Hurts and Smith Will Play Against Derrick Henry’s Titans Sunday
The Philadelphia Eagles will play the Tennessee Titans Sunday, which means former Alabama players Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith will have to play against former Alabama running back Derrick Henry.
Hurts is heading into the Titans game as the week 12 NFC offensive player of the week after a dominant performance against the Green Bay Packers that helped the Eagles get their 10th win of the season, winning 40-33.
Hurts completed 16 passes on 28 attempts for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and helped the Eagles rushing game with over 150 rushing yards on 17 carries. Smith finished the game with four receptions for 50 yards bringing him to a season total of 56 receptions for 609 yards.
The Eagles have the fourth best ranking total offense heading into the week 13 matchup against a Titans defense who are ranked 21st in total defense giving up over 351 yards a game.
"He's going to be difficult to defend." Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said about defending Hurts in his pre-game press conference Wednesday.
The Titans head into the game coming off a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, 20-16. Henry finished the game with 38 yards on 17 carries.
Even though Henry was unable to find success against the Bengals, he still has over 1,000 rushing yards in the season placing him second in the league behind another former Alabama running back Josh Jacobs who leads the league with 1,159 rushing yards.
The Titans offense will have another tough matchup offensively this week as the Eagles rank second in total defense giving up just over 300 yards a game.
"He's one of the best backs in the league, and we respect him." Defensive tackle for the Eagles Fletcher Cox said about the challenge of facing Henry. "We're looking forward to the challenge and it will be a fun one."
The Eagles will host the Titans Sunday with kickoff around noon CST.