Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Will 'Do Everything That He Can' To Play vs. Buccaneers
Playing well in the NFL in December is critical to teams looking to make a deep playoff run, and the Philadelphia Eagles are no exception.
Unfortunately, they didn't play all that well last month and it cost the Eagles an NFC East titel, and more importantly the No. 1 Seed in the conference that comes with a bye week to get healthy or at least a No. 2 seed to have home-field advantage for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs.
New York Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke (58) goes after Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) just before sacking him in the second quarter, Sunday, January 7, 2024.
© Kevin R. Wexler / USA TODAY NETWORK
Losing out on that bye week and No. 2 seed was made all the more damaging when quarterback Jalen Hurts' mangled finger started making the rounds after he dislocated the middle finger on his throwing hand in Week 18's loss to the New York Giants.
Now, in the midst of Philadelphia playing its worst football under coach Nick Sirianni, the coach knows his quarterback is working hard to try and come back to lead the team ahead of Monday night's Wild Card meeting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.
"He’s tough and he’ll do everything that he can do to play through it," Sirianni said. "He went back in the game on Sunday after he had done it. And he was able — I imagine it hurt pretty good ... I just know how tough he is and how much he can fight through and how much pain he can withstand. So obviously it will be a challenge...And I know that he can overcome because he’s overcame so many different things throughout his football journey. And that’s what makes him special."
Sirianni is certainly expecting Hurts on the field Monday night in Tampa. The opposing Bucs are likely expecting to see Hurts as well, and aren't going to take any soft measures to help him get comfortable back on the field.
Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles is well-known for his aggressive defense and has pass rushers like Shaquil Barrett and surprising rookie YaYa Diaby to help get after Hurts to complicate matters even further.
The first step is getting on the field, and that's going to be a hard one to take. After that, it's all about grit and the ability to overcome.
As Sirianni said, that just happens to be Hurts' specialty, which might lend a small silver lining to what appears to be a pretty dark cloud hanging over Philadelphia right now.
