PHILADELPHIA – Out of NFL concussion protocol, Jalen Hurts is ready to roll for the Eagles.
With Hurts back, the NFC East champion Eagles (14-3) should be close to full strength in the starting lineup for their NFC wild-card game Sunday against Green Bay.
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“You always feel better when Jalen Hurts is on the field,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said Friday.
The Eagles quarterback hasn’t played since he suffered a concussion and left a Dec. 22 game early against Washington. The 26-year-old Hurts returned to practice this week, a sure sign he was healthy enough to make the postseason start. Hurts missed the final two games — where backups Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee led the Eagles to victories — but led the Eagles on a 10-game winning streak before he was injured in a loss to the Commanders.
The Eagles were a 4 1/2-point favorite on Monday to beat the Packers and had 7-1 odds to win the Super Bowl, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. On Friday, the Eagles moved to 5 1/2-point favorites to beat Green Bay.
There are five phases in the concussion protocol, with the final one clearance by an independent neurological consultant.
The Eagles are a legitimate Super Bowl contender with Hurts in the lineup and should have the upper-hand against Green Bay when it comes to healthy quarterbacks. Packers QB Jordan Love said this week his elbow — injured in the regular-season finale — was still sore, and he felt pain when he did some limited throwing in practice.
Hurts, who played late in the season with a broken finger on his non-throwing hand, threw for 2,903 yards this season with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions. He threw only one interception after the NFC East champion Eagles returned from their Week 5 bye. Thanks to the tush push, Hurts has 14 rushing touchdowns this season.
“We're always careful with him,” Sirianni said. “He’s our quarterback so we always want to be careful with him. We always think about his health first and foremost because you never want him not to be on the field. You always want Jalen Hurts on the field."
The were still minor concerns around Philly about the health of the Eagles receivers.
The Eagles got a needed boost when tight end Dallas Goedert returned from a four-game absence with a knee injury and was productive in his return in the regular-season finale with four catches for 55 yards. Wide receivers A.J Brown, who had 67 catches for 1,079 yards, and DeVonta Smith both missed a practice this week for rest and minor injury recovery.
Banged-up or not, Geodert, Smith and Brown are expected to play against the Packers (11-6).
“Any time you can have them all on the field at the same time, it's a good thing,” Sirianni said. “Those guys are really good players so we're excited about the opportunity they'll have together.”
As for the question of rest vs. rust late in the season, Sirianni had no concerns that Hurts’ production would suffer from the layoff or that he wouldn’t easily again find an instant connection with his receivers.
“They've got a lot of reps together prior to the last couple of weeks,” Sirianni said. “A lot, a lot of reps together. So that's not a concern of mine. I just feel like we're in a good spot going into this game.”
Hurts was 20 of 34 for 278 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions and led the Eagles to a 34-29 victory over the Packers in the season opener.
Hurts is a dual threat for the Eagles and his ability to run at any time is what has made him such a highly-paid — a $179.3 million guaranteed extension in 2023 — and dangerous — NFL MVP runner-up in 2022 — quarterback. He rushed for 630 yards this season. Hurts, though, was hurt against the Commanders after his head slammed against the ground on one run and he was hit in the helmet by Frankie Luvu at the end of another.
“It’s always part of our process and our plan to make sure that when he does carry the football on planned runs, that we try to protect him," Sirianni said.
Hey, at least the Eagles have the ninth 2,000-yard single-season rusher in NFL history in the backfield with Saquon Barkley if they really want to run.
So who backs up Hurts?
Pickett started the first game in Hurts' absence against Dallas but was forced out with injured ribs. McKee, a career-third stringer, took the first regular-season snaps of his NFL career in relief of Pickett and threw two touchdowns. He started last week against the Giants and threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns.
It's always a peace of mind for any playoff team to have solid backups just in case of emergency.
Just ask the Eagles.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL