Jalen Hurts Illness: The Eagles’ matchup with the Buccaneers on “Monday Night Football” was never in danger of losing Jalen Hurts, but the quarterback was obviously not at full strength.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Hurts was experiencing “flu-like symptoms” before the contest. Both teams entered the contest with identical records of 2-0. Hurts was asked explicitly during his postgame press conference if Schefter’s report was accurate.
Jalen Hurts Illness
Jalen Hurts, the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, acknowledged after his team’s 25-11 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night that he played despite having the flu.
Pain did not have to endure everything on his own. According to center Jason Kelce, several Eagles were ill in the days preceding the game.
Despite this, the offense was able to gain 472 yards, largely due to the outstanding performances of running back D’Andre Swift (130 rushing yards) and wide receiver A.J. Brown (9 receptions, 131 receiving yards).
#Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was having “flu like symptoms” before the game, according to @AdamSchefterhttps://t.co/9Zhot8L4iE pic.twitter.com/nlVtZCBYL7
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 26, 2023
After the game, Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham joked that Hurts, a recent signee to Nike’s Jordan brand, was merely imitating Mike, who tallied 38 points for the Chicago Bulls against the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals despite being ill.
Hurts had a mixed night, scoring a touchdown through the air and on the ground while also tossing two interceptions. Nevertheless, he did impress with a few remarkable throws.
There was a justification for his return to Tampa. The Eagles’ 2021 season concluded with a postseason defeat to the Buccaneers by a score of 31-15. Hurts completed 23 of 32 passes for 258 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.
Since then, Hurts’ regular-season record as the starting quarterback is 17-1.
When was Jalen Hurts previously ill?
Apparently, Jalen Hurts has had the illness before in his professional career. Nick Sirianni recalled that the future Philadelphia Eagles player was afflicted with gastrointestinal symptoms prior to a 2021 preseason game against the New England Patriots, prior to his first full season.
Despite negative COVID test results, the Eagles elected to start Joe Flacco and Nick Mullens instead of him, a decision that backfired as both quarterbacks were intercepted once during the team’s 35-0 home loss. As Sirianni stated:
After returning to camp, Hurts chose not to discuss his injuries with the media.