It’s official: Minshew mania will be returning in full force against the Cowboys on Saturday.
On Thursday, Nick Sirianni confirmed Jalen Hurts will be held out of the divisional showdown due to a shoulder injury he suffered in last week’s game versus the Bears.
In his place, Gardner Minshew will get the starting nod. It’s Minshew’s first game as a starter since Week 17 of last season where he started against (who else) Dallas.
In that game, Minshew went 19 for 33 on passing attempts, putting up 186 yards with two touchdowns against one interception and a 81.1 rating. Unfortunately, it ended in a 51-26 loss.
Hurts was always likely to not start
While the idea that Hurts could have potentially suited up for the game was thrown around by the team, that was always likely to have been an attempt to keep Dallas guessing about who would be the starting quarterback.
In actuality, Hurts’ injury will likely keep him questionable for at least one more game. It will be interesting to see how the team proceeds.
Thanks to their record and likelihood of winning the division and the NFC’s top seed, they can afford to play it conservatively if they so choose.
However, Hurts getting reps in before the playoffs is also important, especially if the team secures a bye. You don’t want a young QB rusty in a winner-take-all situation.
Can Minshew Mania live up to the hype?
Minshew has played sparingly since arriving in Philadelphia, with this only being his third total start. Because of that, even with his total 104.1 rating here, it’s hard to predict how he’ll turn out.
Still, there’s reasons to be confident Minshew can keep the Eagles competitive against Dallas, and even edge out a win – especially with the team around him.
The Eagles’ offensive line is ranked by PFF as the best in the league, and should help to keep Dallas’ tough defensive line unit led by Micah Parsons – which leads the NFL in pressure rate – at bay.
The Eagles could also lean on the run game should Minshew fails to be an effective pasher against Dallas’ secondary, though Sirianni has said they don’t plan on running a vanilla offense in this situation.
Minshew has plenty on the line for himself, as well – he’s set to be a free agent at the end of this season. With so many teams having uncertainty at QB (Atlanta, Houston, Washington, Tampa Bay, and Indianapolis to name a few), he could put himself on the path for a big payday if he shows up.
