Tennessee Titans star Jeffery Simmons absolutely ripped into Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts ahead of Sunday’s game. “We need to make Jalen Hurts be a QB,” Simmons declared on Wednesday. “Stop his runs, make sure Hurts doesn’t get out of the pocket and make plays.” That’s some serious bulletin board material for Philly, especially after Hurts had a strong Week 1 showing where his team beat the Washington Commanders 24-22.
Simmons Puts Hurts on Notice as Eagles Face O-Line Woes
Simmons’ comments are a direct challenge to Hurts, who has developed into a good pocket passer but uses his running ability to become even more dangerous. Coming off a strong performance, Hurts will need to be at his best, especially with the Eagles entering Sunday’s game as seven-point home underdogs against the Titans. The stakes are already high, but Simmons just cranked them up another notch. This week’s matchup is even trickier because the Eagles’ offensive line, which had a rough outing against the Commanders with penalties and sloppy blocks, is now without left guard Landon Dickerson, who’s on injured reserve. Second-year player Drew Kendall is likely to step in and start on Sunday. You gotta wonder if Simmons is already licking his chops, looking to exploit that matchup to get after Hurts. It’s going to be on Hurts to escape that pressure and keep the offense moving.
Eagles Defense Dominates, But Can They Last?
While the Titans are focusing on stopping Hurts, Philly’s defense had a very good showing against the Commanders in Week 1. They weren’t elite, and those final two Washington touchdown drives left a sour taste, but the unit held Jayden Daniels to just 18 completions on 34 attempts for 164 yards and limited Washington to 4.4 yards per play. Considering all the new faces in the secondary and how tough Daniels is to defend, that’s impressive. Here’s the kicker, though: this defense has an offense problem. The Eagles’ defense was on the field for 67 snaps while the offense only ran 53 plays and gained a meager 10 first downs. Washington absolutely owned the ball for 10 minutes and 2 seconds in the fourth quarter alone, putting together those 67-yard and 63-yard touchdown drives. You could see the defense visibly tiring. Jalen Carter looked exhausted by the end of the game, and the pass rush dropped off significantly. It’s becoming a familiar issue: the defense can play lights out for long stretches, but constantly being asked to return to the field eventually takes its toll. The advanced numbers show the Eagles generated pressure on 47.4% of Washington’s dropbacks despite blitzing on only 23.7%, but Daniels was sacked just once. The rush affected him and remained disciplined, but it rarely got there quickly. It seems like the Eagles were deliberately cautious, trying not to create huge escape lanes for Daniels.
So, here we are heading into Week 2, with the Eagles as home underdogs against a Titans team that just lit a fire under their star quarterback. Hurts and that O-line, especially Kendall, are going to be under a microscope facing Simmons. The defense proved it can make plays, but the offense has to step up and give them a breather. It’s time for the Eagles to show the league what they’re truly made of on Sunday.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleeding Green Nation.
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