Jalen Hurts Flushes Giants, Says Ankle is Fine
PHILADELPHIA – Jalen Hurts isn’t about to simply hobble away on his sprained left ankle and yield his job to Gardner Minshew.
“It’s fine,” he said on Wednesday when asked how it was doing.
How will it affect you?
“It won’t,” he answered. “I’ll be ready to go.”
Hurts participated in both of Wednesday’s walkthrough practices as the Eagles (5-7) prepare to travel once again the MetLife Stadium to play the New York Jets (3-8) on Sunday (1 p.m./CBS).
Hurts’ ankle got stepped on by teammate Jack Driscoll while in the pocket looking to throw in last week’s 13-7 loss to the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. The quarterback didn’t throw particularly well, completing just 45 percent of his throws with a career-high three interceptions.
New York Giants safety Julian Love said afterward that the defensive game plan was to make Hurts beat them with his arm. It was evident, too, that the Giants wanted to rough up Hurts, hitting him as often as possible even after he handed off the ball ff on an RPO play.
“Yeah, I can’t get a call,” the QB said.
Asked if there is anything he can do about that, Hurts referenced a movie.
“I might have to pull out, ‘Remember the Titans’ the next time, and (say) try to come hit me, Sunshine,” he joked.
In all seriousness, though, Hurts is ready to move on. If his ankle does indeed allow him.
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“Business as usual,” he said. “My preparation for the Jets, same old thing. The Giants game has been flushed. We moved on. We have so much to learn from the game. I have so much I’ll learn from the game.
“Being patient, playing my position, being patient, taking what they give me and going out there and protecting the ball. It’s something I’ve done a fairly good job of the majority of the year, until this point. So, to have a game like that is a lot for me to learn from. I’m excited to have an opportunity to get back this week.”
Hurts concurred that he perhaps tried to force things against the Giants, and that led to his poor game.
“My old coach told me, you never go broke taking a profit,” he said. “I know there were a lot of opportunities in last week’s games, and even in some games before – just take what they give you. It’s something I’ve jotted down. I’ve taken that coaching. I’ve taken the great coaching that the coaches have given me, and I’m excited for this week.”
As much as Hurts wants to play, his injured ankle will be closely monitored this week, especially since the Eagles will finally have their bye week after they’re done playing the Jets.
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“What we're trying to do is focus on how we're winning this football game,” said head coach Nick Sirianni. “So, yeah, you look forward to the bye week because we're late in the season now. So, you look forward to the bye week for, not just Jalen, but all the guys who have some bumps and bruises.
“I think pretty much everyone is going to have some bumps and bruises at this point in the season with (13 games) in a row. You think about that with everybody. Again, what are we doing to help get Jalen ready to play this week? That's what we're focused on.”
Hurts is focused on playing and playing better this week.
“You guys know I’m dealing with something,” he said. “It’s the first one you guys have known about. So, continue to deal with it and move forward and get ready for this week’s game.
“We took a step back last week, and I took a step back last week. I’m excited to come into this week and go out there and play.”
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
