Eagles coach says Jalen Hurts won’t start against Cowboys

The young veteran will rest his ailing shoulder, likely ending his MVP quest and making things a bit easier on the Dallas defense. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The suspense appears over, and the injury concern appears legitimate. The Dallas Cowboys may be squaring off against Gardner Minshew on Saturday. Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has announced that the backup will be in the starting lineup for Week 16 after Pro Bowler Jalen Hurts suffered an injury during last week’s win over the Chicago Bears.

Hurts was driven into the ground on his throwing shoulder in the third quarter and will miss his first game of the season. The Cowboys are all too familiar with having to navigate the waters without their starting quarterback. When the two teams met in Week 6, the Eagles ended Cooper Rush’s four-game win streak. If the Eagles rule Hurts out when the final injury report is released later on Thursday, it will be the fifth time in six meetings between the two division rivals where at least one of the two teams will be without their primary signal caller.

Hurts is enjoying a remarkable second season, throwing for over 3,400 yards in 14 games while tossing 22 touchdowns against just five interceptions. He also has 747 yards and a whopping 13 touchdowns on runs as a dual-threat QB with nine fumbles on the negative side of the ledger. He’s led the Eagles to a league-best 13-1 record.

The contest appears to be the first of three consecutive games to close out the season where Dallas will face backup QBs, after facing all intended starters through their first 14 contests. For a defense that has struggled to get pressure as of late, this may be a needed reprieve.

Minshew has an 8-14 record as a starter overall, and is 1-1 as the Eagles’ starter. His loss came in the 2021 season finale when Philadelphia was resting most of their starters in a 51-26 win. The game was competitive until the end of the second quarter when the Cowboys scored twice in the final two minutes to stretch a 17-17 tie into a 30-17 halftime lead.

Minshew finished 19-for-33 for 186 yards passing, two scores and one interception.

He poses little threat in designed runs, a staple of the Eagles’ offense and a thorn in the Cowboys’ side. It will be interesting to see what the Philadelphia offense looks like with him at the helm, as Dallas doesn’t have much film to study and prepare for.

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