Eagles fans had their holiday season somewhat spoiled when Jalen Hurts exited Philadelphia's Week 16 showdown against the Commanders early after suffering a head injury. With Hurts out, the Commanders rallied to pull off an upset that hindered Philadelphia's chances at obtaining the NFC's top playoff seed.
Hurts received a "did not practice" designation during Wednesday's projected injury report (the Eagles did not practice), and again on Thursday. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said Thursday that Hurts is still in the concussion protocol ahead of Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Backups Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee were seen warming up alongside Ian Book, who was recently signed to the Eagles' practice squad. Pickett, who played in the majority of this past Sunday's game, was listed as limited during Wednesday's projected practice with a rib injury, and a full participant Thursday. He said he doesn't expect to have any limitations on Sunday.
"Something I'll have to deal with," Pickett said while alluding to his injury.
Hurts suffered the injury during a 13-yard run on the Eagles' second series against the Commanders. He left the game after getting tackled by Commanders veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner. Ahead 7-0 at that point, Pickett entered the game and immediately completed a 10-yard pass to A.J. Brown. The duo capped off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown, Pickett's first touchdown since being traded from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia this past offseason.
Pickett led the Eagles on five more scoring drives, but Philadelphia came up short after Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels led Washington on a successful two-minute drill that was capped off by his game-winning touchdown pass to Jamison Crowder with six seconds left.
The loss prevented the Eagles from clinching their third division title in four years. Philadelphia can, however, take the NFC East division title again if they defeat the rival Cowboys on Sunday (they'll also clinch the NFC East if the Commanders lose to the Falcons). The Eagles may be counting on Pickett in that game if Hurts remains in the protocol.
While he's only in his third season, Pickett played in a similar circumstance during his rookie season in Pittsburgh. At 3-7 through 10 games, the Steelers had virtually no margin for error as far as their playoff hopes were concerned. While Pittsburgh ultimately did not make the playoffs that year, they got close after Pickett helped lead them to a 6-1 record during their final seven games. That stretch included three game-winning drives led by Pickett, the first quarterback taken in the 2022 NFL Draft.
"I thought Kenny responded really well as far as just hopping in there," Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said of Pickett's performance against the Commanders. "I thought the way he handled the first drive, he hopped in there, it was a third-and-7, and converted. Resulted in a touchdown that drive.
"I thought he certainly did a lot of good things in the game. Ultimately we all collectively didn't do enough to finish that game. I think it's an awesome opportunity for us to all learn and grow from, but I thought Kenny battled the whole entire way."
