UPDATED: 3:30 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Eagles' 30-16 loss to the Green Bay Packers wasn't a surprise. Maybe the quarterback change wasn't either.
After struggling for most of the first 12 games of the season, Carson Wentz was sent to the bench in the second half. In came rookie Jalen Hurts, who threw for 109 yards and added his first career touchdown pass. It was not enough to complete the comeback, as the Eagles fell to 3-8-1 on the season.
Coach Doug Pederson explained why he made the change in the third quarter.
"I just felt like where we were as an offense we needed a spark," he said. "We needed something to kind of go our way, and so I decided to put Jalen in the game.
"I thought it was the spark that I was hoping for when I made the change. He came in and did some things."
While Hurts wasn't perfect, he hardly looked like a rookie playing against the Packers. In his first series, Hurts connected with fellow rookie Jalen Reagor on a 34-yard pass. In the fourth quarter, Hurts threw a touchdown pass to Greg Ward on fourth down. The Eagles would add another score but would not be able to complete the comeback.
"Coach gave me that opportunity," Hurts said. "With all my heart, I had every intention on coming in and getting it done and winning the game, but we came up short. That only lights a fire in everybody moving forward."
On Monday morning, in his analysis of the game, voice of the Eagles Merrill Reese said he wasn't surprised by the move.
"I actually thought there was a very good chance that Jalen Hurts was going to start the second half. But Doug Pederson gave Carson Wentz every opportunity ... and when nothing worked, I don't think he had a choice. ... He had to do something to spark the team."
In the post-game discussion Sunday night, SportsRadio 94WIP's Ray Didinger said he thinks Pederson will stick with Hurts for next week's game.
Just what the Eagles will do moving forward remains to be seen. On Monday afternoon, Pederson would not say who his starting quarterback will be when the Eagles host the Saints.
"I have not made a decision yet," Pederson said Monday. "I'm not prepared right now to make any statement or decisions on that. I'm still processing a lot of things and going through a lot of things before I make that decision. When I know, you'll know."
Wentz showed strong support for Hurts after the benching and was praised by Pederson for his leadership, but Wentz was understandably frustrated about getting sent to the sidelines.
"It's frustrating as a competitor and just the personality that I have," Wentz said Sunday. "I want to be the guy out there, but it is what it is. At the end of the day, we lost. As a team, we lost. That's what, for me, I'm most frustrated about."
Whoever starts at quarterback this weekend will take over a team that is fading down the stretch. The Eagles have now lost four in a row and are 3-8-1 on the season.
Neither quarterback gave any indication as to who will start next weekend, though Hurts sounded eager to get another chance, this time at the Linc.
"My number was called," Hurts added. "It was an opportunity to go in there. Obviously, we came up short, but we've got a great opportunity this week moving forward."
There's a lot depending on Pederson's decision — not only how it affects each quarterback, but the fate of the team this season.
"I'm taking all that into consideration," he said. "The big picture is the football team and we've got a lot of injuries again coming out of this football game. There's a lot of moving parts again this week. I'll take all that into consideration moving forward."
There is also a long-term situation with Wentz that has to be considered. The team made a financial commitment to Wentz not knowing he would digress as much as he has in 2020.
How Pederson handles this situation with Wentz will also impact the future. Pederson knew when Wentz first arrived in Philadelphia that he and his quarterback would be linked to both the success and failure of the franchise.
"We are married to this," Pederson added. "It's something that I pride myself on and he and I are definitely in a situation that we've got to work ourselves out of. My job is to help him and to help him improve and to get better and to help this football team win."
