Arizona Cardinals defense could limit Jalen Hurts in Week 15

Jalen Hurts faces another difficult test in Week 15.

After taking down what was considered a top defense last week versus the New Orleans Saints, it doesn’t get any easier this week. Philadelphia Eagles rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts will face another strong defense in Week 15 versus the Arizona Cardinals. New Orleans’ defense faced the unknown last week. Hurts hadn’t played a full game yet. However, one week of film still isn’t enough. There is still a measure of the unknown. Eagles fans could see the 22-year-old shine again.

Last week, head coach Doug Pederson tried to get Hurts comfortable early on. He didn’t air it out too much. He kept it simple with RPOs, screen, designed QB runs, and short routes. We could see Hurts let it rip a bit more this week. It’s evident that he is calm, confident, and poised in the huddle. He doesn’t hesitate to make quick decisions. Last week, he played very smart football.

This Cardinals defense is going to force him to make quick decisions. It’s a versatile group. Players like Isaiah Simmons, De’Vondre Campbell, and Budda Baker will move around the formation and fill multiple roles. As Greg Cosell mentioned on the Eagles Eye in the Sky Podcast, Simmons could spy on Hurts.

The emphasis of this defense is to bring pressure. They have the fifth-highest blitz percentage (38.9%) and fifth-highest pressure percentage (25.8%). They’ll go man coverage (Cover 0, Cover 1, Cover 2) and often send pressure in a variety of ways. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is going to attack the weaknesses of Philadelphia’s offensive line.

Will Jalen Hurts be able to evade this pressure?

Up front, the Cardinals will call a lot of stunts to confuse the offensive line. While the Eagles’ offensive line has shown some improvement handling stunts, it still isn’t one of their strong suits. Haason Reddick racked up five sacks last week, giving him ten on the year. A lot of those sacks have come from him stunting inside. As Fran Duffy said in the Eagle Eye in the Sky Podcast, don’t expect a lot of tackle-end stunts in this one since Hurts can evade that pressure and rollout.

However, Arizona will likely still call plenty of stunts on the interior. Often, they will bring defensive backs down to the line as well. Not to mention, Reddick and other edge rushers can contain the outside pretty well and win pretty quickly.

The Eagles were only able to sustain drives last week due to Hurts’ scrambling ability. As the game went on, New Orleans adjusted. Arizona is sixth in the league in sacks with 37, 10th in knockdown percentage with 9.2 percent, and eighth in hurry percentage with 10.8 percent. If they keep Hurts in the pocket, he could take a beating.

As previously mentioned, this offensive line does not communicate stunts very well. It’s difficult to be on the same page when there is a new group every week. This week, they’ll have another new group with Matt Pryor replacing Jack Driscoll due to injury. That’s a major downgrade to say the least. Last year, Miles Sanders was one of the best pass protecting running backs. This year, he has had some occasional struggles picking up blitzes.

Arizona is no stranger to mobile quarterbacks. They face Russell Wilson twice a year. This year, they forced him to throw three interceptions and fumbled twice in two games. Josh Allen and Cam Newton both threw two interceptions against them. Those three quarterbacks did get some yards on the ground but were made uncomfortable and forced into some bad decisions.

Don’t be surprised if Vance Joseph gives Hurts and this offensive line more than they can handle. At times, it’s almost impossible to tell where Joseph is going to bring pressure from. Pederson might try to get the ball out of Hurts’ hands quickly again. Hopefully, Hurts carries the momentum from last week into this game. With his confidence, it feels like the Eagles have a chance every Sunday.