The Eagles have decided to bench Carson Wentz, putting rookie second-rounder Jalen Hurts into the lineup. This is not a surprise, with Wentz really struggling lately (and for most of the season). But the matchup certainly doesn't do Hurts any favors.
Not so long ago Hurts was a star quarterback at Alabama, before being supplanted by Tua Tagovailoa and moving on to Oklahoma. The Eagles drafted him in the second round, a widely panned move with them seeming to have their franchise quarterback in place with Carson Wentz. But now they do, at least, have a promising rookie to give a shot to.
Hurts led Philadelphia's only touchdown drive at Green Bay last week, but with modest passing stats: 5 of 12 for 109 yards, with a 32-yard touchdown. He ran 5 times for 29 yards, and it's that production which will make him a fantasy asset (somewhere this side of Taysom Hill). Hurts put up monster rushing numbers at Alabama (nearly 2,000 yards and 23 touchdowns), then went for another 1,298 and 20 TDs at Oklahoma. Enticing.
The Eagles aren't putting Hurts into a favorable spot to debut, though. New Orleans has won 9 in a row, and they're doing it mostly with defense. Their best work has been against the run, but they've had a lot of good performances against quarterbacks, especially lately. Plenty of top passers have struggled (sacks, interceptions) against the Saints this year.
| QUARTERBACKS VERSUS THE SAINTS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Yards | TD | Int | Sk |
| T.Brady | 239 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| D.Carr | 284 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| A.Rodgers | 283 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| M.Stafford | 206 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| J.Herbert | 264 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| T.Bridgewater | 254 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| N.Foles | 272 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| T.Brady | 209 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| N.Mullens | 247 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| M.Ryan | 232 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| K.Hinton | 13 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| M.Ryan | 273 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Most of those guys at least finished with average yards, and seven of 12 threw multiple touchdowns. Note, however, that all those better games came in the first half of the season. New Orleans' last six opponents combined for 4 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and 22 sacks.
If Hurts is to be a quality performer this week, it will likely be as a runner. There's also the fact that the Saints defensive coaches won't have much NFL film to go on with him; that could help. Maybe that's enough to help Philadelphia spring an upset.
Hurts should absolutely be rostered, and maybe worth starting, but it's also possible he could really struggle this week.
--Andy Richardson