PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Hurts was in the blue medical tent. Then he was out.
The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback jogged to the locker room with his team trailing 7-3 at halftime, coming back out and not missing a play. Hurts went 8 of 9 for for 120 yards for a 118.8 passer rating, also rushing for 16 yards and a touchdown as the Eagles scored 23 points and put up 260 yards in the final two quarters.
Getting evaluated for a head injury was forgotten about.
“I guess I beat the protocol,” Hurts said after Thursday’s win over the Washington Commanders. “I beat the protocol.”
Hurts did take two hard hits in the first half, but the Eagles quarterback was good enough to play after going through the protocol. There’s no gray area when going through the concussion protocol. A player either passes it or he doesn’t.
Hurts passed the protocol. By his play on the field in the second half, he should little effects of a head injury (if any).
“When you see grass coming out of his helmet, yeah man, he got rocked a few times,” said Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson. “I thought he did a good job coming in the second half, and really putting it behind him.
Johnson, who’s had quite a few concussions in his career, didn’t notice anything different with Hurts in the first half. Hurts was 10 of 19 for 101 yards and a 68.1 passer rating in the first 30 minutes.
“A couple of times, I got hit and I was wobbling myself,” Johnson said. “I thought what saved this game was our second half adjustment.”
Saquon Barkley saw the same with his quarterback. He trusted the protocol and the results. By then, it was up to Hurts.
“I didn’t see nothing,” Barkley said. “It said his head, so I went up to him, and I said, ‘You good?’ He said, ‘I’m good,’ and we just kept rocking.”
Hurts will have 10 days to rest up and get ready for a showdown with the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 24. The Eagles quarterback faced some adversity on Thursday, but still got the result he wanted.
“Winning is the main thing. It will always be the main thing,” Hurts said. “And it takes what it takes, regardless of how it looks, what you have to go through to get it,” Hurts said. “We’ll grow through this situation and this experience in the game. Win, lose or draw, we want to grow from every situation, but to be able to stay at it, find a way, stick together. That was pleasing.”