Jalen Hurts Inactive for Week 13
The Philadelphia Eagles officially deemed Jalen Hurts inactive ahead of their matchup with the Jets in week 13, citing his recent ankle injury as the reason for his inability to play. The former Alabama quarterback will miss his first start since taking over the job last season as a rookie.
Hurts suffered an apparent injury against the Giants in a week twelve loss, and despite early reports indicating Hurts would be ready to play, he was deemed inactive just ahead of game time.
Through twelve starts this season, Hurts has looked like a much improved version of himself from a year ago, completing 60% of his passes for nearly 2,500 yards and 13 touchdowns. Arguably more important than his improved passing numbers; however, are his incredible rushing stats.
Hurts has carried the ball 122 times this season for almost 700 yards and eight touchdowns, providing a brand new dimension to an Eagles offense that struggled with him at the helm in 2020.
In place of Hurts will be former Washington State quarterback, Gardner Minshew, a name which Crimson Tide fans should be fairly familiar with. In February of 2018, Minshew transferred from East Carolina and committed to Alabama, but, prior to his arrival on campus, chose Washington State after Mike Leach gave him an opportunity to start. In his one season as a starter, Minshew threw for nearly 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns, finishing fifth in Heisman voting.
Sitting at 5-7 and third in their division, the Eagles are unlikely to make the playoffs this season, but appear to have found something with Hurts. If Philadelphia can finish the season strong, they could enter 2022 as one of the teams to watch out for.