Eagles lose Jalen Hurts: How Tanner McKee starting affects spread, expectations against Panthers
The Eagles will have to pivot to their backup QB for the immediate future with Hurts sidelined due to a blood clot
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The Eagles' offense in Week 5 didn't look much like the unit we expected to see heading into Week 1, with key players like Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith sidelined due to injury, while right tackle Lane Johnson and guard Cam Jurgens were also missing from the lineup due to retirement and trade, respectively. On Thursday, things got much worse for Philadelphia when Jalen Hurts was ruled out indefinitely due to a superficial blood clot.
Tanner McKee is now set to make his third career start in place of Hurts when the Eagles host the Panthers on Sunday. We don't know whether he'll be able to lean on Barkley or Smith after both players missed practice to start the week. Smith was spotted working on the side Wednesday, and he would seem to have a better chance of playing than Barkley, whose absence would result in the Eagles starting their fourth-string running back.
Sportsbooks initially reacted to the news by moving the Eagles to 3.5-point home underdogs against the Panthers. Prior to the news about Hurts, the Eagles were around 1-point underdogs in the game, with most books giving a slight edge to the Panthers on the money line. This is after Philadelphia sat as 2-point favorites when we broke down the lookahead lines last Thursday.
What do you need to know about the Panthers-Eagles matchup now that Jalen Hurts is sidelined? ... Join SportsLine here to see R.J. White's analysis.
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