The Philadelphia Eagles are not having a good Week 18.
The defending NFC champions came into the final week of the regular season needing a win over the New York Giants and a Dallas Cowboys loss to the Washington Commanders to secure the NFC East title and at least one home playoff game. That led them to roll out their starters despite having locked up a postseason bid.
This went poorly. Top wideout AJ Brown left the game in the first half with a leg injury. Then, not long after, quarterback Jalen Hurts walked to the sideline holding his throwing hand awkwardly. It turns out, this was for good reason (warning, the video below may not be great for the squeamish among us):
Jalen Hurts' middle finger does not look the way a middle finger is supposed to look.
He's in the medical tent.pic.twitter.com/KVKejrMrff
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 7, 2024
Hurts went to the medical tent, had his hand taped up and returned to the game for the Eagles’ ensuing possession. But perhaps he shouldn’t have, since Philadelphia would wind up trailing the Giants 17-0 late in the second quarter. And because the Eagles have never once elicited a mild reaction from their fans, people online had concerns about, well, just about everything Philly was doing.