Source: Jalen Hurts’ knee injury is unlikely to sideline the Eagles QB against the Commanders
Hurts was walking gingerly on the field after taking a hit to his leg in the second quarter against the Dolphins. He said he had been dealing with the injury before Sunday night.
A source told The Inquirer on Monday that quarterback Jalen Hurts’ left knee injury is not expected to sideline him for the Eagles’ Week 8 game against the Washington Commanders.
Hurts’ injury was most evident during the Eagles’ 31-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins when he took a low tackle on the sideline in the second quarter after a scramble. He was slow to get up and walked gingerly back onto the field. Hurts came out for the second half sporting a brace on his left leg and never missed a snap.
After the game, Hurts indicated that the injury he was dealing with was something he suffered before Sunday night. He downplayed the effect that the injury might have going forward, saying that he’ll “be fine.”
Coach Nick Sirianni said Hurts was in “good spirits” Monday at the NovaCare Complex as the Eagles regrouped ahead of their Sunday afternoon matchup on the road against the Commanders.
“We’ll see later in the week how he’s feeling,” Sirianni said Monday. “I know that he battled through being uncomfortable yesterday. He can answer some of those questions as far as how he felt and all those different things.
“I just know that this guy’s tough as nails and he’s going to do everything he can do to help our football team win. And he knows to help our football team he’s got to be on the field. Just credit to him for him playing one of his better games of the season through some discomfort that he had yesterday.”
» READ MORE: Eagles’ Jalen Hurts played through an injury and turnovers to emerge victorious vs. the Dolphins
Although Hurts turned the ball over twice against the Dolphins (one pick-six, one fumble), he showed resilience, going 23-for-31 on his passes (74.2%) for 279 yards and two touchdown throws for a 109.5 passer rating. He contributed in the ground game, too, collecting 21 yards including a “tush push” touchdown on 11 carries.
With his rushing touchdown, Hurts tied Randall Cunningham’s quarterback franchise record of 32, which he set during his tenure from 1985-95. Hurts has the opportunity to break the record against the Commanders as long as he is available to play.
Dolphins penalty party
The Dolphins were called for 10 penalties on Sunday night while the Eagles incurred none, although the Eagles were flagged twice on what ultimately resulted in offsetting penalties.
According to Stathead, the Eagles’ game against the Dolphins marked just the 10th time in NFL history that one team racked up double-digit penalties while the other was not called for any. The last occasion was on Dec. 1, 2019, in the Kansas City Chiefs’ 40-9 victory over the then-Oakland Raiders. The Chiefs avoided a penalty while the Raiders were called for 12.
Six of the Dolphins’ 10 accepted penalties occurred pre-snap, starting with an offside call on defensive tackle Christian Wilkins on the fourth play of the Eagles’ opening drive. Sirianni tipped his proverbial cap to the fans in attendance at the Linc for creating a raucous atmosphere that worked in the Eagles’ favor.
“I think it was just loud and it’s hard to operate,” Sirianni said. “The game has so much parity in it and it’s so hard to win. Every little advantage you can have, you want to be able to take advantage of. I definitely think those things are a huge help. Our crowd was rowdy. You knew it would be yesterday. You knew it would be loud, you knew it would be energetic. I felt that, how cool it was that we were on Sunday Night Football.”
The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane contributed to this article.