Hurts, Pickett injured as Eagles' streak snapped

LANDOVER, Md. — Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Kenny Pickett both suffered injuries Sunday against the Washington Commanders in a “sloppy” 36-33 loss that damaged their chances of getting the top seed in the NFC playoffs.

Hurts exited midway through the first quarter after his head collided with the turf as he was hit by linebacker Frankie Luvu while going to the ground following a 13-yard run. After being evaluated in the medical tent, Hurts walked to the locker room and was later ruled out because of a concussion.

“I haven’t talked to the medical staff yet, so I don’t have any updates on any of that stuff,” coach Nick Sirianni said when asked about Hurts.

Pickett, the former Pittsburgh Steelers signal-caller, replaced him in the lineup and finished 14-of-24 for 143 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He was spotted entering the X-ray room after the game.

Pickett later said he sustained a rib injury and will undergo further testing Monday.

Pickett’s injury occurred early in the fourth quarter when he was wrestled down in the backfield by linebacker Bobby Wagner. He stayed in the game and helped engineer a drive that resulted in a go-ahead field goal with 3:48 remaining.

The Eagles added another field goal about two minutes later for a 33-28 lead, but Washington answered with a touchdown in the closing seconds to snap Philadelphia’s 10-game win streak.

“I’m happy that [Pickett] came in because that gives him confidence, regardless if we got the win or loss,” said wide receiver A.J. Brown, who was targeted 15 times and finished with eight catches for 97 yards and a score. “God forbid anything happens [with Hurts in the future]; he came in and he got the experience.”

Philadelphia (12-3) would have secured the NFC East title with a win but now can’t clinch until next week.

The loss, coupled with a win by the Detroit Lions (13-2), lessened Philadelphia’s chances to earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC to just 4%, per NFL NextGen Stats. The Eagles will have to win games against the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants in addition to the Lions losing out, and then still would need help from the Minnesota Vikings (13-2) for things to break their way.

The Eagles entered the week with a 70% chance of securing the No. 2 seed, and that remains the most likely scenario.

Sunday marked the Eagles’ first loss with five takeaways since 1999 (vs. the Giants). They are just the second team in the Super Bowl era to score 30 points, rush for 200 yards, force five turnovers and lose.

“It sucks,” said running back Saquon Barkley, who rushed for 150 yards and two TDs on 29 carries. “But at the end of the day, it is what it is. We’re going to go out there and we’re going to win every football game — that’s our mindset as a team. But at the same time, when we lose and we didn’t do what we wanted to accomplish, we’re not going to panic.

“We’ll leave it up to [the media] to go out there and write stories about us and say whatever you want to say but we’re going to stay locked in in this locker room and keep believing in each other and finish the season up strong.”

Barkley surpassed 100 rushing yards for the 10th time this season, tying an NFL record for a player in his first year with a new team.

The Eagles not only dealt with quarterback injuries but had some rare slipups in the game, including a blown coverage on a 49-yard Olamide Zaccheaus touchdown and a drop by DeVonta Smith — his first of the season — on a third-down play late in the game that could have helped secure the win for Philadelphia.

Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was ejected in the second half after being flagged for his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, weakening the secondary as Washington made its final charge.

“Just sloppy,” Sirianni said. “Sloppy with penalties … sloppy with our fundamentals. And when you play a good football team like we played today and you’re sloppy, regardless of how many turnovers you force, it’s going to be hard to win. What I said to [the team] is when it’s sloppy with every piece of that, that’s always going to be on me as the head coach.”