3 bold predictions for Jalen Hurts, Britain Covey, and the defense in Eagles vs. Falcons MNF game

The Philadelphia Eagles are back in the win column after their sloppy Week 1 game in Brazil. We saw things we expected: A.J. Brown continued to be an elite talent and real game changer, DeVonta Smith sucked the life out of a defense, Jake Elliot was perfect, and Jalen Carter made throwing 300-pound offensive lineman look as easy as flicking a paper football.

Those kinds of things are easy to predict. Things like predicting Zack Baun to lead the defense in sacks, a rookie Quinyon Mitchell to be one of the best players on defense, and Mekhi Becton to dominate in his first game as a right guard are hard to predict. You have to be bold to think those things are going to happen, so let’s be bold.

Monday Night Football will be a ‘get right’ game for an Eagles team that has a lot already right.

The Eagles are a good team, and in Week 1 they did things a lot of bad teams do; The pass rush was ineffective and quarterback play was sloppy. Luckily, those are things the have to and will change, and there’s no place better than a Week 2 game on Monday night to fix it. The Eagles are going to get back on the right track and they’re going to do it emphatically.

The pass rush makes up for Week 1 and then some

The news on the internet is all about Kirk Cousins’ health and absolutely nothing else about anything. There have been countless videos of Kirk not looking good in the backfield and the Falcons’ decision to not let him hand the ball off from under center.

When talking about how much everyone should panic about quarterbacks, ESPN’s Ben Solak made a note that in Week 1, “Cousins moved an average of 3.1 yards per dropback in this game, which is the least dropback movement he has had in a single game of his career by more than a full yard.”

Kirk’s coming back from an Achilles injury. When you watch what he did in Week 1, it’s extraordinarily clear that he is either not 100% healthy, or he has the same confidence in his leg as we have about James Bradberry’s ability to cover a wide receiver who is going slightly faster than a walking pace.

That’s really, really, really good for us. The Eagles' pass rush was non-existent against Jordan Love and the Packers in Week 1, which is particularly disappointing because of the enormous amount of resources (both draft capital and actual money) thrown at the defensive line.

The players that will feast on an actual wounded person will be Bryce Huff, Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith, and Brandon Graham (all of the edge rushers). If you have a 36-year-old quarterback who is clearly still hampered by an Achilles tear that happened 10 months ago, a pass rush should be able to make him contemplate early retirement. 

It also helps that this is Kirk’s third straight season where he has to play the Eagles on Monday Night Football in Week 2. He might be trying to rehabilitate his ‘Prime Time Kirk’ image, but recently, he hasn’t been able to do it in Philadelphia. 

If there’s a chance this doesn’t happen, it’s Kirk’s history with Vic Fangio. He’s played five games against Vic and he’s won three of them. In those games, he completed 121 passes on 174 attempts (69.5%) for 1,233 yards (246.6 yards per game).

Those numbers aren’t exactly awe-inspiring for ol’ Quirky Kirky, but the last time he played a Fangio defense, he went 29-of-35 and 319 yards, but that was with Stefon Diggs while he was entering his prime… also it was almost five years ago.

Now he’s just another old injured quarterback ready to be slaughtered and the pass rush that he has to deal with was just hampered by a terrible playing surface. Now they’re ready to make a statement after being wronged on national television.

This isn’t going to be a game where the Eagles get to Kirk just a couple of times. This is a game where the pass rush gets home 5.5 to 6 times. They’ll make their presence known and they’ll do it at home in front of a drunk crowd demanding blood and retribution.

Jalen Hurts bounces back in a big way

Someone on the Eagles offense has an abnormal game in Week 1 and bounces back in some crazy type of way in Week 2. It was DeVonta Smith in 2022 when he went from zero catches in Week 1 to seven catches for 80 yards in Week 2. In 2023 it was D’Andre Swift who went from one carry for three yards to 28 carries for 175 yards and a touchdown.

There’s always a bounce back. Last week, the only offensive playmaker who had a game that could be considered bad, was Jalen Hurts. That means he’s going to explode in Week 2.

He went 20-of-34 for 278 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions against the Packers. His interceptions were just as terrible as they were avoidable. He’s facing a defense that looks much better on paper than it does in reality.

The Falcons have three players on defense who really strike fear into your heart: safeties Jessie Bates III and Jeffery Simmons, and pass rusher Matthew Judon. We know the Eagles' offensive line will neutralize any sort of pass rusher so that just leaves the safeties. 

Jalen made a terrible decision and paid for it when the Packers’ safety Xavier McKinney picked him off. That was on the Eagles first drive of the season and it was Jalen’s second throw of the season. On top of that, he had no film to study on what the Packers’ defense was going to look like.

Now the rust is knocked off and he has film on what the Falcons’ defense will look like. Things are shaping up for Jalen and he’s going to take advantage. Look for 350+ passing yards, three touchdowns in the air, and one on the ground.

Britain Covey returns a punt for a touchdown

Britain Covey has returned 62 punts in his three-year career and has never returned one for a touchdown. Until further notice, this is going to be a weekly bold prediction because it’s inevitable.

One of three things happens during an Eagles punt return: Covey fair catches it, he looks like he’s going to break one but doesn’t, or he gets hit and it looks like he was shot in the chest by a Howitzer at point-blank range.

It’s about time that things come together so Covey gets to celebrate in the end zone. Something that helps him is that in Week 1, the Falcons punted four times, and all of them were returned. That’s a good sign for Covey to finally be able to bask in the love coming from nighttime The Linc. A home opener when the team is on a redemption tour is no better place to do that.

Listen, maybe not all of these things come true or maybe they all come true. The fact of the matter is that the Falcons looked very daunting after their offseason additions but after Week 1? Yeesh… They look like a team that’s ready to be embarrassed on national TV.