Eagles should consider benching Jalen Hurts for stretch run, ex-NFL QB says

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is among the favorites to win the NFL MVP award along with fellow quarterbacks Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Tua Tagovailoa.

Hurts’ odds took a hit as the Eagles lost to Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers, 42-19, on Sunday. Hurts was 26-for-45 with 298 yards, a touchdown pass and a rushing touchdown. It was enough for at least one NFL analyst to call for Philadelphia to make a change at starting quarterback.

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David Carr, a former quarterback for the Houston Texans and New York Giants, said Tuesday the Eagles should replace Hurts with Marcus Mariota. Carr cited Hurts allegedly being "uncomfortable" reading defenses while in the pocket as well as his health.

"Clearly, Jalen isn’t comfortable reading through a defense in a drop back pass scenario. Some would say he’s not even good at it," Carr said. "I think when you look at this team, you have to have a serious conversation, if you’re Philly. And you have to say, ‘Is it better for us to play Marcus Mariota right now and get Jalen really healthy,’ because I would argue it doesn’t matter if they’re the No. 1 seed. If the 49ers come into Philly again, they do not care.

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"Put Marcus in there, win a couple of games, maybe you have the No. 1 seed still, you might have it," Carr continued. "I’d say [Mariota] is better at playing quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles right now. Right now, he’d be more productive."

Hurts left the game Sunday for a few plays and the team inserted Mariota. Hurts came back, but Philadelphia still came up short.

Carr added that these are the types of conversations Nick Sirianni has to have if he has a "big picture mentality."

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Everybody in the NFL is banged up through 13 weeks of the season, but quarterbacks have dropped like flies. Derek Carr, Trevor Lawrence and Kenny Pickett left their games during Week 13. It followed Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson being lost for the season.

Aaron Rodgers, Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson were lost for the season. Jimmy Garoppolo, Justin Fields and Matthew Stafford also missed time with injuries.

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The Super Bowl winner will be the team that stays healthy enough to get through another month.

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