bet that Bowles is going to do that again on Sunday.
But is Hurts in a better place to handle it this time?
“I think I’m wiser, I’m older,” Hurts said on Wednesday. “More seasoned in some areas and I think that helps us. And the different things that I’ve learned with the new staff.”
That last part is important. Because Hurts isn’t doing this all on his own. While the Eagles obviously miss future Hall of Fame center Jason Kelce, without him, more of the onus falls on Hurts. The quarterback is now responsible for a lot of the blitz pickup, along with new center Cam Jurgens. But the hope is that the offensive scheme will have more built-in answers to help the Eagles navigates a heavy-blitzing defense.
So far, things have gone well.
Here’s a comparison of Hurts vs. the blitz in 2023 and 2024, per ProFootballFocus:
2024: 38 dropbacks, completion percentage 72.7%, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 sacks (5.3%)
2023: 268 dropbacks, completion percentage 63.1%, 9 TDs, 8 INTs, 17 sacks (6.3%)
Hurts’ blitz completion percentage of 72.7% ranks seventh in the NFL among qualified quarterbacks, while his passer rating of 90.3 against the blitz is 20th in the NFL. But Hurts right now has a higher passer rating when blitzed as opposed to not blitzed (90.3-83.8), which is a major change from recent years.
Of course, Hurts hasn’t been blitzed as heavily as you’d probably expect early in this season. He has been blitzed on 31.9% of his dropbacks through three games, which ranks 15th in the NFL among quarterbacks with at least 40 dropbacks, per PFF.
The Packers are 28th in blitz rate, the Saints are 17th and the Falcons are 10th.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers through three games are 5th in blitz rate at 32.1%, according to NFL Pro. Bowles has been with the Buccaneers since 2019 as either the defensive coordinator or head coach and the Bucs have always been up there in blitz rate (and they like to send heavy blitzes):
2024: 32.1% (5th)
2023: 40.4% (3rd)
2022: 31.4% (9th)
2021: 39.1% (2nd)
2020: 41.1 % (2nd)
2019: 42.2% (2nd)
In his career, Hurts has a 1-3 record against the Buccaneers with two of those losses ousting the Eagles in the wild card round in 2021 and 2023. The only W came in Week 3 last season when the Eagles won 25-11.
“I think it’s been different. It’s been different every time we’ve played them,” Hurts said. “Different time of the year, different moment, different offense, different approach, philosophy, if you will. So got a ton of respect for them, Coach Todd Bowles and what he does. He creates a lot of great opportunities for his defense and his team.”
This season, the Bucs (2-1) are dead last in the NFL with just two sacks through three games, so they might need to blitz to generate some pass rush.
The Eagles have to be ready for it.
“I’m just excited for another opportunity to play this week,” Hurts said. “It’s a great opponent, great challenge. We just want to go out there and give our best.”
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