Jalen Hurts injury update: Eagles QB 'trending in the right direction' for playoffs

Jalen Hurts won’t play Week 18 for the Philadelphia Eagles due to a concussion but is trending in the right direction for the playoffs, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Hurts was concussed in a loss to the Washington Commanders, but Philadelphia bounced back with a win with QBs Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee the following week against the Dallas Cowboys. With the win, the Eagles clinched the NFC East and the No. 2 seed, making Sunday’s game against the New York Giants meaningless in terms of seeding.

So, there’s an opportunity to rest Hurts and Fowler said there shouldn’t be any worry when it comes to Philly’s starting quarterback playing in the postseason for the fourth straight year.

“Jalen Hurts, so he’s out for the second straight week, still in the concussion protocol,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “The Eagles say that he is progressing well through it. I’ve checked with some people there with the team, who believe that absolutely he’ll be ready to play in the playoffs. Now, certainly he’s got to get back on the practice field and check through the five steps of the protocol, but he seems to be trending in the right direction from all that I’m hearing.”

Hurts finished the regular season with a 12-3 record, 2,903 yards, 18 touchdowns, five interceptions, a 68.7% completion percentage, 630 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns.

As it stands, Hurts and the Eagles would host the Green Bay Packers or the Commanders in the NFC Wild Card round. The overall schedule is still to-be-determined.

If Washington beats Dallas, it won’t matter what the Packers do and they’ll head to Philadelphia for a rematch of Week 1’s Brazil game. Should Green Bay win and the Commanders lose, Washington will head to Philadelphia and Hurts will face that defense for the third time this season.

The two teams split their meetings this year, both teams winning at home.

Going down the stretch this season, there were critics of the Eagles’ passing game due to a low volume of stats, despite the team’s franchise record 10-game winning streak. Following viral comments from WR AJ Brown, Hurts and the offense picked it up on the passing end.

Hurts threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for another, in a 27-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 15th.

So while Hurts recovers at this point, and with the Eagles unable to improve to the No. 1 seed, other starters will rest Sunday. That includes Saquon Barkley, who was closing in on the NFL’s all-time single season rushing record.

Barkley has 2,005 yards on the ground this year, 101 shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s mark of 2,105.