A good quarterback wins you games, but a great quarterback wins you the Super Bowl. On one hand, Patrick Mahomes is eyeing for his fourth Super Bowl title and looking to cement his name as only third player to achieve this feat. On the other side, the Eagles‘ star QB, Jalen Hurts, is a major threat between Mahomes and his dreams of three-peat. So, here’s the big question for the Chiefs: how the heck do they slow down Hurts?
Let’s be real: Jalen Hurts is renowned for his dual-threat abilities with the arm to burn you and the legs to outrun you. That’s one of the reasons why he’s the most lethal threat for the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Sure, the team must be prepared to tackle down the Eagles’ star, but here’s the kicker. Greg Olsen, the former tight end turned sportscaster, just kind of spilled the beans on how to slow down Hurts ahead of the big showdown.
“I think about Kansas City, I want pressure up the middle, I want to move him (Hurts) off his spot, make him a throw off the spot,” Olsen stated. “He’s gonna hurt you as a scramble runner. That’s obviously a big part of his game and if you’re not careful, he’s gonna pick up first downs and he’s gonna convert with his legs.” Looks like Olsen did his homework, but that’s pretty basic and the Chiefs have probably thought of this before.
See, when we talk about a dual-threat QB, then Jalen Hurts is no stranger to it. The guy completed 248 out of 361 attempts for 2,903 yards and racked up 18 touchdowns. And rushing yards? Well, you can say his legs can leave the defenders in the dust. He rushed for 630 yards and punched in 14 touchdowns this season. Talk about making defenses sweat.
Now, Olsen believes that Hurts’s gonna hurt the Chiefs with his scramble running and there’s no stopping him. However, when he gets pressured, his passing can get a little shaky. If the Chiefs bring the heat up the middle, they can force him to throw under pressure, which could lead to some off-target throws or even turnovers.
Olsen further added, “I know Saquon had the highlight runs, and the touchdowns were all on the ground. But some of the biggest moments of the game, that single biggest individual plays of the game came through the air.” In this case, he’s not wrong. Because Hurts’ thrives when he’s got a clean pocket to work with. If the Chiefs can knock him off his spot, they’ll throw off his timing and rhythm, making it tougher for him to link up with his receivers.
On the flip side, when pressured, Hurts’ passer rating drops by 27 points and his completion percentage drops by over 32 percentage points. And that, folks, is the big red flag for the Eagles—or should we say, a huge green light for the Chiefs?
Jalen Hurts already started gifting his teammates
The Super Bowl is just less than a week ago and looks like the Eagles’ quarterback is already in celebration mood. Yep, you read that right. Ahead of the second Super Bowl clash between the Eagles and the Chiefs in the last three seasons, Jalen Hurts gifted Custom Beats Headphones to his teammates. The Fox Sports NFL insider, Jordan Schultz, broke the news on his official ‘X’ handle.
“I’m told Jalen Hurts gifted his teammates a custom pair of Beats Studio Pro headphones before heading to NOLA for Super Bowl LIX! ,” Schultz stated in his post. The headphones sport the word ‘NOLA’ with a fleur-de-lis in Mardi Gras colors, as seen in photos shared by NFL insider.
NFL, American Football Herren, USA Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles Sep 14, 2023 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts 1 reacts before the start of a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field. Philadelphia Lincoln Financial Field Pennsylvania USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xBillxStreicherx 20230914_bs_sq4_0195
Well, we can assume this gesture was already on the QB’s card before the Super Bowl. The thing is, the quarterback has been part of the endorsement deal with Beat ever since his days as Heisman Trophy finalist for Alabama. Now, the Eagles are gearing up to face-off against their Super Bowl LVII rivals on Sunday in New Orleans.
Though their previous meeting ended up in a heartbreak for Hurts and his crew, they’ve got another shot to win their second title and to stop Mahomes from his three-peat. Whether they can cash this opportunity or not will be revealed this Feb 9.
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