Eagles to start Jalen Hurts, bench Carson Wentz vs. Saints

A holiday wish held by many fans of the Philadelphia Eagles came true less than three weeks before Christmas. 

ESPN's Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter reported on Tuesday that Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson is naming rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts his starter for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints. 

2016 second overall pick Carson Wentz, who has struggled throughout the campaign, has been relegated to backup following four consecutive defeats coming off Philadelphia's bye week. 

Hurts made sporadic appearances throughout his debut season leading up to last Sunday's game versus the Green Bay Packers, when the 22-year-old came off the bench and connected on 5-of-12 passes for 102 yards with a touchdown and interception. Hurts' 32-yard TD pass to Greg Ward on 4th-and-18 midway through the fourth quarter provided the Eagles with an offensive spark but wasn't enough to propel them to a comeback win at Lambeau Field. 

Philadelphia lost 30-16 to fall to 3-8-1 on the year. Despite that result, the Eagles remain within reach of the New York Giants and Washington Football Team, two clubs sitting at 5-7 and atop the NFC East standings. (The Giants hold the tiebreaker due to sweeping Washington in the season series.) 

The Eagles and Washington meet in the regular-season finale on Jan. 3. Philadelphia and New York split their games earlier this fall.