The Commanders plan to treat Jalen Hurts like a running back — and ‘hit him that way’
During their last meeting, Hurts suffered a concussion that kept him out the next two weeks.
ASHBURN, Va. — Joe Whitt Jr. did his best to put Jalen Hurts and Kellen Moore on notice Thursday: Use Hurts as a runner at your own risk.
Of course, Hurts’ left knee injury may not allow him to be as mobile Sunday, but Whitt, Washington’s defensive coordinator, was asked Thursday before Commanders practice about how he goes about preparing for teams with quarterbacks that, like Hurts, have the ability to run.
“We’ve had a number of these guys that we’ve had to prepare for,” Whitt said. “The one thing is, if he’s going to run the ball and 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.”
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Hurts suffered a concussion when the Eagles and Commanders met in Week 16. A designed run play resulted in Hurts opting to not slide and he took contact and was driven to the ground.
“That’s their decision if they want to get him hit the way that he gets hit,” Whitt said. “If they don’t, they’ll keep him in the pocket. But that’s what we’re going to do.”
Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu was in on the tackle that injured Hurts early in the first quarter in Week 16. He also was the player who leveled Lions quarterback Jared Goff after Goff threw an interception Saturday night in Detroit.
“It’s football, man,” Luvu said. “We play it fast and violently. That’s how I kind of play the game. It got me this far, so I ain’t going to change anything about it.”
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After Whitt’s comments, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was asked if the warning from the opposing coordinator would impact how the Eagles planned to use Hurts’ legs.
“No, I mean, every team is going to try to tackle Jalen like a running back,” Sirianni said. “He’s running with the football, they’ll try to tackle him. That doesn’t — we are already ultimately 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. But I wouldn’t expect anything else. Jalen knows how to take care of himself, and we know how to kind of help him do that as well, as far as the way the scheme goes.”