The Philadelphia Eagles pulled star quarterback Jalen Hurts from Sunday’s game against the New York Giants while trailing by 24 points late in the second quarter.
Hurts injured the middle finger on his throwing hand in the first minute of the second quarter, one of several injuries the Eagles suffered during the regular-season finale.
New York’s Bobby Okereke came in free and hit Hurts’ throwing hand after the Philadelphia signal-caller got rid of the ball. Hurts immediately grabbed for the hand and later displayed that the middle finger was bent.
Hurts stayed in the game at that point but was largely ineffective, while the Giants tacked on three touchdowns for a 24-0 lead. Hurts was intercepted by New York’s Xavier McKinney with 1:28 remaining and when Philadelphia got the ball back 23 seconds later, Marcus Mariota entered as quarterback.
Mariota was promptly intercepted for the Eagles’ third turnover of the first half.
Veteran offensive linemen Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson exited for the Eagles when Hurts left. Hurts finished just 7-of-16 passing for 55 yards and one interception.
Philadelphia also lost top wide receiver A.J. Brown to a right knee injury in the first quarter following his only reception of the game.
Brown caught a pass near the right hashmarks and was tackled by Giants linebacker Micah McFadden. Brown fumbled the ball and grabbed the back of his knee and calf before rolling to his back with both hands gripping his facemask.
Brown limped off the field to the sideline, briefly entered the blue medical tent behind the Eagles’ bench and then hobbled into the locker room.
The Eagles also ruled out safety Reed Blankenship (groin) and guard Cam Jurgens (eye).
Wideout DeVonta Smith (ankle) and running back D’Andre Swift (illness) missed the contest.
The Eagles needed to win Sunday’s game and have the Dallas Cowboys lose to win the NFC East. A loss leaves Philadelphia as a wild-card team, and it would play a road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week.
–Field Level Media
