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“Guys Get Sick”: Jason Kelce Reveals Eagles Expected Jalen Hurts to Play vs Seahawks Despite Illness

Published 12/21/2023, 8:00 AM EST

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In what many thought would be Jalen Hurt’s Michael Jordan moment, he utterly disappointed fans. Michael Jordan was fighting the flu during the 1997 NBA Finals, and yet he came through when his team needed him the most and scored 38 points with a last second 3 pointer to win the game. Hurts too was sick going but wasn’t able to help the Philadelphia Eagles, who lost the game to the Seattle Seahawks 17-20. With this loss, the Eagles recorded their eighth consecutive loss against Seattle.

To be fair to Hurts, he was so sick that he had to fly to Seattle in a separate plan so as not to infect his teammates as well. And despite his illness, he played to game to its bitter end. In the latest episode of the New Heights podcast, Jason Kelce spoke about what was going on behind the scenes.

No illness could’ve stopped Jason Kelce from playing

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In the episode, Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce asked his brother about what was going on when Hurts surprisingly showed up sick on the day before the game. “Guys get sick. Usually, it’s like a day thing you know. It’s like he’ll be back, you know. Then when he was still sick the next day, ‘I’m like oh man I don’t know what’s going to happen.'”

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The elder Kelce said that players usually bounce back the next day when they fall sick, but coach Nick Sirianni and his coaching staff had planned for contingencies in case they had to play without Hurts. But luckily for them, Hurts decided to play. To quote Travis, “That boy loves to ball. That guy ain’t gonna miss a game over some sickness.”

Read More: “Definitely Not”: Nick Sirianni Shatters Opinions of Benching Jalen Hurts Amid Eagles’ QB’s Health Rumors

But looking at how the game unfolded, some fans were wondering if it would have been better if Hurts had let himself recover instead of exerting his already weakened body.

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Hurts game worsened as the game progressed

Looking at the way he started the game, no one could’ve said that he was battling an illness. But then as the game entered the fourth quarter, it seemed clear that the Eagles would not be the top team in the NFC East division after the game. In that quarter, he threw an expensive interception right in the end zone. He was trying to get the ball to Quez Watkins which would have extended the Eagles’ 4-point lead, but the ball reached the hands of a Seahawks defender instead.

USA Today via Reuters

Then with just a couple of minutes left on the clock, he failed to convert a third-and-7. Again, his ball was intercepted for the second time in one quarter by Julian Love, while AJ Brown was the intended target. It seems that this will be a game that Hurts would want to forget. Despite this loss, they have managed to retain a playoff seed as the second-best team in the NFC East division. With three games remaining, can the Eagles snap their three-game losing streak?

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Written by:

Jakso James

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One take at a time

I am a hardcore believer in the ?Mamba Mentality?, which certainly applies to the NFL. The sport is not just about physical prowess but also demands a powerful mindset. Growing up, I spent time with athletes on the neighborhood soccer field.
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Edited by:

Anuj Jacob