Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Gives Update on 'Crazy' Finger Injury
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – His middle finger was pointed in a direction fingers aren’t normally made to point in.
Jalen Hurts went straight into the medical tent, presumably to have the disjointed finger on his throwing hand popped back into its joint. The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback was able to return, but his play wasn’t any better than when he had left, and eventually, with less than two minutes left in the first half, Hurts was permanently removed.
He ended his day with a passer rating of 26.8, 55 yards, and an interception, his 15th of the season.
The quarterback did get some good news on Monday when a report indicated that an X-ray revealed that there was no fracture in the finger.
Still, things never got better for the Eagles, both on offense or defense, and they lost yet again, this time 27-10 to the New York Giants in the regular-season finale at the Meadowlands on Sunday.
Jalen Hurts' injured finger
USA Today
Also injured on the day were receiver A.J. Brown and safety Sydney Brown. Both players went down with knee injuries on a Meadowlands notorious for causing them.
Sydney Brown reportedly tore the ACL in his right knee and was on crutches and in a big knee brace in the locker room afterward. A.J. Brown was seen in the locker room walking on his own but declined to talk to reporters.
“Again, I haven’t talked to the trainers,” said head coach Nick Sirianni about Brown. “I know A.J. was the first one to greet everybody in the locker room when we walked in. Obviously, I feel terrible. Any time any of our players get hurt, I feel terrible. It’s a tough thing to have to go through an injury and to play through injury. I’m hoping that he’s okay, but we’ll see as the week goes.”
Safety Reed Blankenship also left early with a groin injury and right guard Cam Jurgens left with an eye injury.
Hurts didn’t say yes or no when asked if he would be able to play next weekend when the Eagles travel to Tampa to play the Buccaneers in the wildcard round of the playoffs next weekend, Hurts didn’t say yes or no.
“I’m taking it day by day at this point,” he said. “It’s a very unfortunate crazy thing. I never experienced anything like that.”
The injury occurred when linebacker Bobby Okereke blitzed. Okereke’s hand hit Hurts' hand then Okereke’s helmet smacked into the quarterback's fingers, too.
“He came back in and played,” said Sirianni. “He’s tough as heck. After he got hurt, he came back in and ripped it. So, yeah, we’ll see.”
The blitz ruined Hurts, and later, Marcus Mariota, for most of the day. The Eagles had no answer for Hurts against the blitz – no so-called blitz beaters. The result was five sacks for the Giants’ defense, including one from safety Dane Belton who hadn’t had a sack in his previous 31 games played.
“I just don’t think we executed it well enough,” said Hurts. “Obviously we have to get better from that and do a good job of that when it comes in the future.”
As for the finger, Hurts is going to have to play through that in Tampa.
It will be the third straight time the quarterback has entered the postseason with an injury of some sort.
Two years ago, in a Wild Card game also at Tampa, he had an ankle injury that required offseason surgery. Last year, he had a shoulder injury but managed to get the Eagles to the Super Bowl anyway.
Now the finger.
“I don’t like to talk about injuries,” he said. “I just want to let time play out itself. In the end, I think as a team we have everything in front of us. We have the opportunities in front of us and it’s about seizing that moment.
"Nothing else really matters, not anything in the past, not any record or past wins or losses. It’s all 0-0 now. The objective is to win.”
