At this point, there’s no place else to go but up for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Jalen Hurts, after a three-interception stinker in an upset loss to the lowly New York Giants.
Luckily for him and the Eagles, they aren’t leaving MetLife Stadium as they take on the even more dysfunctional Jets on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m. ET).
The 3-8 Jets possess the worst offense in the NFL, allowing the most points and the second-most total yards through 11 games this season.
It promises for a big game for an Eagles offense that was held to just seven points against the Giants, though Hurts won’t be 100% if he does play.
The second-year passer is dealing with a sore ankle that was injured against the Giants, which could impact his ability to run the football.
“I’m hopeful. Jalen is hopeful that he’ll play,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “Again, you have to see how these things go, as you guys well know. We’ll see how the rehab goes the next two days and have more of an update for you.”
Hurts is the Eagles’ leading rusher with 695 yards and seven touchdowns — a major reason why Philadelphia is on a torrid run with the ground game that has seen them run for 175 yards or more in five straight games.
But a hobbled Hurts means that offensive coordinator Shane Steichen would have to tweak the Eagles’ gameplan should he play Sunday.
“He’s an explosive runner,” Steichen said. “He runs the football really well, so we have to work through those things.”
If Hurts is unable to go, the Eagles will hand the reins of the offense to back up Gardner Minshew, formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The 25-year-old has 20 games worth of starting experience should he get the call. He’s 7-13 while completing 63% of his passes for 5,541 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
“We’re going to run what we run,” Steichen said of the gameplan if Minshew starts. “We’ve got to continue to do that. We’ve been pretty efficient running the football and obviously we’ve got to get our pass game to where we want it to be.”
