Eagles' Jalen Hurts limited in practice, but there's a twist

Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts received an eye-opening health update ahead of the Eagles' Sunday Night Football game against the Los Angeles Rams. Nick Sirianni's team has taken firm control of the NFC East amid a six-game winning streak. In that span, Hurts, star running back Saquon Barkley, and new offense coordinator Kellen Moore have started to hit their stride as a unit. The one concern in last Thursday's win against the Washington Commanders was the hits Hurts took throughout the game.

That exposure to heavy pressure seems to have had an effect. NFL Insider Tom Pelissero confirmed the eye-opening news in a post on X.

“The Eagles listed QB Jalen Hurts as limited in practice with an ankle injury. Hurts told reporters it's part of a ‘mini-program' to be healthy for the stretch run, and he'll fully practice the next two days.”

The Philadelphia Eagles are entering a pivotal stretch in their season

While the news on Hurts isn't damaging, Philadelphia must keep their star signal caller healthy going forward. The Eagles are currently second overall in the NFC and lead the Commanders by one and a half games. At 8-2, Nick Sirianni's team is in a great position to get a very high seed in the conference. However, there are some tricky games on the horizon for Philadelphia.

Over their last seven games, the Eagles will play legitimate contenders such as the Washington Commanders again, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Those matchups, alongside divisional games against the Cowboys and Giants, present many potential potholes that can stop Philadelphia's momentum.

Despite these concerns, this franchise has a right to feel confident about itself. Saquon Barkley is coming off a monster game against the Commanders and has been an absolute superstar for Philly this season. The former Giant is having a career year and is second in the NFL in rushing yards at 1,137. Even though he is only in his first season with the franchise, it's already clear that Howie Roseman's move to sign Barkley was a stroke of genius.

In addition to Barkley's success, Kellen Moore's offense is coming into its own overall. This unit heads into Week 12 off of five games, where it has scored more than 26 points. One key to this success has been keeping turnovers low. Jalen Hurts has stayed true to that strategy and has only thrown one interception since Week 3. Overall, Philly's offense is rolling even as the weather gets colder.

The Eagles are one of the more balanced teams in the NFL right now because as their offense has heated up, the defense has remained solid. Philly is sixth in the NFL in points allowed at 17.9 per game and has only given up more than 20 points three times this year. In addition, this unit has not let up more than 30 points this season, consistently keeping the offense in games even when it has struggled.

Overall, the Eagles are flying high, heading into a crucial stretch for their Super Bowl chances. Should Jalen Hurts avoid these types of injury scares and continue this organization's momentum, Philadelphia might not just be playing in late January but potentially early February.