The Philadelphia Eagles are probably more excited than anyone to put the regular season in their rearview. Now that the playoffs are here and the slate gets swiped clean, QB Jalen Hurts and Co. get a chance to right their late-season wrongs against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
However, with the big Super Wild Card matchup visit on deck Monday night, will the Eagles have the benefit of having their quarterback under center? Let’s take a closer look at Hurts and his availability ahead of the big playoff clash in Tampa.
Will Jalen Hurts Play Monday Night?
While it would be a shocker if Hurts was unable to suit up for a Super Wild Card edition of Monday Night Football, it is certainly anything but a guarantee right now.
In Week 18, Hurts and the Eagles lost their fifth game out of six against the division rival New York Giants. But more so than the fact that they lost their division crown and were dropped to the fifth seed, Hurts was injured in the game and has left some doubts about his availability ahead of their playoff matchup.
Hurts dislocated his middle finger on his throwing hand in the first half of the Week 18 contest in what cameras caught to be a nasty-looking injury. Despite the injury, Hurts went back into the game, and it is something he regrets doing.
Hurts is quoted as saying, “Everything is a challenge when you have a finger out of place.” He admitted that the finger hurt more on Monday than it did the day of the game, adding that he has not thrown a football since injuring the finger, which is an alarming revelation when they are mere days from a do-or-die playoff game.
Even so, Hurts advises that things are progressing in the right direction with the injury when it comes to him and his availability for the game. Despite the positive outlook from the QB, it is a situation worth monitoring, and it would change the dynamic of the game and the look of the Eagles’ offense entirely if he was unavailable for the matchup.
Who Would Step Up If Hurts Was Out?
If Hurts were unable to go in the first round of the playoffs, the Eagles would turn their offense over to veteran journeyman Marcus Mariota. He is a former first-round pick of the Tennessee Titans, but he has had a rocky NFL career since joining the league, which has led him to be the backup in Philly this season.
Mariota has not started a game this season, but he has appeared in three games in limited action. He has only thrown 23 passes all season and has one touchdown and one interception during that body of work.
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Before 2023, Mariota was the starting quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, where he was the main guy for one season before the team turned the franchise over to QB Desmond Ridder. He finished 5-8 in 13 appearances last season before he was benched for good for the final four games of the season, sending him out of Atlanta and to Philadelphia to be the backup to Hurts.
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