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PHILADELPHIA — We now know how much the Eagles risked when they faced Jalen Hurts last Sunday against the Giants.
All.
The severity of Hurts’ injury was quite telling in Philadelphia’s 22-16 win over the Giants on Sunday when the Eagles went out of their way to ensure Hurts wasn’t hit in the shoulder. It was, of course, by not letting him run.
It was also telling in Hurts’ comments after the match when he said his shoulder was “good enough” to win.
But confirmation came from Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni on Tuesday when asked if Hurts will face shoulder pain as long as the Eagles stay in the playoffs.
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“I’m not sure I can answer that question,” Sirianni said. “We’re lucky to have two weeks until the next time we play… He’ll be a bit healthier than he was obviously the other day.
“We knew it was going to hurt him like hell; he knew it was going to hurt him like hell.”
Heck, even Hurts wouldn’t speculate after practice Thursday when asked how close he’d be to full strength when the Eagles play next.
“It’s not (match day) so I don’t know,” he said. “I can’t give you a number.”
It’s how close everything the Eagles had built this season came to falling apart.
Hyperbola?
Consider that the Eagles determined they were better off with Hurts with his shoulder at any percentage down than they would have been with Gardner Minshew at full strength. And that was against a Giants team that started a practice QB and sat six of their best players in addition to quarterback Daniel Jones.
If the Eagles had lost that game, Hurts and the Eagles would play this weekend in the Wild Card round. And we now know that Hurts’ shoulder wouldn’t have been much better than against the Giants.
We also know it wouldn’t be “good enough” to beat a playoff team that has no first-round starters.
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It’s safe to assume the Eagles’ intent was to sit Hurts out from the time he suffered the injury against the Chicago Bears on Dec. 18 until Game 1 of the playoffs, a total of five weeks. They would give Minshew two chances to lock down the No. 1 seed, against Dallas or New Orleans.
But Minshew couldn’t get the job done, so the Eagles had to go to Hurts against the Giants.
So Hurts had three weeks, and now he will have another. Whatever the condition of Hurts’ shoulder in the Eagles’ next game, he’ll be better than he was against the Giants.
It must be.
“I’ve always been a man who embraced anything that was thrown at me,” Hurts said. “Trying to find ways to overcome it and achieve it. I think there are different challenges that come up (throughout) our careers, and you have to find a way to face them and deal with them. “
The injuries started last Monday, when Sirianni gave the team the day off after beating the Giants. Hurts would have none of that. He called Sirianni and said he wanted to come and review the video.
“Nick Sirianni gave me a hard time about that one,” Hurts said with a laugh. “I told him we had some business to take care of. Again, we have the opportunity of a lifetime… There are so many things to be thankful for and thankful for, and the opportunities that we have. Why don’t give it your all while you can because you never know when you might be done?”
This leads to another question: why would Sirianni divulge that Hurts’ shoulder “hurts like hell” against the Giants, and may not be fully healed when the Eagles play next weekend?
After all, that wouldn’t seem to help the Eagles strongly hint that Hurts might not be fully healed. The potential Eagles opponent has video from the Giants game to see what it might look like.
Hint: Not good.
But really, Sirianni didn’t sell the proverbial farm. If anything, Sirianni did the opposite.
It was because Hurts was determined to play the Giants because the Eagles needed the win, and the Eagles knew Hurts was the best person to deliver that win. Hurts knew what his injured shoulder would take to get the job done, and he made it work.
It’s the same thing in the playoffs.
And the Eagles needed the bye week as much as Hurts. There’s also right tackle Lane Johnson (groin), cornerback Avonte Maddox (toe) and defensive end Josh Sweat (neck) recovering from injuries. Sweat was back in practice, as Johnson worked on the side with a trainer.
So that was Sirianni’s most telling quote about Hurts’ status going into the playoff game.
“That’s the kind of player he is; that’s the kind of teammate he is,” Sirianni said. “He fought against (the pain) because it was important for him to be there, and he knew how important it was for him and his teammates to be there.”
So yes, Hurts’ shoulder will be better in the playoffs. It might not be 100%, but Hurts will go out of their way to make sure it’s “good enough”.
“It’s not the first time I’ve done it, though,” Hurts said of playing through the pain. “It’s happened a number of times. But I think it’s been a very public undertaking. I’ve been able to navigate it. I have no problem doing it.
“That’s what I kind of have to do. It takes what it takes. At the end of the day, if you want something done, sometimes you have to do what you have to do.”
The Eagles are confident Hurts will do just that.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
