The Green Bay Packers are preparing to face the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil on Friday night in the first week of the 2024 NFL season. Preston Smith will be one of the Packers starters for the upcoming 2024 season on the defensive side of the football.
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One of the things to watch for is how the Green Bay Packers 4-3 defense will be compared to the old 3-4 defense. The Eagles offense will be a good Week 1 test for the Packers.
Green Bay Packers Preston Smith Makes Crazy Take About Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Jalen Hurts
One of the biggest storylines entering the 2024 season will be how Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts can bounce back. Philadelphia started last season with a 10-1 record before they faltered down the stretch. Hurts a season ago completed 65.4% of his passes with 3,858 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 15 touchdowns.
One of the biggest issues for the Green Bay Packers defense a season ago was stopping the run. Hurts rushed for 605 yards on 157 carries and 15 touchdowns, averaging 3.9 yards per carry. Packers defensive player Preston Smith said this to the media about Hurts:
“He’s like the fastest chicken in the yard with no fence.”
That is one of the more shocking sayings about an opposing NFL player that has probably been said in quite some time. Not only will the Green Bay Packers have to worry about Hurts on the ground, but they will also have to worry about newcomer Saquon Barkley. Barkley signed with the Eagles as a free agent after playing with the New York Giants for the last few seasons.
Preston Smith and Rashan Gary will be responsible for trying to slow down Hurts this weekend. They will need to stay disciplined and will also need to get a pass rush. In the final six games of the 2024 regular season, Hurts only rushed for over 50 yards in a game one time. It was for 82 yards against the Seattle Seahawks. If they do not slow down Jalen Hurts in the ground game, they will be on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
Eagles Wide Receivers
To go along with the running game, the Green Bay Packers defense will need to watch for the passing game as well. A.J. Brown, Devonta Smith, and Jahan Dotson will be the Eagles starting wide receivers.
The secondary will be challenged in slowing them down. The Green Bay Packers will need to get after the quarterback to slow down their offense.
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