Ahead of the Week 2 matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Tennessee Titans, Jeffery Simmons noted what the Titans need to do to emerge with the win, which may have accidentally added motivation to the Eagles’ locker room.
“We just need to make Jalen Hurts be a QB,” Simmons said. “Stop his runs, make sure Hurts doesn’t get out of the pocket and make plays.”
In the Eagles’ Week 1 win over the Commanders, Hurts repeatedly escaped interior pressure to extend plays, racking up 48 rushing yards on scrambles, his second-highest total since the start of the 2025 season.
Hurts Has Already Proven He Can Win from the Pocket
Opponents across the league often echo the lazy narrative that containing Hurts as a runner automatically shuts down Philadelphia’s offense. But Week 1 proved that simply isn’t the case. Hurts did a majority of his devastating damage against the Commanders strictly from the pocket.
The Eagles’ biggest plays through the air, the 64-yard bomb to Dontayvion Wicks and the pinpoint sideline pass to DeVonta Smith, came with Hurts operating as a stationary passer. Furthermore, all three of Philadelphia’s touchdowns were launched with Hurts standing tall in the pocket.
This isn’t a new development for Hurts or the Eagles. In fact, it traces back to 2022, the last time Philadelphia faced a Jeffery Simmons-led Titans defense. Tennessee successfully held Hurts to just 12 rushing yards, but he shredded them through the air instead.
Hurts threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns, with 370 of those passing yards generated from inside the pocket, the second-highest in-pocket total of his career. More impressive than the stat line was how effortlessly the Eagles cruised to a 35-10 victory.
The Eagles Will Have Their Hands Full withSimmons
Still, the upcoming game won’t be easy for the Eagles against a dominant force like Simmons at the center of the Titans’ defense. Simmons earned first-team All-Pro honors last season after racking up 11 sacks and 60 quarterback pressures.
Hurts will also have a new starting offensive lineman, with Landon Dickerson moving to the injured reserve list. Either Drew Kendall or Willie Lampkin will fill the starting role, though between them, they have just one game of combined NFL starting experience. Both players are highly capable, however, coming off strong training camps and offering a potential upgrade over Dickerson, who struggled while playing through an injury in Week 1.
If the offensive line is able to hold up, Hurts will have plenty of time to pick apart the Titans’ secondary at every level and prove that pocket passing is a strength rather than a weakness.
