Getty Jaylon Smith with Cowboys
The Philadelphia Eagles are being coy about their plans for Saturday night. Will they risk injuring their starters to (maybe) grab the No. 6 seed in the playoffs? It doesn’t appear so given Nick Sirianni’s cryptic comments.
The head coach simply stated “everything is on the table” when he addressed the subject of rest versus rust with reporters on Monday. One day later, quarterback Jalen Hurts was equally evasive on what the team might do.
However, Hurts made it clear that if it was solely his decision to make then he would be suiting up against the Dallas Cowboys.
“I love football,” Hurts said, “and I’m preparing as if it’s business as usual so …”
Hurts’ sentence trailed off just like that. And no one dared ask a follow-up question.
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Eagles Haven’t Played Their Best Football
Hurts has talked often about the Eagles being close to playing their best football. Following a 42-30 loss to the Chiefs in Week 4, the second-year starter held up two fingers to indicate just how close they were to doing that. Inches, maybe centimeters.
Three months later with a playoff spot locked up, they are still a flawed football team.
“No mental errors, no busted assignments, staying true to our fundamentals for the entire course of the game,” Hurts said when asked what needs to happen. “And just want to go out there and play at a high level, at a more consistent basis – and one may argue or say that, ‘hey you’ve been doing that’ but, for me, enough isn’t enough.”
“We have the opportunity to do something special, so we want to take advantage of it.” – @JalenHurts on clinching a playoff spot
So, how close are the Eagles to putting together a perfect four quarters?
“It’s coming,” Hurts said.
Taking Action for Washington Railing Collapse
Add fan-safety activist to Hurts’ growing resume. The Eagles quarterback sent a memo to the NFL offices in New York City, as well as to the Washington Football Team, to seek follow-up action for the tragic railing collapse that nearly injured him. Several Philly fans came crashing down around him as he was walking off the field and into the visitor’s tunnel last week.
Hurts expressed concern for all those put in harm’s way, including himself, fans, and media members. And politely asked to know what was going to be done to rectify the situation. Hurts wrote: “I would like to know what safeguards the NFL and the Washington Football Team are implementing to prevent this from ever occurring in the future.”
#Eagles QB Jalen Hurts sent a letter today to the Washington Football Team and the NFL, asking what follow-up action will be taken after a “near-tragic incident” when a railing collapsed Sunday at FedEx Field. Several fans fell; Hurts narrowly avoided potentially serious injury.
When asked about the letter during his media availability on Tuesday, Hurts answered honestly and with compassion. He wanted to prevent much worse incidents from happening across the NFL.
“It was actually sent to league officials as well and I tried to handle the situation with a lot of poise and show compassion for the people who fell down really,” Hurts said. “I know it could have been so much worse, and it kind of didn’t hit me until after the fact.
“Having some time to reflect on it and think about it. So I just wanted to make sure what could be done to make sure it doesn’t happen again. That’s all I really care about. That’s a very tragic incident and it could have been much, much worse.”
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Eagles’ Jalen Hurts Preparing for ‘Business as Usual’ vs. Cowboys