'Flu Game?' Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts 'Going to Try to Play' vs. Seattle Seahawks
If the Philadelphia Eagles still had to play the Seattle Seahawks during their originally scheduled time in Week 15, then it's unlikely that Jalen Hurts would play based on the reports Sunday that his illness "worsened overnight" after not practicing Saturday. This forced the team to downgrade him to questionable vs. the Seahawks.
Instead, the game was flexed out of its Sunday slot and into the Monday night primetime spotlight, which has now allowed Hurts to take a separate flight to Seattle while getting an extra day of rest than he would have originally.
Could this set up a potential Michael Jordan-esque "Flu Game?" While the stakes aren't as high as the 1997 NBA Finals, the sense is that Hurts, who is fittingly a Jordan Brand athlete, is going to try and give it a go.
"I’m told the feeling among a bunch of Jalen‘s teammates is that he’s going to try to play tonight," NBC Philly's John Clark tweeted on Monday.
Clark was just one of many Eagles media members and fans on X (formerly Twitter) that pointed out the "Flu Game" connection.
"It is fitting that Jalen Hurts was wearing his Jordan gear traveling to Seattle on his own," Clark tweeted. "This could be like the Michael Jordan flu game. I’m told a bunch of Eagles haven’t seen Jalen yet here in Seattle. They are hoping he can play tonight through his bad illness."
Jalen Hurts
USA TODAY
NFL fans hoping to avoid watching the Patriots face the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs, which was the original matchup for Week 15's MNF, are likely happy with the decision, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone more satisfied with it than the Eagles and Hurts.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said Monday that he expects Hurts to play, but the quarterback is still far from 100 percent. Still, the MNF flex decision has become a blessing in disguise for Hurts and the Eagles despite having their game-scheduling plans changed late in the season.
"Knowing Jalen Hurts and seeing him operate I believe also he is going to play, mainly because he always plays," Rapoport said. "But this is not a cold, this is not a little thing, it's not actually the flu either. This is something that left him weak enough to where at some point he was really wondering is he going to be able to travel. ... Just dealing with weakness and all sorts of flu-like symptoms, but again not actually the flu."
The Eagles and Seahawks kickoff from Lumen Field at 8:15 p.m. ET.
