Live analysis as Jalen Hurts returns from injury

PHILADELPHIA − So much for the notion that the Eagles would build a big enough lead to get Jalen Hurts and many of the starters out of the game early in the second half.

Hurts, playing in his first game Sunday since spraining his shoulder Dec. 18, was clearly used differently, a sign that his shoulder might not be completely healed.

The Eagles made that clear with no designed runs for Hurts. And it was clear Hurts was under orders to slide or run out of bounds at the slightest hint of trouble, which he did.

All of which made for a tougher-than-expected 22-16 win over a Giants team resting its starters and starting a practice-squad quarterback in Davis Webb.

The Eagles didn’t have that luxury as they still needed a win to clinch the NFC East and the top seed in the NFC playoffs.

The Eagles’ reward is a first-round bye. They won’t have to play again until the weekend of Jan. 21-22, thus giving Hurts another extra week of rest.

In all, Hurts went 20-for-35 for 229 yards with an interception.

But the Eagles played it very conservatively as Hurts ran 9 times for 13 yards. They settled for 5 field goals by Jake Elliott rather than risking Hurts to hits from the Giants defense.

Hurts showed there wasn’t anything wrong with his throwing arm. His very first play was a slant to A.J. Brown that Brown turned into a 35-yard gain, in the process breaking Mike Quick’s record for receiving yards in a season. Quick had 1,409 yards receiving in 1983.

Later in the first quarter, Hurts threw deep for Brown, hitting him for 37 yards. The Eagles got a touchdown on Boston Scott’s 8-yard run for a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.

Still, Hurts showed some rust, throwing an interception into the end zone on the opening drive of the third quarter with the Eagles leading 16-0. Perhaps a touchdown on that drive would have led the Eagles to pull him.

Instead, the Eagles got a field goal later in the third quarter, before the Giants scored a field goal and touchdown on Webb’s 14-yard run with 10:04 left in the fourth quarter to cut the Eagles’ lead to 19-9.

There was no pulling Hurts at that point.

The Eagles got another field goal with 3:21 left before Kenny Golladay’s 25-yard TD reception with 1:43 left provided the final margin. The Eagles recovered an onsides kick to close it out.

It was evident early on that Hurts wasn’t going to take any chances. He dropped back to pass on 2nd-and-1 early in the game and slid rather than take a hit. He lost a yard. Hurts didn’t try a QB sneak until their final drive in the fourth quarter.

Still, Hurts did take a few hits. The first time came when he escaped a sack and got bumped as he ran out of bounds late in the first half. Hurts landed on his right shoulder and bounced right back up on his feet.

On the same drive, Hurts was knocked down from behind after he threw. That was penalized as a late hit. Hurts was sacked twice on that final first-half drive which ended with a field goal.

The Giants, without QB Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley, managed to hang around.

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Live analysis as Jalen Hurts returns from injury

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