It’s good to see QB1 again. On Friday afternoon, Jalen Hurts confirmed he’s ready to go and speaks at length about this weekend’s game against the Packers.
He went into the blue medical tent and then came out and grabbed his helmet and it looked like he wanted to go back in the game. Then he was escorted back to the locker room, his regular season over after 15 games.
Jalen Hurts doesn’t remember any of it.
“So far long ago, I don't really remember,” he said Friday. “I'm good now, though. Getting ready for a playoff game, big wild-card game that we gotta go get.”
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Hurts met with the media on Friday afternoon for the first time since he suffered a concussion during the Eagles’ loss to the Commanders in Landover 19 days ago.
He said the concussion was his first. He said he wasn’t able to study or watch film while he was in concussion protocol. He said he doesn’t expect any rust when he faces the Packers in a wild-card-round game Sunday at the Linc. And he said he appreciates the work that the officials and independent neurologist on the sideline did to recognize his symptoms.
“I'm thankful that the refs and everyone did what they were supposed to do in that time,” he said. “They made the right decision in that moment, and I'm thankful and blessed for that.”
Hurts returned to practice on a limited basis on Wednesday and was a full participant on Thursday and Friday.
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“It's been fun,” Hurts said. “ It's been fun being around the guys. It's really the main thing. This team, these guys are a big part of my routine. Just being around them and talking ball and getting better. So that's been fun. It's been a great week.”
On Sunday, he’ll be the first Eagles quarterback to start a playoff game after missing at least the last two regular-season games since Donovan McNabb in 2002. McNabb missed the last five games with a broken ankle suffered against the Cards at the Vet. He returned to lead the Eagles past the Falcons in the conference semifinals before the Eagles lost to the Bucs in the NFC Championship.
Hurts is a creature of habit, and he said the hardest thing about being in concussion protocol was being forced away from those habits.
“Being out of routine,” he said. “You go through a routine every day. And being out of that is challenging. Obviously dealing with different symptoms ain't fun either.
“Being away from the guys (was difficult). Being away from the game, being able to challenge yourself, challenge yourself to progress and get better,”
When he got hurt, Hurts was riding one of the hottest stretches of his career. In 11 games after the bye, he completed 69 percent of his passes with 14 touchdown passes, one interception and a 114.0 passer rating - 2nd-highest during that span behind Lamar Jackson’s 126.3.
It’s also 2nd-highest in Eagles history behind Nick Foles’ 118.6 rating in 2013.
“You know, the last game I played was the Pittsburgh Steelers in fullness, so I think that's a good note to leave on,” Hurts said. “We just want to build off of where we left.
“Obviously, we've gone through three weeks of coach (Nick Sirianni) coming up here and saying, ‘He's still in protocol,’ and now he's saying that he's not in protocol anymore.
“So I don't think there's anything else to talk about with that.”
Sunday’s game will be Hurts’ sixth career playoff start. Only 13 quarterbacks have started more before their 27th birthday.
“This is a team that you feel like you played so long ago in its own little season in Brazil,” he said. “ The reality is we've seen how we've evolved and we've progressed over the year. And so I think in all three phases, we're a whole different team. We're not the same team that they saw in Brazil in terms of how efficient we've been in the run, how deadly Saquon has been and how we've been able to play really good defense.
“And so it'll be a great challenge for us seeing a different team but also them seeing a different team as well.”
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