Strange Times: Jalen Hurts a Pro Bowl Alternate, Fletcher Cox's Run Ends

The Eagles QB called it a blessing while Cox understood why, for the first time since 2014, he wasn't selected for the game

Jalen Hurts is a Pro Bowl alternate.

Fletcher Cox is not.

It’s been a strange couple of years, so maybe this just adds to the strangeness of it all, because nobody thought that when this season began it would be Hurts with a chance to play in the Pro Bowl and Cox would be shut out.

“I think Pro Bowl is a dream for a lot of players…but to be considered, to be voted upon, my peers, it’s, I guess starting off this way, is not too bad,” said Hurts on Thursday. “It’s a blessing. It’s cool.”

The starting quarterback for the NFC is Aaron Rodgers. The backups are Kyler Murray and Tom Brady.

There’s a chance that one of them could be playing in the Super Bowl, which means Hurts could be the quarterback replacing them and heading to Las Vegas for the Feb. 6 game.

The Eagles' other alternates are defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, tight end Dallas Goedert, kicker Jake Elliott, linebacker Shaun Bradley, and defensive end Josh Sweat.

Cox did not feel snubbed. He saw this coming.

Still, it snapped a six-year streak in which he was selected for the game.

"I know I can still play at that level,” he said on Thursday. “Obviously didn't have numbers this year, it was kind of up and down for me and I kind of expected it, but all I can do is go out and finish the season up strong and you know, I still know I'm one of the better defensive tackles in the league so I'm not salty about it at all…I know I continue to get better and I'll be back next year."

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Cox’s game has risen to another level after the trade deadline passed on Nov. 2 when the Eagles tried to peddle the expensive defensive tackle and nearly had a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

If Cox does get back to the Pro Bowl next year it may very well be in another uniform.

For now, though, he has been a key ingredient in helping Jonathan Gannon’s defense sit at No. 11 overall in the NFL as it battles to make the playoffs.

Cox had a season-high 1.5 sacks against Washington in Tuesday night’s win, a game in which Gannon said that Cox “played his ass off.”

Fletcher Cox :: Ed Kracz/SI.com Eagle Maven

Gannon said Cox was given the team award for player of the game.

“He's in the quarterback's lap all day long, he got the sack into the two minute, had a couple hits on the quarterback, played extremely well in the run game,” said the DC. “He really affected the game for us. As I like to call it, you guys have heard me say it, he train-wrecked the game.”

Cox’s take on his play ramping up was, he said, just becoming familiar with what Gannon wanted from him and knowing that Thanksgiving is over and it's time for a playoff push.

"Just knowing the position that you're in, the position that I'm in,” he said. “You know, obviously, I want to play this way early in the season. The ball really just wasn't bouncing the way that it is now. 

"I think the way it is now is just comfortable in the system, know what to expect, and just going out and putting it out on the field. Everybody's on the same page upfront and really just maximizing all opportunities that I'm getting right now.”

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Meanwhile, Hurts has quarterbacked the Eagles to a 7-7 record and is scoring rushing touchdowns at still, with 10 of them this season. He leads the team in rushing with 733 yards and has thrown 14 touchdowns and, with 2,731 yards passing and three games left, should surpass 3,000.

“I think every game that Jalen is out there, he gets more comfortable,” said tight end Dallas Goedert following Tuesday’s win over Washington. 

“We have a lot of trust in each other. He has a lot of trust in himself. He does a great job keeping his eyes down the field and when he has to run, he is one of the most explosive quarterbacks in this league.”

And now Hurts is a Pro Bowl alternate in just his second season in the league.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.