LANDOVER, Md. — Jalen Hurts was concussed minutes into the game and ruled out after evaluation, Kenny Pickett played like a backup quarterback and the Philadelphia Eagles’ 10-game winning streak is over.
Hurts was ruled out early in a 36-33 road loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday after his head slammed against the ground on one run and he was hit in the helmet by Frankie Luvu at the end of another. Coach Nick Sirianni had no update on his starting quarterback’s status afterward.
“I haven’t talked to our medical staff yet,” Sirianni said. “Anything that has anything to do with the head is out of our hands.”
Hurts’ status for next week’s home game against the Dallas Cowboys will linger for the Eagles, who might have blown their chance for the top seed in the NFC and the corresponding first-round bye.
“We didn’t play our ball,” said wide receiver DeVonta Smith, who dropped a wide-open pass late that would have given Philadelphia a first down and the chance to seal it. “We shot ourselves in the foot. Lot of penalties and things like that, and at the end of the day we still had a chance to win.”
Philadelphia’s league-leading defense allowed rookie Jayden Daniels to throw for five touchdowns and account for 339 yards. On the other side of the ball, Saquon Barkley — after rushing for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter — had just 41 the rest of the way.
The Commanders crowding the line of scrimmage to take away Barkley after Hurts left had a lot to do with that. Pickett completed 14 of 24 passes for 143 yards, a TD pass to A.J. Brown and an interception in his first meaningful action since Dec. 3, 2023, with the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Arizona Cardinals — his last game for the Steelers.
“l just tried to channel as much as I could from the preparation standpoint when I got out there, but at the end of the day you’ve just got to go play,” said Pickett, who had X-rays on his injured ribs and expects to undergo more testing. “There’s definitely plays that I want back and I know that we want back as a team.”
Teammates were quick to defend Pickett.
“I don’t believe in moral victories, but I’ll definitely give a shoutout to Kenny,” Barkley said. “The way he came in and responded, he put us in a position to win a football game. That’s all we could ask. As a team, we didn’t do that.”
There was plenty of blame to go around. Philadelphia played the bulk of the second half without three starters: injured edge rusher Josh Sweat and defensive tackle Jordan Davis and then safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was ejected after his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Gardner-Johnson posted on social media, “Respectfully got kicked out for nothing,” and said he plays with passion and fire. Referee Shawn Smith said the second flag was for taunting an opponent.
The Eagles need one more win to wrap up the NFC East title and one of the conference’s top two seeds. After the Cowboys next weekend, they finish the regular season against the last-place New York Giants.
