Should Eagles Roll Dice, Sit QB Jalen Hurts vs. Giants?

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts appears healthy entering playoffs for the first time as a starter, though there is still a game remaining for him - or should there be?

PHILADELPHIA – After letting destiny slip through their fingertips like so many gains of sand, the Philadelphia Eagles will do plenty of scoreboard-watching on Sunday.

The expectation is they will play their starters when they meet the New York Giants at the Meadowlands at 4:25 p.m. (FOX). How long they will play isn’t yet clear.

It may depend on how competitive the game south of them will be in the shadow of the nation’s capital when the Dallas Cowboys travel to play the Washington Commanders.

A big early lead by the Cowboys could lead to a mass exodus for the Eagles’ starters before their game in New York ends.

As it is, the Eagles are already risking an even greater measure of injury since the turf inside Meadowlands is widely regarded as the worst in the NFL.

Jalen Hurts leads his teammates onto the field / USA Today

Darius Slay believes it’s important to play, even though he has missed the last three games after arthroscopic surgery. Slay has been a limited participant in two practices this week.

“We ain't playing great enough to be sitting down and we gotta go into the playoffs with momentum,” he said. “I know everybody worried about everybody's (health) but on this team, everybody knows in their heart we gotta go out there and play like a complete game where we are executing. Yeah man, we gotta get going, Ain't no way we're gonna sit down but that's up to coach.”

Yes, it is up to Nick Sirianni and even general manager Howie Roseman, who also has a say in these matters.

Rather than risk injury, perhaps they will sit their most important player – quarterback Jalen Hurts and roll the dice with Marcus Mariota starting and finishing.

Hurts needs 197 passing yards to become just the second quarterback in franchise history to hit 4,000 in one season, joining Carson Wentz, who did it in 2019 when he threw for 4,039 yards.

Will he be given that chance?

The last two years, Hurts entered the postseason injured.

Two years ago, it was an ankle injury that he suffered on the Meadowlands turf. He showed up in a walking boot for his postgame interview after the Eagles dropped the wildcard game against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Last year, he had a shoulder injury suffered late in the season on the frozen turf of Soldier Field in Chicago, but led them to a Super Bowl despite of that.

This year, the knee issue that bothered him going into the Week 10 bye week seems to be behind him, so he is probably as healthy as he has ever been heading into the postseason.

Asked about it earlier in the week, the quarterback chuckled – and who knows why he did? - before answering.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I have the same hunger, maybe a different hunger to achieve what’s in front of us. Maybe a little different. You kind of have the taste of getting the taste of something and coming up short in it, so obviously you’d love to get there and have an opportunity to do that, but it’s one day at a time. I don’t even want to look over this game in front of us.”

It’s a decision that is a double-edged sword.

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On one hand, a serious injury now, with a playoff game likely looming a week later, would be the worst-case scenario.

On the other hand, it might be wise for the Eagles to try to build some momentum in trying to collect their 12th win of the season.

“I don’t know how those things look,” said Hurts. “I’m no coach or anything like that, but the most important thing we can do is take advantage of our opportunities to execute and execute at a high level when opportunities are given.

“Definitely want to build some good rapport there and that’s the challenge, whether it’s a must-win game or just another game, they’re all equally important. The objective every game is to go out there and execute and do your jobs and ultimately put points on the board.”