3 Keys to victory for Philadelphia Eagles versus New Orleans Saints

2. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts needs to build off of last week.

A little less than one year ago, Jalen Hurts got his first career victory in his first NFL start against New Orleans. The Birds will be wearing the all-black uniforms just like they did in the matchup for some good luck. Last week, Hurts had arguably his best career game as a passer.

He slid in the pocket. He did not bail too early. He processed quickly. His ball placement was beautiful including the dropped touchdown to Quez Watkins.

There were only a few throws to nitpick from the second half and to be fair, he only threw the ball three times in the second half. The Birds closed things out on the ground and on defense and there was no need to get Hurts in a rhythm at that point.

This week, the Birds will likely stick with those 12 and 13 personnel sets to keep the ground game going strong especially with Dallas Goedert healthy.

New Orleans does have the number one run defense and will get some stops but could struggle with jumbo sets and zone read. When the Saints do get stops on early downs, Hurts will need to continue to make the same throws he made last week. The belief hope is that last week wasn’t a fluke and is a sign of progression. He’ll have the opportunity to prove that in this one.