Hurts’ knee injury is a cause for concern entering the NFC title game
PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Hurts couldn’t give a concise answer when asked initially about the knee injury that plagued him in the second half of the Philadelphia Eagles‘ 28-22 playoff victory over the Los Angeles Rams. The knee injury clearly bothered Hurts, who wasn’t his normal self as he made that trek from the falling snow in Lincoln Financial Field into the locker room.
Hurts struggled with limited mobility due to the ailing knee, as he took three sacks and had negative rushing yards — including a safety — that significantly impacted the Eagles offense.
After getting an hour to rest and recuperate, Hurts faced the media in one of the most crowded press conferences of the season. Rest assured, Hurts will take the field for the Eagles in the NFC Championship game — according to Hurts.
“I was able to finish the game and we’ll see how the week goes,” Hurts said afterward. “Just seeing how the week will go. Seeing how things progress.”
The Eagles are likely not going to have Hurts at 100% when they take the field against the Washington Commanders next Sunday. Hurts showed his limitations playing through the knee injury, suffered at the 3:38 mark in the third quarter.
Hurts was 3 of 3 for 19 yards after the injury. He had one carry for -1 yards and took two sacks, including a safety where he was holding onto the ball too long (a common theme throughout the snowy conditions on Sunday). Evaluating Hurts’ performance is the hardest to judge as inches of snow descended upon Lincoln Financial Field throughout the second half of Sunday’s game.
Hurts not being mobile takes away his biggest strength as an added threat in the run game. Saquon Barkley saved the Eagles offense as he had 205 yards on 26 carries, including a 78-yard run to put the Eagles up two scores with 4:36 left.
The Eagles had 101 yards and averaged 5.6 yards per play after the injury, but the pass game was the biggest concern. Philadelphia had -1 passing yards and had -0.3 yards per attempt (sacks are factored into the net pass yards and attempts). The snow played a factor, but so did a hobbled Hurts.
There are six days for Hurts to heal up and play to the highest level he can, even if the quarterback likely won’t be 100% come Sunday. Will a limited Hurts be enough to beat the Commanders, especially when the Eagles have relied on Barkley to carry them all season?
Even with Hurts’ struggles, the Eagles still put up 15 points after the injury. They got a big play from Barkley, even though there had 21 yards combined on the other four possessions (excluding kneel downs). Can the Eagles just rely on Barkley to save them and carry an offense with an injured Hurts and A.J. Brown for another week?
The Eagles have survived and advanced in spite of the limited passing numbers. Now they have a limited Hurts going into their biggest game of the season.
The playing field is more even, but Hurts on the field is better than not having him on it. He’s a top-10 quarterback for a reason, a dangerous asset on the most talented roster left in the playoffs.
“I think if you have the right mental approach,” Hurts said about playing through injury. “It all bounces back on your preparation, how you prepare. The conditions are different in each game, but being able to say, ‘I’ve prepared for whatever is going to come. It was a different game, but we were able to weather the storm.’
“That took complementary football, that took big-time plays on offense in the right moments, that took big-time plays on defense in the right moments, and special teams being able to play the way they did.”
