NFC Notes: Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles, Jalen Hurts

Commanders

• The Athletic’s Ben Standig notes Commanders HC Ron Rivera will meet with owner Dan Snyder in the coming week or so to discuss the plan for 2023, including potential staff changes. The job security of OC Scott Turner is in some question. 
• ESPN’s John Keim reports that Commanders DT John Ridgeway tore a pectoral muscle and will begin months of rehab this offseason.
• Commanders QB Sam Howell on if he can be a starter: “Yeah, I definitely can. I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I played one game. They still have to make the decisions, and whatever decision they make I’ll be ready for it. But I’m not going to get ahead of myself.” (Keim)

Cowboys

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke about the team’s Week 18 loss to the Commanders, noting that the team would have to live with the defeat going into the playoffs.

“We get to suck on that all week,” Jones said, via ESPN. “If that doesn’t make you want to get ready to go in about six, or seven days, nothing else will. That was as thorough a butt-kicking as we’ve had this year, and we’re going to find out if that’ll get you ready or not. It should with what these guys are made of.”

“There’s no doubt in my mind that as a team, not just individually, but as a team, we can come back and take this nightmare — whatever you want to call it — and turn it into a plus,” Jones added. “I’m thrilled that we’ve got the opportunity, and I’m thrilled that we didn’t have to look over there at the Philadelphia game and the San Francisco game and say, ‘Boy, did we mess up.'”

Eagles

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts returned to the lineup in Week 18 from a sprained shoulder to help Philadelphia clinch the No. 1 seed but HC Nick Sirianni admitted it was tough for him. Had Philadelphia locked up the bye before then, he said Hurts probably wouldn’t have played. It sounds like he’ll need every bit of the two weeks of rest he’ll have before playing again. 

“What he did in Chicago was Michael Jordan–type s—, to be quite honest with you,” Sirianni said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “What he did in Chicago to finish that game and will us to a win was Michael Jordan–type s—. For him to play through that, it was pretty incredible. He had to fight through it today, too. It was tough. He was hurting. It was pretty remarkable what he had to do to go through and get ready to play.”