Jalen Carter’s injury only increases the pressure on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts

Now that the truth is known, it falls to Jalen No. 1 to compensate for the absence of Jalen No. 2.

Now that the drop-off in Jalen Carter’s play in 2025 compared with 2024 has been explained by his deteriorating shoulders, the responsibility for a late-season surge falls more squarely on the shoulders of embattled quarterback Jalen Hurts.

He’s got to throw better passes. He’s got to run the offense more efficiently. He’s got to start using his legs as a weapon, because the main weapon on defense is gone.

» READ MORE: If you haven’t been paying attention to the Eagles’ troubles, let’s get you up to speed

Carter as an NFL sophomore last season fueled the best defense in the league. That defense allowed an average of 19.3 points to the No. 5, No. 7, No. 15, and No. 17 offenses in four playoff games. Zack Baun, Milton Williams, and Josh Sweat made $231 million in new contracts after that Super Bowl run. They owe about 25% to Carter.

Now, though, Carter is taking time off to heal his aching shoulders. According to Dr. David Chao, Carter likely received PRP injections — platelet-rich plasma — a procedure that is minimally invasive and intended to have the patient’s own plasma speed healing at the injection site.

In the best-case scenario for the team, Carter will miss no more than two games. In the best-case scenario for Carter, he will miss the last five games before the playoffs begin. He needs to be pain-free, fit, and strong if the Eagles hope to defend their title.

To his credit, Carter tried to play through the injury all season. He reported the injury in the offseason and missed time during training camp, but as the games got colder the dam finally broke.

Carter was bad in the second half at Dallas two weeks ago, when the Cowboys came back and won. He was even worse last Friday, when the visiting Bears rushed for 281 yards. Still, Dallas and Chicago scored just 24 points apiece. Carter is that effective at half-strength.

That’s about the level at which Jalen Hurts has been playing … for quite a while, to be honest.

As well as Carter played last season he wasn’t the Eagles’ best player, because Saquon Barkley had the best year any running back ever had. This season, however, defenses have sold out to stop Saquon, and it’s working.

It’s working, in part, because Hurts and his coaches have decided to reduce his designed quarterback runs. Hurts is on pace for only 119 runs, about 47 fewer than his average over the past four seasons.

» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts running more might be the best thing for the Eagles. Is it also hazardous to his career?

Exacerbating the matter: The poor health, inconsistent play, and key absences on the offensive line, usually an unstoppable force, have diminished that unit’s effectiveness.

The biggest blow: Right tackle Lane Johnson, one of the best players in franchise history, hurt his foot against the Lions. He missed both the loss at Dallas and Friday’s loss, and he won’t be back for at least two more games, more likely four. Without Johnson, the Eagles wouldn’t have won Super Bowl LII or LIX. Hurts and Barkley wouldn’t be under contracts worth more than $300 million. He’s just that good.

So, yes, as they enter the homestretch of the season, the 8-4 Eagles will play without their best defensive lineman and their best offensive lineman. With Carter and Johnson either limited or absent, they’ve lost their last two games.

Still, things aren’t all that bad.

They hold the No. 3 overall seed in the NFC. They again hold a 2 ½ game lead in the NFC East over the Cowboys, who lost Thursday night in Detroit. They’ve given themselves a buffer, and they have a runway — as long as Hurts starts playing to his $51 million average annual value.

First, the Chargers, in Los Angeles, on Monday Night. Right-handed Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert will be playing with a surgically repaired left hand, so the balanced attack might be less balanced, and the offense should run exclusively out of shotgun or pistol sets, and adversity along the Chargers’ line has mirrored that of the Eagles’.

However, the Chargers have the No. 2 passing defense and 11 interceptions, which is tied for eighth. The Eagles have the 24th-ranked offense and the 23rd-ranked passing offense, despite weapons like A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. They’re getting open, and they’re running the plays called by first-year coordinator Kevin Patullo.

Hurts has been a problem all season. Hurts can turn that narrative around Monday night, and beyond.

The two-win Raiders visit the next week, and the season ends with home-and-home games against the three-win Commanders, who have the second-worst defense in the league, sandwiching what likely will be a brutal trip to Buffalo.

The Eagles can win three of their remaining games, four if they win Monday night. That would give them 12 wins and a chance at the No. 1 seed in the NFC, since they’ve beaten the Rams and Lions, and since the Bears have a much more challenging schedule left to play.

But no longer can the Eagles expect their defense to win games for them, as Hurts squeezes the football and stares, mystified, into opposing secondaries.

He’s averaging just 209.5 passing yards. That’s fewer than Geno Smith, Mac Jones, and Jacoby Brissett.

That has to change.