If Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts didn't have a great case for NFL MVP before, he certainly does now.
Less than 24 hours after the Eagles improved to 13-1 with a win over the Chicago Bears, news came down that Hurts could be in line to miss Philadelphia's next game against the Dallas Cowboys. Hurts reportedly suffered a sprain to his throwing shoulder, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero, which could sideline the 24-year-old as his squad looks to lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
So how does an injury help Hurts chances of being named MVP? Well, the Cowboys have all of a sudden become huge favorites over the Eagles in Week 16.
After news of the injury came down, DraftKings Sportsbook shifted the line from making the Eagles 1.5-point road underdogs to making the Cowboys 6.5-point favorites at home. BetMGM made a similar switch, though Dallas only became a 6-point favorite after the move.
Philadelphia does not need to win this matchup with Dallas by any means, but the hike in favor of the Cowboys certainly is representative of how the books feel about Hurts. Philadelphia's QB was the odds-on favorite to win NFL MVP at both BetMGM (-165) and DraftKings (-160) in their final updates prior to kickoff of the Week 15 slate. Those odds have significantly diminished since the injury, however, as BetMGM took their MVP odds off the board while DraftKings dropped Hurts to +400 odds behind Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (-350). Hurts commands the highest ticket percentage for MVP vote-getters in Week 15 at DraftKings.
Hurts has been immaculate this season, passing for 3,472 yards on 67.3% passing. His touchdown-to-interception ratio of 22-5 is second in the NFL, only behind Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. His 747 rushing yards are third among QB's behind Justin Fields of the Bears and Lamar Jackson of the Ravens. His 13 rushing touchdowns are the second most in the entire NFL.
Without Hurts, the Eagles will likely deploy Gardner Minshew at quarterback against the Cowboys. Kickoff for the pivotal NFC East matchup is scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday.
