On Sunday, the Eagles will play in their first division matchup against the Washington Commanders and this game should be personal. The Commanders gave the Birds their first loss of the 2022 season.
In order to prevent that from happening in back-to-back seasons, the Eagles will need to play a complete game in all three phases. One of the most intriguing matchups will be Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offensive line against the Commanders’ powerful defensive front.
On BGN Radio episode 352, Brandon Lee Gowton talked about an area of concern when it comes to Jalen Hurts.
“It’s important that Jalen Hurts is making some quicker decisions. That’s one of the things that’s bothered me with his season so far, you look at the average time to throw among all NFL quarterbacks and Jalen Hurts ranks fourth slowest.”
Hurts is tied with Deshaun Watson at 3.14 seconds on average to throw. The only quarterbacks that are slower than him are Justin Fields, Bryce Young, and Zach Wilson. Compared to last season where Hurts had nine regular season turnovers, Hurts has already has four. We can’t expect things to get any easier going up against a strong unit that consists of Chase Young, Daron Payne, Jonathan Allen and Montez Sweat.
“I feel like it’s kind of been a feast or famine for him in that regard. This season I think there have been times where he has got it out really quick but it’s either really quick or very long and I think there’s kind of a happy medium to be found there. So, going up against this defensive line I would think I’m not say you have to be Tua [Tagovailoa] where he’s getting rid of the ball in 2.21 seconds on average … but a little bit quicker in the processing there would make sure that the Washington defensive line doesn’t get a chance to sack you all day.”
Last season Hurts’ average time to throw was around 2.8 seconds so he’s more than capable of getting rid of the ball quickly. He just needs to get back to it.
