EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Eagles bussed back from MetLife Stadium Sunday wondering which hurt more, their listless 27-10 loss to the Giants or the injuries that accompanied it.
The most pressing issue is the middle finger on the throwing hand of quarterback Jalen Hurts. He dislocated the finger on the helmet of linebacker Bobby Okereke and tried to stick around but head coach Nick Sirianni decided to call it a day for him later in the first half. Hurts has a little more time to get his spiral back as the Eagles take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild card round Monday (8 p.m.) at Raymond James Stadium,
“It popped out,” Hurts said. “I’m taking it day by day at this point. It’s a very unfortunate, crazy thing. I never experienced anything like that.”
Hurts completed just 7 of 16 attempts for 55 yards with one interception, two sacks and a 26.9 passer rating.
Backup Marcus Mariota completed 13 of 20 attempts for 46 yards, including a 16-yard scoring pass to Quez Watkins, who with A.J. Brown (knee) and DeVonta Smith (ankle) sidelined caught eight passes for 93 yards. Those totals exceeded his season totals in all categories.
Up and coming Eagles safety Sydney Brown exited with a knee injury that was reported to be an ACL early in the game, and that was a blow to the three-safety look defensive coordinator Matt Patricia decided to roll with.
A.J. Brown got his knee pinned under him after fumbling the ball away in the first quarter and did not return. Safety Reed Blankenship injured his groin making an interception and right guard Cam Jurgens left at the half with an eye injury.
Not the greatest stuff to deal with as the tumbling Birds try to prepare to take on the Buccaneers, who they defeated, 25-11, earlier this season at Raymond James Stadium.
Hurts said he felt “OK” throwing after the injury but didn’t want to say much more about it.
“I just want to let time play out itself,” Hurts said. “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.”
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The Eagles’ schedule for 2024 is in the books, except for the times and dates. In addition to the NFC East games, the Eagles play (home games unless noted):
NFC South: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, at New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons.
AFC North: At Cincinnati Bengals, at Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers.
NFC North: Green Bay Packers.
NFC West: at Lost Angeles Rams.
AFC South: Jacksonville Jaguars.
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The first pick in the spring draft belongs to the Bears, who are the beneficiaries of a trade with the Panthers, the worst team in football.
The Commanders earned the second pick.
Barring trades, the Eagles will draft no better than 25th in the first round, and that’s if they have an early exit in the playoffs.
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Among other Eagles due to become unrestricted free agents after this season are center Jason Kelce, defensive end Brandon Graham, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and D’Andre Swift.
Other free agents the Eagles will have to think about are tight end Albert Okwuegbunam and punter Braden Mann, who has had a sensational season.
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NOTES >> When Kelce and right tackle Lane Johnson were rested in the second half, the offensive line from left to right consisted of Jordan Mailata, Sua Opeta, Landon Dickerson, Jack Driscoll and Fred Johnson. Dickerson played center, where he starred at Alabama. … Okereke tried to time his jump over Kelce to stop the Tush Push. He was early, and called for a neutral zone infraction. … The Eagles scratched running back Swift (illness), along with cornerback Darius Slay (knee), defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, wide receiver DeVonta Smith (ankle) and guard Tyler Steen. Defensive back Tristan McCollum was elevated from the practice squad.
Source: Berkshire mont
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