The 2023 NFL season won’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination for legendary head coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots, with the storied franchise starting the year against the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles.
The Patriots will have to face one of the best all-around teams in the NFL right out of the gate, who will likely be hungrier than ever after barely losing to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
Heading into this Week 1 matchup in New England, Belichick knows he’ll have his hands full trying to contain versatile quarterback Jalen Hurts.
The Eagles superstar is coming off a breakout season and recently got a new lucrative long-term contract for his efforts, meaning he’s got nothing but football to concentrate on while keeping the loss to the Chiefs fresh in his mind as motivation.
According to ProFootballTalk, Hurts is Belichick’s No. 1 concern in Week 1, and rightfully so.
Bill Belichick on preparing for Jalen Hurts: Nobody has anybody that can be him in practice. https://t.co/2boBYUpEgV
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 7, 2023
Belichick admitted that it is no easy task to prepare for Hurts because there’s no one on the Patriots that can simulate what the Eagles superstar can do on the football field.
Malik Cunningham is the closest Belichick could come to Hurts, and he’s currently on the Patriots’ practice squad.
It’s clear that Belichick knows how special Hurts is and how the key to victory for the Patriots is to contain the 25-year-old, or New England will be in for a long day and will start the season with a loss to one of the best teams in the league.
NEXT: Patriots LB Notes The Challenge Of Going Against Eagles' O-Line
