A disciplined rush is a key

Disciplined rush: If the Steelers defense is going to have any success this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, they are going to have to contain the man at the control of the offense, quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Hurts is having his strongest season ever, leading the Eagles to a 6-0 record to start the season while completing 123 of 184 pass attempts for 1,514 yards, six touchdowns and only two interceptions. His threat just begins there, though. He also has run with the ball 77 times this season for 293 yards and six touchdowns.

“His mobility is definitely a factor,” said linebacker Alex Highsmith. “We have to keep him in the pocket. When you play guys like him, Lamar (Jackson), Josh Allen, guys who can move like that it, it’s an extra added challenge. You can’t just rush wild and be rushing all over the place because he’ll find escape lanes and stuff like that. You really just have to be able to rush disciplined and compress the pocket when you are playing guys like him who are able to move.

“If you run too high around him, he will be able to step up. If you come in too early, he can step back and get out. We just have to communicate. When we are our best it’s when we are communicating. I think that’s important for us to continue to communicate and have a rush plan that is disciplined.”

The Eagles are tops in the NFL in turnover ratio, and a big part of that is Hurts’ ability to protect the ball, make smart decisions, and not get rattled. The goal this week, is create havoc so he does make those mistakes.

“They are an efficient offense,” said Highsmith. “He takes care of the ball. They take care of the ball. We’ve got to be able to cause havoc and force them to make bad decisions by doing that. That’s getting after him. it starts by winning on first and second down. We have to stop the run then and when the time comes get after him in the pass.”

Highsmith, who continues to lead the NFL with 6.5 sacks, knows the defense has to play their best to accomplish what they…