The Philadelphia Eagles are set for a home matchup with the New Orleans Saints, with the rookie quarterback, Jalen Hurts, making his first NFL start.

We sat down with John Sigler of The Saints Wire to get some insight into Taysom Hill, New Orleans preparation for Hurts, and who wins on Sunday.

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1. With Jalen Hurts set to face Taysom Hill, what was Sean Payton able to do with Hill Brees, that Doug Pederson simply was unable to do with Hurts and Carson Wentz?

The Saints gave Hill a full week of practice as the starting QB to rehearse his version of the offense, which is built around play-action passes and deeper looks downfield. He’s also a better athlete but they haven’t dialed up many designed runs for him yet. We need a larger sample size to see if it’s really a good fit but the early returns are encouraging. Taking a one-size-fits-all approach and just slotting Hill in for Brees wouldn’t work out.

2. What makes Alvin Kamara so special? Is his lack of production with Hill at quarterback a cause for concern going forward, especially if Drew Brees retires?

Kamara has a rare blend of qualities that make him great: he’s one of the smartest players on the team, understanding the game at a high level, and he’s a unique athlete with powerful strength in his core and leg muscles to absorb hits from defenders. His receiving numbers have taken a hit with Hill starting because he’s no longer the easy checkdown — if the deeper look isn’t there, Hill will run for a short gain himself rather than dump down to Kamara. He’ll be fine in the long run.

3. What has Malcolm Jenkins brought to the Saints defense that doesn’t necessarily show up on the stat sheets or box scores?

Jenkins has done so much to ease communication issues on the back end. He’s been great at connecting the front four with the back seven to avoid coverage busts and see through the smoke and mirrors to diagnose a play’s design. He also wears a ton of different hats by playing different positions, easily shifting from a two-high look to a conventional single-high or deep thirds. The Saints have lacked that versatility and experience in the secondary, making him a welcome addition.

4. With Hurts making his first start, how do you expect the Saints to alter their defensive approach, if at all?

I don’t think the Saints will change things up much. They’ll play a lot of nickel personnel to spy Hurts with their athletic linebackers (Demario Davis and Kwon Alexander) and nickel back (C.J. Gardner-Johnson) to spy the rookie and corral him if he tries to run on them. Jenkins should match up with Dallas Goedert. The front four is close to full strength again with Sheldon Rankins and Marcus Davenport back in action, so don’t expect many blitzes. They can trust everyone to cover well and tackle in space.

5. Is Michael Thomas still among the top-5 wideouts in the NFL?

He’s getting back to his old self. The Week 1 high ankle sprain lingered longer than anyone expected, and he’s still been limited in practice because of it. But Hill has made Thomas his first read and given the reigning Offensive Player of the Year chances to win contested catches. I don’t know that he’s up there with DeAndre Hopkins and DK Metcalf and Davante Adams right now, but he’ll be in the conversation again soon once his body is right.

6. Who wins and why?

I don’t think the Eagles challenge the Saints this time as badly as in past meetings, even if Hurts gives the offense a spark. They just don’t have the receivers to consistently get open or the blockers to hold up in pass protection, and the Saints run defense has forced many better rushing attacks to become one-dimensional. All the offense has to do is seal the deal when they’re in scoring position. But Hill’s fumbling issues (he has 9 on the year so far) could make this one closer than it should be. Saints 20, Eagles 14