PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts is sitting out a potential NFC East clincher against Dallas because of the lingering effects of a concussion.
The Eagles are turning to backup Kenny Pickett on Sunday because Hurts remains in the concussion protocol after being injured against Washington.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni kept quiet earlier in the week on which QB will start Sunday, in large part, of course, because of Hurts' status. The issue was complicated by Pickett’s rib injury suffered in relief of Hurts in his first real game competition in nearly a year.
Tanner McKee, the third-string QB, will move into a backup role against the Cowboys.
Philadelphia's starting quarterback situation has surged past Saquon Barkley's chase at Eric Dickerson's season rushing record as the most intriguing talking point in the final two games.
The Eagles (12-3) appear certain to win the division title — they're two games ahead of Washington (10-5) — and a No. 2 seed in the conference no matter the quarterback headed into the playoffs. Even with an unsettled QB spot, the Eagles were still 7½-point home favorites to beat division rival Dallas, per BetMGM Sportsbook.
Sirianni appreciated that quarterback depth has been a strength for the Eagles.
“We feel good about that room,” he said.
Pickett was 14 of 24 for 143 yards in relief of Hurts, throwing a touchdown pass to Brown and an interception. Pickett, a first-round pick out of Pitt in 2022, went 14-10 as a starter for the Steelers before he was traded to the Eagles in the offseason.
McKee was the Eagles’ 2023 sixth-round pick out of Stanford. The 6-foot-6, 231-pound quarterback has yet to take a snap in a regular-season game. He's mostly used in practice on the scout team or in developmental periods — at best, he'll stay late after practice to get some reps in with the top receivers.
“Every week, every opportunity, it's knowing it could be my shot, my chance,” McKee said.
With the Cowboys out of playoff contention, the questions persist for coach Mike McCarthy about bypassing Cooper Rush for a look at Trey Lance before both QBs hit free agency. McCarthy’s answer hasn’t wavered: Rush gives Dallas the best chance to win.
Rush is 4-3 since Dak Prescott’s season-ending hamstring tear after going 5-1 over two previous stints as an injury replacement.
That’s 9-4 total. Half the losses came in both of Rush’s starts against Eagles – the last of five games filling in during the 2022 season and the first game this season.
“The mindset is to win,” McCarthy said. “We’re going to Philadelphia to win the game.”
Barkley leads the NFL with 1,838 yards rushing for the season through 15 games. He still needs two big outings in the final games of the season against Dallas and the New York Giants to top Dickerson and his 2,105 yards for the Los Angeles Rams in 1984.
Barkley is 268 yards away from passing Dickerson for the season mark and 162 shy from becoming the ninth player in NFL history with 2,000 yards rushing in a season.
He ran for only 66 yards in the first game this season against Dallas.
Dallas ranks 28th in the NFL in rushing defense, surrendering 135.9 yards per contest. Philadelphia, behind Barkley’s stellar play, tops the league at 187.9 yards per game on the ground.
The Eagles have already have set a team record for yards rushing in a season with 2,818, and they are within four rushing touchdowns of tying the club’s single-season mark of 32, set in 2022. Barkley needs four more rushing touchdowns to tie LeSean McCoy’s Eagles record, set in 2011 and just 33 yards from scrimmage to break McCoy’s mark of 2,146 set in 2013.
Star Dallas edge rusher Micah Parsons needs half a sack to reach double digits in each of his first four seasons despite missing four games with a high ankle sprain, the first injury absence of his career.
The 2021 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year would be the fifth player to reach 10 sacks in each of his first four seasons. The other four — Claude Humphrey, Reggie White, Derrick Thomas and Dwight Freeney - are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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AP Pro Football Writer Schuyler Dixon contributed from Arlington, Texas.
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