Everyone in Philadelphia will have cheered when the Eagles stopped the Los Angeles Rams on the game-deciding 4th down with less than 30 second to go in the NFC Divisional Round clash on Sunday afternoon.
But perhaps their cheers were even louder the night before, when they saw the Washington Commanders finish the #1 seed Detroit Lions in spectacular fashion, setting up a date with the #6 Commanders this weekend.
The Philadelphia Eagles are currently 5.5 point favorites against Washington, whom they host at Lincoln Financial Field in the earlier of two games this Sunday, prior to the AFC showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
Despite elation at having made their third NFC Championship game in eight years, winning both prior bouts in the 2017 and 2022 seasons, there will no doubt be worry in the back of Eagles fans’ minds.
The cause: the health of their franchise quarterback.
Jalen Hurts’ Late Game Injury A Worry For The Eagles
Jalen Hurts went off late in the third quarter after sustaining a knee injury, caused by an awkward landing from a sack by Rams undrafted rookie safety, Jaylen McCollough.
Immediately after the game, Hurts assured fans that he will play on Sunday, whilst head coach Nick Sirianni gave a slightly more cautious response.
Although the Eagles have not yet released an injury report – the first one is due on Wednesday – all signs point to their franchise QB suiting up against the Washington Commanders. Yet, despite this seemingly good news, things may well not be hunky dory for Philly.
Pro Football Doctor, David Chao, one of the most respected online authorities concerning sporting injuries, believes that Hurts may not quite be fully healthy by the end of the week.
#JalenHurts good amd bad news https://t.co/upzaycsKwN
â David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) January 21, 2025
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Hurts Could Only Be At 80% For NFC Championship Game
When asked his thoughts about the former NFC Champion’s injury sustained the day prior, David Chao had some very mixed news.
“He clearly had something on his knee, it didn’t look like to me that it was a brace….I don’t see structural damage [from the video], I don’t see a PCL [tear]….Could he have a small meniscus tear the way that he flexed; hyper-flexed? He could.
Is Jalen Hurts playing – 100%. Is he – is the SIC [how injured/healthy a player is] score going to be 100 – no….”. Instead, Chao asserts it would be closer to 80.
“He’s going to be able to move – is he going to be as dynamic? No….So he can still run, he can still do it but he did seem to be less fluid, less mobile.”
Although Chao acknowledged that part of Hurts’ limited mobility may have also come from the difficult weather conditions in the second half, where snow began to aggressively land on the pitch, it still figures that the former Oklahoma star may well end up being not nearly as dextrous or dangerous on his feet as he normally would be.
And this was apparent even in the Rams game, as the team’s signature Read Option plays effectively ground to halt in the fourth quarter when Hurts returned to the lineup, unable to be a true playmaking threat with his feet.
For a player whose game heavily relies on his dual-threat run ability, this is certainly worrying, but not devastating. Hurts will have to make plays in and around the pocket with his arm, and will have to hope that Barkley has yet another marquee performance on Sunday.
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