Philadelphia Eagles sit Jalen Hurts as Cowboys await Week 18 fate

Asked whether or not the Dallas Cowboys will sit or start the team’s stars for Week 18, head coach Mike McCarthy said on Friday that he would have an answer on Monday.

Having won their Thursday night matchup versus the Tennessee Titans 27-13, the Cowboys are one win, and two Eagles losses, away from clinching the NFC East.

“I think I should probably answer that for you on Monday,” McCarthy said Friday.

Luckily for McCarthy and his team, Philadelphia is sitting quarterback Jalen Hurts on Sunday versus New Orleans. Hurts is continuing to nurse the shoulder injury that kept him out of the Week 16 loss versus Dallas, meaning that backup QB Gardner Minshew will get a second straight start.

The former Washington State star is 8-15 as a starter in the NFL, with three games started for the Eagles and 19 started for the Jaguars.

On top of having Hurts out, the Eagles are also taking on the New Orleans Saints without starting tackle Lane Johnson.

Cowboys wait for outcome of Philadelphia-New Orleans

Unlike Dallas, which has back-to-back road games to close the regular season, the Eagles get the advantage of ending the season with two home games. Even if they lose on Sunday, they’ll have a week to rest Hurts, Johnson and other injured contributors before heading into a must-win home game versus the New York Giants in Week 18. When the Eagles and Giants met earlier this season, Philadelphia won 48-22.

Although the Cowboys do have to play Week 18 on the road, they get more days off before the game. With stars like Micah Parsons, Tony Pollard and Tyler Biadasz dealing with injuries, the extra days could make a difference. In Dallas’s first matchup versus Washington, they won 25-10.

The Cowboys’ first win versus the Commanders is the difference maker if the Eagles and Cowboys exit Week 18. With identical records at 13-4, Dallas would own the tiebreak. Philadelphia dropped their second game to Washington 32-21.

If the Minshew-led Eagles can beat New Orleans on Sunday afternoon, then they clinch the East. Despite that letdown, the Cowboys could turn their attention to the playoffs in earnest. Dallas would likely have the No. 5 seed for the postseason. Without home-field advantage, they’d travel for Jan. 14-16 to play the No. 4 seed, which could be Tampa Bay, Carolina or New Orleans.

The kickoff date and time for Dallas’s Week 18 game versus Washington will come out after Week 17 games wrap up. The NFL will have two games on Saturday, one at 4:30 p.m. ET and one at 8:15 p.m. ET. The rest will be played on Sunday.