Jalen Hurts has been battling an ankle injury, and missed the Philadelphia Eagles‘ last game as a result. What is his status going into today’s game against Washington, and how has he performed so far this season?
Update 12/21/21: Jalen Hurts is officially active and will start for the Eagles tonight against Washington.
Is Jalen Hurts playing today vs. Washington?
Barring any setbacks, Hurts is expected to start today. He’d been a limited practice participant early in the week but logged two full participation practices on Friday on Saturday. While Hurts hasn’t suited up for the Eagles since they played the Giants in Week 12, he only actually missed one game.
The following week, the Eagles and backup quarterback Gardner Minshew played the Jets. Then, Philadelphia went on their bye in Week 14. Subsequently, the game vs. Washington was rescheduled by a couple of days due to a large number of positive COVID tests. Hurts has now had three weeks to get healthy, and it sounds as though he’s ready to go for today’s game.
How has Hurts performed so far this season?
If we were to be critical, Hurts could make some improvements in the passing game. But I’m also willing to attribute some of that criticism to a lack of weapons and dependence on DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. Hurts ranks 27th among starting quarterbacks in completion rate this season at 60%.
On the ground, however, Hurts ranks second among QBs with 693 rushing yards. Only Lamar Jackson (767) has more yards as a runner from the quarterback position. What Hurts does lead in is QB rushing touchdowns. He has 8 scores on the ground this year in addition to his 13 passing TDs. Jackson has only 2 rushing TDs, while Ryan Tannehill is second behind Hurts with 7.
[the_ad_group id=”61554″]
If the Eagles can continue to build around Hurts, trust him in the system they’re creating, and give him the space to work, things could turn out well for Philadelphia. I didn’t expect him to be as much of a rushing quarterback as he has been, but if it works, why not?
The Eagles are currently 6-7. If they can win three out of their final four games, they would finish with a 9-8 record and a likely spot in the playoffs. Of course, it would all come down to how other NFC contenders — like the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints — perform down the final stretch of the season.
