The Green Bay Packers blitzed on quarterback dropbacks 29.3 percent of the time during the 2023 NFL season. The Packers attempted to limit Jalen Hurts with extra vigor in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season in Brazil against the Philadelphia Eagles, but Hurts didn’t appear to be very bothered by that specific Green Bay defensive strategy.
Amazingly high-tech stat: Jeff Hafley, the new defensive coordinator for the Packers, has advocated for an aggressive approach, although it has occasionally backfired. ESPN Stats & Information indicates that he blitzed Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts nine times. On those plays, Hurts completed 75% of his passes for 91 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 8 yards for a first down. Hurts threw eight interceptions against the blitz last season.
Hurts completed 20/34 for 278 passing yards and two touchdowns overall. He also gained 33 yards on the ground by rushing 13 times.
The Packers did force Hurts to fumble twice and give up a touchdown, so they were not without success against the Eagles signal-caller. However, in the end, Philadelphia managed 34 points and 410 total yards, which was too much for Green Bay’s defense, which allowed only 20.6 points and 335.1 total yards per game in the 2023 campaign.
Leave a Reply