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Jalen hurts Philadelphia Eagles
Everyone in Philadelphia will have cheered when the Eagles stopped the Los Angeles Rams on the decisive 4th down with less than 30 seconds left in Sunday afternoon’s NFC Divisional Round matchup.
But perhaps their cheers were even louder the night before, when they watched the Washington Commanders spectacularly finish off the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions, setting up a date with the No. 1 Commanders. 6 this weekend.
The Philadelphia Eagles are currently 5.5-point favorites against Washington, who they host at Lincoln Financial Field in the first of two games this Sunday, ahead of the AFC showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills .
Despite the joy of playing in their third NFC Championship Game in eight years, winning the previous two contests in the 2017 and 2022 seasons, there will undoubtedly be worry on the minds of Eagles fans.
The cause: the health of their franchise quarterback.
Jalen Hurts’ late-game injury a worry for Eagles
Jalen Hurts exited late in the third quarter after suffering a knee injury, caused by an awkward landing following a sack by Rams undrafted rookie safety Jaylen McCollough.
Immediately after the game, Hurts assured fans he would play on Sunday, while head coach Nick Sirianni gave a slightly more cautious response.
Although the Eagles have yet to release an injury report — the first is expected Wednesday — all signs point to their franchise QB facing the Washington Commanders. Yet despite this seemingly good news, things might not be so good for Philly.
Professional football doctor David Chao, one of the most respected online authorities on sports injuries, believes Hurts may not be fully healthy by the end of the week.
#JalenHurts good news and bad news https://t.co/upzaycsKwN
– David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) January 21, 2025
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Injuries could only be 80% for NFC championship game
When asked what he thought about the former NFC champion’s injury suffered the day before, David Chao had some very mixed news.
“He clearly had something on his knee, it didn’t look like it was a brace….I don’t see any structural damage (from the video), I don’t see a PCL (tear)….Could -he has a small tear in his meniscus because of the way it was flexing; hyper-flexed? He could.
Is Jalen Hurts playing at 100%. Will it – will the SIC score (how injured/healthy a player is) be 100 – no…. Instead, Chao says 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 seemed less fluid, less mobile.
Although Chao acknowledged that some of Hurts’ limited mobility may also have come from the harsh weather conditions in the second half, where snow began falling aggressively on the field, the fact remains that the former Oklahoma star might end up being nowhere near as good. dexterous or dangerous on his feet as he normally would be.
And that was evident even in the Rams game, as the team’s signature read option played effectively 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 relies heavily on his ability to double threat, this is certainly concerning, but not devastating. Hurts will have to play in and around the pocket with his arm, and will have to hope that Barkley turns in another marquee performance on Sunday.
Daniel Arwas Daniel Arwas is a sports writer who covers the NFL for Heavy.com. Daniel began his sports writing career in 2022 and has covered the NFL and college football for Gridiron Heroics and The Hammer. Learn more about Daniel Arwas
