PHILADELPHIA − It shouldn’t take long to determine if Jalen Hurts is back to full strength, or close enough for him to run like he was before he suffered a shoulder injury back on Dec. 18.
In fact, it could happen as soon as the first play. Chances are, the Eagles will put the read-option back into their offense against the Giants. And if Hurts sees the Giants leaning towards running back Miles Sanders, then Hurts could pull the ball away from Sanders and take off himself.
At that point, we’ll know that all restrictions about Hurts taking a hit to the shoulder have been taken off. Of course, it will bear watching to see how Hurts responds to such a hit. But you can expect to find the answer quickly.
And the Eagles will need to see it quickly too.
That’s because their offense isn’t nearly as dynamic if Hurts is strictly a pocket passer, like he was in the last meeting against the Giants, on Jan. 8 in the Eagles’ 22-16 win. Hurts clearly stayed away from contact as he threw 35 times while running only 9 times, and 3 of those runs were kneel-downs at the end of the game. Hurts also did not have any designed runs called for him.
Sanders knows the difference, too. He ran for 1,269 yards this season, a career high, in large part because Hurts added 760 yards on the ground.
“Absolutely. It opens up the holes more,” Sanders said about Hurts’ presence as a running threat.
That also applies to Eagles receivers A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert. They often face single coverage because defenses have to account for Hurts as a runner and a passer.
For all of this to work against the Giants, the Eagles have to establish Hurts as a running threat. And they’ll likely do it early in the game to make sure the Giants have to account for Hurts.
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- Paving a Lane: The other major injury question is with right tackle Lane Johnson, who’s trying to play through a torn adductor muscle. Johnson sat out the final two regular-season games, giving him four weeks to get ready for this game. But don’t mistake that for being healed. Johnson needs surgery to repair the groin injury. So it’s a matter of how much pain Johnson can tolerate. If he can’t make it through the game, the Eagles will bring in Jack Driscoll, who started in Johnson’s place the last two games to mixed results. That’s not a knock on Driscoll because Johnson, a three-time All Pro selection, including this season, is considered the best right tackle in the NFL.
- Stopping Saquon: Despite facing the Giants for the third time in six weeks, there really isn’t much familiarity with Giants star running back Saquon Barkley, who was fourth in the NFL with 1,312 yards rushing. Barkley was listed as questionable in the first game against the Eagles on Dec. 11 with a neck injury. He played, but not after the Eagles jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter. Barkley had 28 yards, his lowest total of the season. Barkley, like many of the Giants starters, didn’t play in the regular-season finale because the Giants were locked into their playoff spot.
- Playoff atmosphere: It’s hard to believe, but the Eagles are hosting only their second playoff game in exactly five years, going back to their NFC Championship win over the Minnesota Vikings on Jan. 21, 2018. The only other home playoff game was against Seattle on Jan. 5, 2020, a 17-9 loss in the Wild Card Round. That was a dud as starting QB Carson Wentz left in the first quarter with a concussion and was replaced by the 40-year-old Josh McCown. So Eagles fans should be in full throttle for this one, especially with a spot in the NFC Championship game on the line.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
