Eagles vs. Panthers predictions: Our writers pick a winner for Week 6

The announcement Thursday afternoon from the Eagles that Jalen Hurts would miss Sunday’s game vs. Carolina while receiving treatment for a “superficial blood clot” in his leg certainly changed how this game will be viewed.

It also drastically changed the odds. The Eagles were slight favorites at most sportsbooks on Thursday morning. But after the news broke the Panthers were favored by a field goal in some spots.

Can the Eagles end their three-game slide without Hurts on Sunday?

Here’s how our Eagles writers see Sunday playing out:

It has been a weird five games to start this Eagles season. They’re a few plays away from being 4-1, and they’re also a few plays away from being 0-5.

Which team are they closer to being? It’s hard to argue they’re not closer to the 0-5 team than they are the 4-1 team. Their offense ranks at or near the bottom of the league in many areas — advanced analytics and normal metrics. They have been decimated by injuries. Their Hall of Fame right tackle abruptly retired.

And now they’ll play at least Sunday’s game without their starting quarterback.

The big picture stuff around this team right now is not confidence inspiring, and with a Panthers team coming to town with a high-powered offense fresh off of a bye week to play a team a week after an emotional defeat across the Atlantic Ocean, I’m not very confident the Eagles have it in the tank to win this game with Tanner McKee at quarterback. (To be clear, I wasn’t confident they did with Hurts playing, either.)

A lot will depend on if Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith can make it back to the field in time for the game. Even one of them would be a big boost to an offense that needs to find itself and would give McKee a little more firepower to work with.

But even if one or both plays, I’m going to need to see the Eagles win a game right now before I predict them to actually do it.

Bryce Young is ascending. The Eagles aren’t. Add Hurts’ ailment into the mix and it’s easy to not overthink this one.

Prediction: Panthers 24, Eagles 16

The 2026 Eagles are a mess, but they’re going to hit another new low this week.

The defense has been fine, but they’re one of the worst tackling units in the league. Their special teams cost them in last week’s stunner vs. the Jags in London. And their offense, under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, looks stale (to put it mildly).

Oh, yeah, and they’re going to be without Jalen Hurts for at least one game.

I’m not even sure getting Smith and Barkley back could fix this mess.

The Birds will turn to McKee, a once-promising prospect who had to fight for a job this summer. The 26-year-old McKee threw for 263 yards, one touchdown and one interception in three preseason games and was outdueled by the elder Andy Dalton.

So you’ve got a battered Eagles team (without their QB, most of their O-line, and a starting-caliber running back) going up against a Panthers team that just had a bye week.

It’s not going to end well. The Panthers should easily take care of the Birds, which will make an already bad season even worse.

Thank goodness the Sixers start next week.

Prediction: Panthers 35, Eagles 14

Amid a three-game losing streak, the Eagles were already facing an uphill battle against the red-hot Young and the Panthers. Then the news came out Thursday that Hurts would be out indefinitely with a superficial blood clot in his calf.

Now, barring a trade or a free-agent signing, McKee is poised to step into the starting role. He has started two regular-season games in his NFL career, and both were Week 18 contests in which the starters did not play. His preseason performance was inconsistent, but he was still the best Eagles quarterback during the exhibition slate.

But McKee wasn’t even the Eagles’ top backup until Week 4, following Dalton’s fateful interception in the Eagles’ Week 3 loss to the Chicago Bears. McKee initially started the season in the QB3 role after splitting reps with Dalton during the offseason program and training camp.

Combine McKee with a relatively green offensive line, and not to mention the potential absence of Barkley (and we’ll see about Smith, who was a limited participant in practice on Thursday), and the odds aren’t exactly in the Eagles’ favor on offense.

The Eagles defense is in a far different place. They’re banged up, too, with Jalyx Hunt (knee/ankle) set to miss time and Jonathan Greenard (ankle) still practicing in a limited capacity after sitting out last week’s game against the Jaguars. But the group has done enough to give their offense opportunities to win the last couple of weeks.

They’ll face a significant test against Young. He’s had a stellar start to his fourth season, as he is tied for eighth in the league in expected points added per drop back (+.17). He has capable receivers in Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker, who could make his return to action this week after missing the last two games with a quadriceps injury.

This Panthers defense isn’t the most formidable, but neither is this iteration of the Eagles offense. It would take a heroic effort from McKee to prevent the Eagles from extending their losing streak to four games.

Prediction: Panthers 24, Eagles 13

Listen to the latest episode

The Eagles are back from London, looking to leave the disappointment of a last-second defeat behind while choosing instead to focus on lessons they can learn from a third straight loss. And you know what? The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane actually thinks there were encouraging takeaways from the game, outcome aside. He and Mike Sielski discussed why the Eagles’ sky, despite being gray, isn’t falling just yet, and what the team can build on to if it hopes to reverse its fortunes during a key stretch of the schedule that begins Sunday.  Listen here.

Listen to all episodes here or wherever you get your podcasts.