Jalen Hurts said after the Philadelphia Eagles' victory over the Dallas Cowboys that the bye week "couldn't have come at a better time." Turns out the bye week was just what Hurts needed after all.
Hurts admitted Thursday that he ditched the sleeve on his knee in preparation for Monday's showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs, as the Eagles quarterback needed the extra week of rest and recovery to get the bone bruise on his knee right.
"Again, the bye couldn't have come at a better time," Hurts said. "I feel like personally it was a good week. I definitely got some time out of it."
While limited running the football, Hurts was arguably the game's best pocket quarterback during the injury. In the three games since the Eagles lost to the New York Jets in Week 6, Hurts is 69 of 92 (75%) for 805 yards with eight touchdowns to one interception and a 125.5 passer rating.
Hurts was third in the NFL in completion percentage, first in passing touchdowns and first in passer rating in that span (Weeks 7-9). He only had 63 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the last three games, clearly limited in mobility.
On passes in the pocket, Hurts has completed 60 of 78 passes (76.9%) for 671 yards with seven touchdowns to one interception (126.6 rating) over that three-game stretch. In essence, the knee injury didn't affect Hurts' ability to throw the football.
Regardless, the week off did pay off for the Eagles health wise. Dallas Goedert (broken forearm) was the only player who did not participate in practice as he's out for several weeks. Justin Evans (knee) had his 21-day practice window opened, so he's back this week in limited capacity. Everyone else was a full-go.
"I think a lot of guys on the team took advantage of that time to refresh and get ready for this second half of the year," Hurts said. "So I think it's been good for us all."
