‘Saquon is in a much better situation’: Saints focused on trying to stop Barkley, Jalen Hurts in Week 3

Here’s what the New Orleans coaches and players are saying about the Eagles ahead of their game on Sunday.

Published Sept. 20, 2024, 9:00 a.m. ET

The Eagles are headed to the Big Easy for Week 3 to take on the New Orleans Saints after the Birds’ 22-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Saints are riding high after defeating the Carolina Panthers and the Dallas Cowboys. In New Orleans’ stunning 44-19 win over the Cowboys, running back Alvin Kamara found the end zone four times and finished with 180 total yards. Quarterback Derek Carr passed for 243 yards with two touchdowns and rushed for another score.

Here’s what the Saints said about the Eagles during the team’s media availability in New Orleans:

Saints coach Dennis Allen on the Eagles run game

Jalen Hurts’ ability to use his legs is a big focus for the Saints. Head coach Dennis Allen doesn’t want a repeat of what happened in the teams’ 2021 meeting — Hurts ran for three touchdowns in a 40-29 Eagles win.

“Hurts’ ability to hurt you — no pun intended — with his feet makes him a significant challenge to have to deal with,” Allen said. “He’s perfectly capable of a drop-back pass, throwing the ball from the pocket, and delivering the ball on time. When he begins to scramble, it makes life challenging in the back end. I think his ability to run the football makes things more challenging in run defense.”

Hurts rushed for 85 yards against Atlanta, including a touchdown. But Hurts isn’t the only run threat Allen is worried about.

“Saquon’s speed, explosiveness and the way that he hits the hole downhill, that makes it challenging,” Allen said of running back Saquon Barkley. “Him being able to run the football and the quarterback at any time being able to pull the ball. They know what they’re doing in the run game, and they utilize the players they have exceptionally well.”

Saints players on Barkley’s new home

Barkley finished with 116 total yards last week, after 132 total yards and three touchdowns in the opener against Green Bay. Saints players Tyrann Mathieu and Chase Young are impressed.

“I think Saquon is in a much better situation than the one he was in last year with the Giants,” said Mathieu, a safety. “The mix of him and Jalen Hurts with the skill players that they have on the outside, it’s going to be tough for us. We just need to find a way to keep him in front of us.”

Barkley and defensive end Young played against each other a lot as division rivals when Barkley was with the New York Giants and Young with the Washington Commanders.

“I played Saquon basically my whole career,” Young said. “I kind of know what [Barkley and Hurts] like to do, know who they are. He’s always been a great running back, now he’s just in a better situation, so I think he’s going to shine brighter.”

Containing Hurts

Linebacker Pete Warner talked about the difficulty of defending against rushing quarterbacks such as Hurts.

“He’s a guy who throws the ball exceptionally well but he also looks like a running back out there,” Werner said. “And you see he hurts all these teams on his feet. He’s a great downhill runner and he can create a lot of confusion on defense. It starts with containing the quarterback and having great rush integrity. You need to be very smart when it comes to rushing quarterbacks.”

Carr’s respect

Carr expects a big effort from the Eagles, coming off the Birds’ tough loss.

“This is a really good team we’re about to play that was recently just in a Super Bowl and almost won,” Carr said. “They’re coming off a tough loss, you don’t think they’re going to come out and fight? This is a championship football team that we’re about to play and we better bring it.”

The Eagles play in Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from the Caesars Superdome.