If Jalen Hurts runs during the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, the Washington Commanders plan to make him pay.
Washington defensive coordinator Joe Whitt while speaking to reporters on Thursday said his players intend to treat the QB like a running back when he uses his legs.
“We’ve had a number of these guys that we’ve had to prepare for,” Whitt said. “The one thing is, is if he’s going to run the ball, and if the coordinator makes the decision for him to run the ball, we’re going to treat him like a running back, and we’re going to hit him that way. So that’s their decision if they want to 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 going to do.”
In the Eagles Week 11 victory over the Commanders, Hurts rushed 10 times for 39 yards and a TD. He delivered 18 of 28 passing for 221 yards. In the Week 16 meeting, he suffered a concussion on a scramble and was absent for a while.
Whitt’s statement didn’t upset Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, who said that’s how every NFL team treats Hurts.
“Every team is going to try to tackle Jalen like a running back,” Sirianni said on Thursday. “He’s running with the football. They’ll try to tackle him. We ultimately are cautious with how we use him and how we think about each play because we know how important it is to have him out there. I wouldn’t expect anything else. Jalen knows how to take care of himself. We know how to help him do that as well as far as the scheme goes.”
Hurts running on Sunday could depend on the knee injury he suffered in the Divisional Round victory over Los Angeles Rams. He took an injury on a third-quarter sack. On the 18 play, after he attempted only three passes, completing all three of them for 19 yards, and took one kneel down.
The quarterback was listed as limited on Wednesday during a walkthrough.
