The Philadelphia Eagles are gearing up for a postseason run that they hope will be vastly different from their previous attempt. After winning 10 of their 11 games to start the 2023 season, Philadelphia inexplicably lost five of their last six games before losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round.
That sudden drop-off left fans hesitant to have faith in the Eagles, and many were expecting another late-season crash. There were a few shaky moments, such as wide receiver A.J. Brown's complaints about the passing game, but the team managed to stabilize and stay the course.
The Eagles are entering the playoffs as the NFC's No. 2 seed, and they're set to host the Green Bay Packers at Lincoln Financial Field for a NFC Wild Card matchup. The game will be a rematch of their season opener in Brazil, which resulted in a 34-29 victory for the Eagles.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was sidelined over the final two games of the regular season after suffering a concussion during the team's Week 16 loss against the Washington Commanders, and the injury threatened the quarterback's availability for the playoffs. Fortunately, the Eagles no longer have to worry about that possibility.
Jalen Hurts cleared concussion protocol ahead of Wild Card matchup
Hurts cleared concussion protocol and will be available to play against Green Bay on Sunday, PHLY's Zach Berman reported on Friday.
Hurts said this is the first time he suffered a concussion, but he has also played with a broken finger on his non-throwing hand.
"We're always careful with him," Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said, via ESPN. "He's our quarterback, so we always want to be careful with him. We always think about his health first and foremost because you never want him not to be on the field. You always want Jalen Hurts on the field. You always feel better when Jalen Hurts is on the field. It's always part of our process and our plan to make sure that when he does carry the football on planned runs that we try to protect him."
Hurts finished the regular season with 2,903 passing yards with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions, but he only threw one interceptions since the team's Week 5 bye. He also added 14 rushing touchdowns.
Philadelphia's early bye week forced them to play through their final 13 games without any rest. By the end of the season, the effects of the grueling season have become visible. Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith missed practice on Friday with a back injury and Brown missed practice on Thursday with a knee injury, but both wideouts are expected to be ready to play, per Pro Football Talk's Josh Alper.
Much like last season's Eagles, the Packers are stumbling into the postseason after losing three of their last five regular season games. Despite being locked into the NFC's No. 7 seed, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur opted to play his starters in a Week 18 matchup against the Chicago Bears. The hope was that the team could enter the playoffs with some positive momentum. Instead, Green Bay suffered a 24-22 loss to Chicago after quarterback Jordan Love and wide receiver Christian Watson sustained injuries.