Potential pitfalls for Washington Football Team
The one area that has been the Achilles heel for Washington all season is its slow starts, which has allowed opponents to pick up early leads. This might be the biggest challenge for Washington against Hurts as situationally, he gets off to fast starts.
In the first half of games, Hurts has completed 63 percent of his passes for 490 yards and a 5:0 TD to INT ratio, giving him a passer rating of 123.2. He has fared a lot worse in the second half of games, with his passer rating dropping to 58.3. He has taken 10 of his 12 sacks and thrown all of his interceptions in the second half of games.
If Washington is able to keep the Eagles from getting too much momentum in the first half, it could take unnecessary pressure off the offense to have to overcome a large deficit in the second half, which would be important if Taylor Heinicke gets the start.
The final piece to the puzzle to stopping Hurts is shutting down his rushing attempts. Hurts has 238 rushing yards in his three starts with a healthy 6.26 yards per carry.
Although Hurts’ dual-threat abilities provide a unique challenge for Washington, his propensity to fumble is something the team should be able to take advantage of.
Hurts has been plagued with fumbling issues throughout his career, and over the last four weeks, he leads the NFL with six fumbles. Washington’s defense has forced 14 fumbles this year, recovering 6.
It won’t be easy, but slowing down Hurts is essential to Washington’s chances of winning on Sunday night. If they accomplish that, they will make the playoffs for the first time since 2015 and most likely have a meeting with Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in the first round.