Ex-Giants QB has wild take: Eagles should bench Jalen Hurts

The Eagles are being criticized after their lopsided loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, and rightly so, because the offense struggled to convert in the red zone and the defense gave up 456 yards. However, an NFL analyst believes Jalen Hurts is holding back the Eagles’ offense and needs to be replaced.

BUY EAGLES TICKETS: STUBHUB, VIVID SEATS, TICKETMASTER

On Tuesday’s episode of “NFL Total Access” on the NFL Network, analyst David Carr, who was taken by the Houston Texans as the first overall pick in the 2002 draft and spent three seasons with the Giants later in his career, was skeptical of the Eagles’ chances of making a deep playoff run with Hurts.

“The only way that they get there is if Jalen is 100%, and he is that dynamic weapon in the run game because that creates your offense on the outside and your one-on-ones,” Carr said. “Clearly, Jalen isn’t comfortable reading through a defense in a dropback-pass scenario. Some would say he’s not even good at it. When you look at this team, you have to have a serious conversation if you’re Philly, and you have to really say, is it better for us to play Marcus Mariota right now and let Jalen get fully healthy? I would argue that it does not matter if you’re the No. 1 seed because if the 49ers come into Philly again, they do not care if it is raining in Philly. It doesn’t matter, and it’s irrelevant.”

Carr doubled down on his take, saying that he knows it would be a crazy conversation between head coach Nick Sirianni and Hurts, who is among the favorites to win the league’s MVP award. Carr took it further by recommending the Eagles turn to Mariota, a backup who has played a total of five snaps this season, all coming against the 49ers when Hurts was being evaluated for a concussion. Hurts later returned in the game.

Hurts completed 26 of his 45 passes for 289 yards and a touchdown against the 49ers and rushed for 20 yards and a touchdown. In 12 games this season, Hurts has completed 66.5% of his passes for 2,995 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while adding another 430 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns. Hurts remains in the conversation for MVP with Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys, Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, and 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. The Eagles will face Prescott on Sunday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.