Jalen Hurts Named Eagles' Starting QB vs. Saints over Carson Wentz

The Philadelphia Eagles have decided on their quarterback of the future.

Well, at least their immediate future.

Jalen Hurts will start over Carson Wentz for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints.

"I have come to a decision and I am going to go with Jalen Hurts this week against New Orleans," Pederson said Tuesday, per Dave Spadaro of the team's official website. "We're not where we want to be as an offense. I looked at the whole thing and decided that for this week to look for that spark again to try to get the team over the hump, to try to get everybody playing better."

ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the news.

The good news for Hurts is the fact that he will start the game and be tasked with snapping the Eagles' four-game losing streak. The bad news is he will be facing the Saints, who have the best record in the NFC at 10-2 and enter play riding a nine-game winning streak.

That's not the best position to succeed for a quarterback who is playing behind a makeshift offensive line that has struggled all season. The situation became even more dire for the 3-8-1 Eagles when the New York Giants improved to 5-7 with a shocking win over the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Football Team matched that mark with an upset of the previously undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers to widen the gap in the NFC East.

While Philadelphia selected Hurts with a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft following a collegiate career that saw him win a national championship with Alabama and become a Heisman Trophy finalist with Oklahoma, Wentz was locked in as the starter at the beginning of the season.

The 27-year-old slowly lost his grip on that position as his struggles continued, and he has 16 touchdown passes to 15 interceptions in an inconsistent year.

Head coach Doug Pederson benched Wentz when he went 6-of-15 for 79 yards during the latest loss to the Green Bay Packers and told reporters: "We needed a spark. So I decided to put Jalen in the game."

The decision gave Hurts his first extended chance at quarterback even though he played in wildcat sets at times, and he responded with his first career touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

It was not a sign of things to come, though, as the 22-year-old had an opportunity to lead a game-tying drive only to go 0-for-2 and take a sack before a punt.

Things got worse when Hurts threw an interception on Philadelphia's final possession of a game that saw him go 5-of-12 for 109 yards, one touchdown and one pick.

It wasn't the type of performance that left no doubt who the quarterback would be moving forward, and Pederson ultimately decided to go with Hurts as the Eagles attempt to snap their losing streak.