Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Marcus Mariota. Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Can Eagles win in Seattle if Marcus Mariota has to start at QB?

By Bruce Ewing | Last updated 12/17/23

Marcus Mariota has failed to impress in his short time as an Eagle, but a Week 15 start in somewhat familiar territory could be just what the doctor ordered for Philly’s backup QB.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, starting quarterback Jalen Hurts has been downgraded to “questionable” with an illness. He won’t travel with the team but will fly separately to Seattle for the team’s Monday night matchup against the Seahawks.

That’s bad news for a team coming off a pair of blowout losses and already down key players like linebacker Zach Cunningham, guard Cam Jurgens and cornerback Darius Slay. But before Eagles fans throw in the towel, they need to look closer at Mariota’s history.

Eagles are downgrading QB Jalen Hurts to questionable for Monday night’s game in Seattle after his sickness worsened overnight, per a source.

Hurts still is harboring hopes of playing Monday night, and is traveling to Seattle separately from the team so as to try not get anyone… pic.twitter.com/fdtOTgRWUR
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 17, 2023

After eight years with three different teams, Mariota signed a one-year, $5M contract to backup Hurts in the offseason. The 30-year-old quarterback has 15,672 yards and 92 touchdowns in 89 appearances for his career.

It’s been more than a year since he’s won a football game, but it’s been even longer since he’s played a game in the Pacific Northwest, otherwise known as the place he won a Heisman Trophy. In 2014, Mariota became the first Oregon Player to win the Heisman.

That year, he threw for 3,783 yards, 38 touchdowns and just two interceptions while running for 669 yards and 14 more scores. The Tennessee Titans took him second overall in the 2015 NFL Draft, but to this point he hasn't made good on what were lofty expectations.

That’s where Seattle comes in. Mariota hasn’t lost a game to the Seahawks in his professional career, beating them at home in 2017 and at Lumen Field as a Falcon in 2022. It’s not much, but given how the team has played lately, Philly fans will gladly take any silver lining.

Mariota stepped in briefly for Hurts in the fourth quarter of last week’s game and went 2-for-3 for 16 yards. He’ll need to give the Eagles much more if called upon to help them beat the Seahawks, and for one game, maybe he will.

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