The Philadelphia Eagles earned the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs -- and they've certainly needed it given the health of their franchise quarterback. Jalen Hurts is still coming back from a shoulder strain, playing in the regular-season finale against the New York Giants after missing two games with that injury.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni admitted Hurts was "hurting bad" in his return, even though the Eagles didn't feel like there was more risk playing him with his injury. Will Hurts have a sore shoulder during the playoffs? Will he be playing through pain the rest of the way?
"We are fortunate that we have two weeks till the next time we play, depending on if it's Saturday or Sunday. We're fortunate there," Sirianni said. "Again, he's going to be a little bit healthier than what he was obviously the other day.
"He came out sore, as expected. He came out of that game sore because it's still healing, right? Like, we didn't feel like we were putting him at any more risk of getting more injured, but we knew it was going to hurt him like hell, he knew it was going to hurt him like hell.
"That's the kind of player he is, that's the kind of teammate he is. He fought through it because it was important for him to be out there, he knew how important it was for him and his teammates to be out there."
Hurts had an opportunity to shake off the the rust with home-field advantage on the line, going 20 of 35 for 229 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in what was a limited game plan designed to elude him from running much. Hurts only had nine carries for 13 yards, which include kneel downs at the end of the game.
Getting that extra week off will benefit Hurts and his recovery, especially after getting an opportunity to loosen the shoulder up this week. The debate of "rest vs. rust" won't apply to Hurts, especially as he has a minimum of 13 days to give his shoulder more time to heal.
"I want to be available for my team. I really feel like if you want something you have to do what you have to do to go get it," Hurts said after Sunday's win. "We do what we have to do. We're the No. 1 seed and we are the NFC (East) champs and that's the goal we set out to do. Now I can continue to recover and be ready for playoffs."
