Eagles rookie safety Drew Mukuba suffered a right leg fracture in the waning moments of Sunday’s loss to Dallas and will require surgery, sources confirmed to The Inquirer.
ESPN and the NFL Network were first to report the news. Mukuba is likely headed to injured reserve.
“He’ll miss a little bit of time here,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said Monday. “But we’ll see how long.”
The second-round pick was injured after tackling George Pickens after the Cowboys receiver’s 24-yard reception with 35 seconds to play. He was helped into the locker room without being able to put pressure on his right foot, and was later seen in a walking boot and using crutches.
Drew Mukuba suffered a right leg fracture in pursuit of Cowboys receiver George Pickens on Sunday.
The Eagles lost both of their starting safeties to injury before the game ended. Earlier in the game, Reed Blankenship suffered a thigh injury and did not return.
Sydney Brown filled in for Blankenship and played 26 snaps. It’s unclear if Blankenship will miss Friday’s home game vs. Chicago.
The Eagles are thin at safety and have only those three on the active roster. Andre’ Sam is on the practice squad, and Marcus Epps is on injured reserve and unavailable to play Friday. Cooper DeJean and Michael Carter II would be potential options if the Eagles need a fill-in for Blankenship.
“This is why you need your entire roster,” Sirianni said. “It’s never just the 53 guys, it’s the 70 guys. You never know when those guys’ opportunity will come, and here we are.”
The Eagles also could be without Adoree’ Jackson on Friday. The outside cornerback suffered a concussion only a few weeks after clearing protocol from a concussion he suffered in Week 7.
The Eagles moved DeJean outside in the nickel package and had Carter playing in the slot after Jackson left. DeJean did not hold up well against a high-powered passing attack.
The Eagles return to the practice field Tuesday, and more clarity will come then on who may be available for Friday. One thing is certain, though, the Eagles need a replacement for Mukuba for an extended stretch. Brown, for now, is the next man up.
Nick Sirianni takes blame for Eagles’ penalty outburst
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has some words for an official during the the fourth quarter of his team’s 24-21 loss to Dallas.
The Eagles matched their high for penalties in the Nick Sirianni era with 14. As mentioned, seven of them were on the offense and a few of them wiped out key plays.
The Eagles had three false starts. They also had an illegal formation penalty out of the jumbo package with Matt Pryor on the field as an extra blocker.
Sirianni said it’s “hard to sustain the success of a game when you have those.”
It has made a struggling offense’s problems even worse.
“Anytime it’s penalties like that, or any time it’s ball security, or any time it’s the fundamentals, or something within ‘tough, detailed, together,’ I’m going to put that on myself,” the Eagles head coach said Monday. “Just point blank, I have to do a better job of coaching it and finding different ways to make sure it gets through.”
Were Eagles surprised by Cowboys’ five-man front? Depends who you ask.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts scrambles in the second quarter before completing a pass to Saquon Barkley.
Landon Dickerson said after the game that the Eagles were surprised by Dallas’ frequent use of a five-man front. Jalen Hurts said “that’s how they’re built now” after the Cowboys acquired Quinnen Williams and retooled their defense.
The front gave the Eagles fits at times, especially as they tried to establish a run game that never got going. Saquon Barkley rushed 10 times for 22 yards.
Dallas showed that five-man front a week earlier vs. Las Vegas. So, were the Eagles prepared for it or were they not?
“You go into every week and you’re trying to play the game in your mind as much as you possibly can, not just with how you call it but how you plan it for practice as well, and how you plan for drills,” Nick Sirianni said Monday. “The walk-throughs, the practice, your drill work, you’re trying to identify what you think and what you’re always trying to do is say, ‘how many reps do I need to devote towards this? How many reps do I need to devote towards that?’ And you try to make educated guesses there.”
Which is to say …
“We devoted time for all of them,” Sirianni said. “We knew they had that in their package and their plan. They played a little bit more there, even than anticipated. So, of course, as coaches, you say to yourself ‘Well, I wish I would’ve gave them a couple more reps on this one.’
“Now, you’re limited as far as how many reps you actually have at walk-through, at live, at drill work. … No one’s ever going to pitch a perfect game here. Looking back at it, yeah, sure, I wish I would’ve given us a couple more reps there.
“We prepared for the things that we thought we were going to get, some more than others, and then sometimes it doesn’t play out that way when you look at it after the game.”
Nick Sirianni sticking with Kevin Patullo as Eagles’ play-caller
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts returning to the bench and celebrating with Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Arlington , TX.
One day after the Eagles’ offense stalled and was shut out after building a 21-0 lead 18-plus minutes into the game, Nick Sirianni said the Eagles are “searching for answers” for their ailing offense.
But the head coach said there won’t be any changes to who is calling plays.
“I haven’t considered that,” Sirianni said when asked on Monday if he had considered taking play-calling duties away from offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
“It’s every piece of the puzzle: coaching, playing, execution, scheme, everything. We’ve got to be better in all those aspects. And so yesterday, I thought Kevin did a good job of calling it. Obviously, he’s going to want some plays back, just like every player and myself, we all want plays back.”
The Eagles hurt themselves with self-inflicted wounds. Of their 14 penalties, seven were on the offense. Two of them erased gains of 16 and 20 yards that had a major impact on the game. But even still, the offense that looked dynamic and creative for the first few series’ went silent. The Eagles didn’t get past Dallas’ 38-yard line in the second half.
What gives Sirianni confidence that the Eagles can make a course correction this late in the season?
“I feel like we’ve got the right people, as players, as coaches, that have had success,” Sirianni said. “And we’re all searching for answers to make it more consistent. There are some good things, obviously there are some not so good things. And we’ve got to find the things that we really can hang our hat on, and then the complements that come off of that.”
Watch: Nick Sirianni addresses reporters on Monday
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Safety Drew Mukuba suffered leg fracture, likely headed to IR
Rookie Andrew Mukuba was injured in the Eagles’ loss to the Cowboys.
Eagles rookie safety Drew Mukuba suffered a right leg fracture in the waning moments of Sunday’s loss, sources confirmed to The Inquirer.
ESPN and the NFL Network were first to report.
Mukuba will likely be heading to injured reserve.
The second-round pick was injured after making a tackle on Dallas wide receiver George Pickens. He was helped into the locker room without being able to put pressure on his right foot, and was later seen in a walking boot and with crutches.
The Eagles lost both of their safeties to injury before the game ended. Earlier in the game, Reed Blankenship suffered a thigh injury and did not return.
Sydney Brown filled in for Blankenship and played 26 snaps. It’s unclear if Blankenship will miss Friday’s game vs. Chicago.
The Eagles are thin at safety and have only those three on the active roster. Andre’ Sam is on the practice squad, and Marcus Epps is on injured reserve.
Cooper DeJean and Michael Carter II would be potential options if the Eagles need a fill-in for Blankenship.
You can check out the rest of the Eagles’ injury updates, here.
Brady has been instrumental in the hiring of staff, including retread head coach Pete Carroll and failed Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, the offensive coordinator who was fired Sunday after 11 games. The Raiders reportedly are on the hook for the remainder of Kelly’s three-year, $18 million contract, the amount it took to pry Kelly away from the coordinator job at Ohio State.
More evidence that Kelly — who also failed in San Francisco — might be able to manage lesser beings in the NCAA, but he clearly lacks the depth to coach the elite, independent athletes in the NFL. Also more evidence that Brady, who reportedly met with Kelly at least twice a week to discuss strategies, is unable to manage the roles he now fills.
The Raiders are 2-9 and also fired special teams coordinator Tom McMahon on Nov. 7. They visit the Eagles on Dec. 14.
The Eagles will face St. Joseph’s Prep grad D’Andre Swift, a former Eagles running back, when they host the Bears on Friday.
After the epic collapse, the Eagles face a short turnaround as they prepare to host the Chicago Bears on Black Friday. The two teams last met during the 2022 season, a 25-20 road win for the Birds.
This time around, the game will be in Philly as the Eagles attempt to bounce back from an embarrassing loss to their division rivals. Meanwhile, the Bears are heading into Friday’s game on a four-game winning streak, including their latest over the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday. Despite the divergent results, sportsbooks are favoring Philadelphia by a touchdown, with the Eagles opening Week 13 as seven-point favorites.
Nick Foles has a theory about the Eagles’ offensive struggles
Nick Foles was the first Eagles quarterback to win a Super Bowl title.
Even before Sunday’s game, Nick Foles seemed to have a theory about why the Eagles “superpowered” offense hasn’t been able to get into a good rhythm this year. It’s the playcalling, according to the former Eagles QB, and a lack of creativity.
Foles called out the team’s route designs, which haven’t put A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith in the best position to get open, which also prevents Saquon Barkley from finding the holes he found last year. The former Eagles quarterback told cohost Evan Moore that the Eagles utilize “simplistic” route trees (or the combination of routes a player can run at a given time) that don’t create space for the players, forcing them to get open and make plays on their own.
“The great teams, those guys are wide open. Even when I’m watching with [my wife] Tori, she’s like, ‘Why are these guys so wide open?’” Foles explained. “And I’m like, ‘Well, it’s a complementary route to a deep route. … You need those downfield shots because it puts more pressure on the [defensive backs], it opens up more one-on-one matchups, but you’ve got to have complementary [routes], because then the DB can’t key and can’t guess.
“So the creativity is key as a playcaller, and calling the plays at the right time. … There’s just an art. And I don’t see that this year. I don’t think anyone sees it. Fans that are passionate Eagles fans — because I’ve been to Philly several times, and you hear, every time I run across Philly fans, ’Man, what do you think is going to happen with the offense? What’s going on? Is this Jalen?’ I’m like, ‘Listen, it’s a team thing. Kevin Patullo is probably a great dude, a great coach, but there’s an art to playcalling that not everyone has and it’s not showing up this year.
“They’re in more of a trajectory of the 2023 season. … I would argue that they’re more on that trajectory than last year’s trend line, but at the same time, I do know that they have the players.”
Snap count takeaways: Jihaad Campbell’s decreasing playing time
The Eagles were forced to dip into their depth chart on defense due to multiple injuries during their 24-21 loss to the Cowboys.
But another player saw his playing time decrease even more Sunday.
Here are some notes and thoughts on the Sunday snap counts.
Jihaad Campbell’s playing time continues to decrease. Nakobe Dean’s play has forced Vic Fangio’s hand, and the Eagles don’t really need Campbell taking snaps on the outside. Campbell played just 11 snaps, and his snap total and snap share (15%) were lows for the season. Campbell told The Inquirer recently that he’s handling the change well and sees the bigger picture.
A rare thing happened Sunday: The Eagles started and finished a game with the same offensive line. All five linemen played 100% of the snaps.
But Lane Johnson’s absence and Fred Johnson’s start at right tackle led to the Eagles using the jumbo package less. Matt Pryor came on the field for that package just twice Sunday.
Tank Bigsby has been running well for the Eagles when given a chance, but the running back was on the field for just three snaps Sunday, five fewer than Will Shipley.
Reed Blankenship’s thigh injury led to Sydney Brown playing 26 snaps. Michael Carter II (25) also saw an increase in work after Adoree’ Jackson (26) left with a concussion.
Brandon Graham played just eight snaps Sunday, the same number as last week vs. Detroit. Meanwhile, Nolan Smith’s workload increased from 22 snaps last week to 40 this week as he works his way back from a triceps injury.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley rushed for just 22 yards Sunday.
There was a disagreement in the visitor’s locker room at AT&T Stadium, 20 minutes and 20 feet apart.
“I’m in a little funk right now,” Saquon Barkley said at his locker stall after he totaled just 22 rushing yards on 10 carries, his lowest output in a game with at least 10 carries since 2022.
Jordan Mailata doesn’t agree.
“He’s not in a funk, man,” Mailata said. “He’s hard on himself. … It’s on all of us up front.”
One thing the running back and left tackle could probably agree on, though, is that what happened Sunday — the Eagles blowing a 21-point lead in a 24-21 loss to the Cowboys — would never, could never, have happened to the 2024 Eagles.
The Eagles lost for a lot of reasons Sunday. They beat themselves with 14 penalties, which tied a high in the Nick Sirianni era. They raced to a 21-0 lead behind an opened-up and aggressive playbook and then went too conservative. They didn’t apply enough pressure on Dak Prescott. They struggled covering Dallas’ one-two punch at wide receiver, especially later in the game with a banged-up secondary.
But they lost Sunday, too, because of their yearlong problem running the football. Yes, they tried to — and sometimes with great success — get their passing game going against one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL, but they have consistently struggled this season to control a game and control the clock with what was their greatest weapon in 2024: a running game that broke records. This, with almost the same personnel.
Eagles secondary will limp into Black Friday matchup against the Bears
Eagles safety Reed Blankenship limps off the field in the third quarter of Sunday’s loss.
It is still a little too early to speculate, but the Eagles could be looking at a makeshift secondary for a pivotal Black Friday game vs. the Chicago Bears (8-3) in just four days.
The unit was decimated during Sunday’s defeat.
Adoree’ Jackson, who left the Eagles’ Week 7 game in Minnesota and missed their Week 8 home game vs. the New York Giants due to a concussion, suffered another head injury Sunday. He was being evaluated for a concussion and never returned to the game.
The Eagles opted to roll with Cooper DeJean on the outside in the nickel package and put Michael Carter II in the slot. DeJean was burned twice on deep passes. The Eagles also tried Kelee Ringo for a few snaps, and on his first he was flagged for pass interference.
The Eagles also lost both safeties. Reed Blankenship left the game first with a thigh injury, and later, Drew Mukuba was injured on the final Dallas drive. Mukuba had to be helped into the locker room by Dom DiSandro and a team trainer and couldn’t put weight on his right foot. He was later seen in a boot and using crutches.
It’s unclear how severe any of the injuries are — though you can make some assertions regarding Mukuba. Still, there’s a non-zero chance the Eagles enter Friday without either of their safeties.
What would happen? The Eagles don’t have much safety depth. They could try using Sydney Brown and DeJean, or maybe Brown and Carter, who has the ability to play safety.
Safety Marcus Epps is on injured reserve, and the Eagles also have Andre’ Sam on the practice squad.
If DeJean is used as a safety, that would diminish the corner position. That unit, with DeJean at safety and Jackson in concussion protocol, could have Quinyon Mitchell and Kelee Ringo or Jakorian Bennett outside with Carter in the slot.
Whoever is captaining the Eagles offense veered off course Sunday
Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo and Jalen Hurts during Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys.
The Eagles couldn’t run the ball again, and yet, after they jumped out to a 21-0 lead, Saquon Barkley rushed on four first downs in the next five possessions.
He gained a total of five yards on the carries.
The play-calling defied logic after the offense had used an 8-18 run-pass ratio to score touchdowns on their first three drives. Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo powered down the engine, but make no mistake, it was coach Nick Sirianni who was at the commands.
He’s the driver of the Eagles’ conservatism this season and it finally caught up to his team, who coughed up a 24-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
There were myriad reasons for the Eagles falling to 8-3. Two uncharacteristic turnovers. Fourteen penalties — many of them unforced. And an injury-marred defense that succumbed under the weight of the offense’s ineffectiveness.
But Sirianni and Patullo turtled up when they should have pounced on the Cowboys’ sloppiness. Running the ball into five-man fronts — more on that mystery later — was puzzling. The lack of aggressiveness before the half and in fourth-down situations weren’t as egregious, but decisions in those situations were emblematic of the overall timidness.
“We just weren’t very efficient as an offense in that second half,” Sirianni said. “I didn’t really feel that we took our foot off the gas.”
It’s been the tale of the Eagles’ offense for the past three months. They have spurts or even an entire half of efficiency. But consistency has been fleeting. The game plan opened with quick passes from quarterback Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown, and eventually a downfield shot to DeVonta Smith.
There was diversity in the calls and innovation in the red zone. But the Cowboys adjusted and the Eagles failed to counter.
Wide receiver Xavier Gipson was hurt in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys.
With 35 seconds remaining in the game, safety Drew Mukuba went down after George Pickens’ 24-yard catch. On Monday, Jeff McLane reported that he’s headed to IR after suffering a leg fracture.
Safety Reid Blankenship left the game in the third quarter after injuring his thigh while making a tackle.
Wide receiver Xavier Gipson went down with a shoulder injury following his fourth-quarter fumble on a punt return. He was carted from the medical tent to the locker room. After the game, Gipson was in the locker room with his right arm in a sling.
Cornerback Adoree’ Jackson suffered another head injury Sunday. He was being evaluated for a concussion and never returned to the game.
NFC playoff picture: Eagles drop out of the top spot
An Eagles fan reacts to the Birds’ loss against the Cowboys Sunday.
The Los Angeles Rams’ (9-2) blowout win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5) Sunday night bumped the Eagles (8-3) down to the No. 2 spot in the NFC.
The Birds’ last-second loss to the Dallas Cowboys (5-5-1) dropped Philly’s odds of landing the No. 1 seed (and a first-round bye) down to 33%, according to the New York Times playoff simulator.
The Eagles will face the Chicago Bears (8-3) on Friday, with the winning team gaining a crucial tiebreaker as the top NFC teams remain bunched together in the standings.
While they aren’t scheduled to play the Seattle Seahawks (8-3) this season, the Eagles currently hold the tiebreaker with a better conference record (7-2 vs. 4-3).
The San Francisco 49ers (7-4) could also quietly improve to eight wins with a win against the Carolina Panthers (6-5) Sunday night. While that would give the 49ers a better conference record than the Birds (8-2 vs. 7-2), the Eagles would remain in the No. 2 spot because San Francisco trails the Rams in the division.
We also had our first playoff elimination — the New York Giants (2-10), who lost to the Detroit Lions (7-4) Sunday.
It’s the earliest playoff exit for the Giants since 1976 and the soonest a team has been eliminated since the New York Jets in 2020, according to NFL playoffs analyst Joe Ferreira. The Giants also became just the 11th team since 1990 to be eliminated from playoff contention before their bye week.
NFC standings
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As for the NFC East, the Eagles’ magic number remains four.
Despite Sunday’s loss, the Birds still hold a 2.5 game lead over the Cowboys in the division with six games remaining. The New York Times gives the Eagles a 98% chance to win the NFC East, so long as they can avoid a 2023-level collapse.
The Cowboys kept their playoff hopes alive, almost assuring their Thanksgiving matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs (6-5) will be the most-watched regular season NFL game in league history.
The Washington Commanders (3-8) were on their bye Sunday, but with Jayden Daniels sidelined, their playoff chances are barely better than the eliminated Giants.
NFC East standings
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Refs were off the mark again during Eagles-Cowboys
Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith talk with the ref after offensive pass interference call in the fourth quarter Sunday.
Can we go a single week without a bad penalty impacting a game?
During the Eagles’ loss to the Cowboys Sunday, Cooper DeJean was called for pass interference on a 48-yard Cowboys pass that seemed very clearly to be offensive pass interference by CeeDee Lamb. Though neither Tom Brady nor Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira seemed to notice.
“A little hand fighting,” Brady said during the broadcast.
The Eagles also benefited from a roughing the punter call that gave them a free first down in the first quarter. The ball was tipped, which should have negated the penalty, but the refs missed it and the Cowboys didn’t challenge.
The Cowboys tipped (blocked) the punt on which the roughing penalty retained the ball for the #Eagles, but Ryan Flournoy, who blocked it, must not have told his coaches, since they didn't ask for a replay. https://t.co/ofAWDx60s8
Poor officiating wasn’t limited to the Eagles-Cowboys game. Over in Kansas City, CBS analyst Tony Romo blasted the refs over a phantom offensive pass interference penalty called on Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
“This is the worst call I have seen all year,” Romo said.
Tony Romo called this OPI on Travis Kelce "the worst call I have seen all year" 😳 pic.twitter.com/yVQxKd6OBd
Chip Kelly was in his first season as the Raiders’ offensive coordinator.
The Eagles won’t get to face their former head coach after all.
The Las Vegas Raiders fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly following a 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the team announced Sunday night.
“I spoke with Chip Kelly earlier this evening and informed him of his release as offensive coordinator of the Raiders,” head coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. “I would like to thank Chip for his service and wish him all the best in the future.”
The Raiders hired Kelly away from Ohio State in February, where he served as offensive coordinator and helped push the Buckeyes to a national title. He was reportedly being paid $6 million a year. He also served as the head coach of UCLA and spent one season with the San Francisco 49ers after the Eagles fired him with one game left in the 2015 season.
The Eagles face the Raiders in Week 15 on Dec. 14.
Chicago Bears up next on a short week for the Eagles
Caleb Williams and the Bears will face the Eagles on Black Friday.
No rest for the weary.
The Eagles (8-3) will be back in action in just a couple of days, taking on the Chicago Bears (8-3) the day after Thanksgiving on Amazon’s Black Friday game.
The Bears are coming off a narrow win against the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5), where Caleb Williams threw for three touchdowns and Aaron Rodgers didn’t play due to a fractured left wrist.
The surprising Bears have now won four straight games behind the league’s second-best rushing offense, averaging 142.3 yards on the ground per game. Former Eagles running back D’Andre Swift leads the team with 649 yards rushing, through he was stonewalled Sunday by the Steelers, limited to just 15 yards rushing on eight carries.
The Eagles have faced the Bears just twice over the past seven seasons (2019 and 2022) and won both games, though they were close.
While Thanksgiving games have been a tradition for decades, it’s just the third season the NFL has scheduled a game on Black Friday, which will stream exclusively on Amazon’s Prime Video.
ARLINGTON, Texas — There was a disagreement in the visitor’s locker room at AT&T Stadium, 20 minutes and 20 feet apart.
“I’m in a little funk right now,” Saquon Barkley said at his locker stall after he totaled just 22 rushing yards on 10 carries, his lowest output in a game with at least 10 carries since 2022.
“He’s not in a funk, man,” Mailata said. “He’s hard on himself. … It’s on all of us up front.”
One thing the running back and left tackle could probably agree on, though, is that what happened Sunday — the Eagles blowing a 21-point lead in a 24-21 loss to the Cowboys — would never, could never, have happened to the 2024 Eagles.
The Eagles lost for a lot of reasons Sunday. They beat themselves with 14 penalties, which tied a high in the Nick Sirianni era. They raced to a 21-0 lead behind an opened-up and aggressive playbook and then went too conservative. They didn’t apply enough pressure on Dak Prescott. They struggled covering Dallas’ one-two punch at wide receiver, especially later in the game with a banged-up secondary.
But they lost Sunday, too, because of their yearlong problem running the football. Yes, they tried to — and sometimes with great success — get their passing game going against one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL, but they have consistently struggled this season to control a game and control the clock with what was their greatest weapon in 2024: a running game that broke records. This, with almost the same personnel.
The Eagles were without star right tackle Lane Johnson, which certainly had and will have an impact on their ability to run to the right side for as long as he is out with a Lisfranc injury in his right foot. But even with Johnson on the field this season, they have been unable to get Barkley going.
The Eagles ran four times on first down with leads of 21-0 or 21-7. The results of those runs were: 2 yards, 1 yard, 5 yards, and 1 yard. Barkley’s 2.2 yards per carry Sunday represented the third time this season he was held under 2.5 yards per tote. He had zero such games in 2024.
The Cowboys, Landon Dickerson said, utilized more five-down fronts with their new-look defensive line, something they hadn’t done a lot of prior to Sunday. It was their “flavor of the day,” Dickerson said, but the Eagles couldn’t find a way to break through on the ground. Besides Johnson’s injury, the blockers in front of Barkley have been beaten up. Cam Jurgens cleared concussion protocol in time to play Sunday, but he’s been dealing with back and knee injuries. Dickerson has had multiple injuries, too.
But Barkley said it all starts with him.
“I’m not getting the run game going, I’m not getting yards, and I’m tired of the excuse of people trying to stop our run game,” he said. “I don’t really subscribe to that. I just got to be better, got to make plays.
“I’m a big boy. I’m a man at the end of the day. I’m going to own it and get ready for next week.”
Barkley said the message on the sideline Sunday, as Dallas was mounting its comeback, was “we got to respond.”
“We didn’t do that,” he said. “We got to do a better job of putting teams away. We didn’t do that and I definitely didn’t help. Obviously last year and in other games I was a big part of that and it’s been kind of nonexistent this year. I got to figure it out for the team and I’m going to get it right. I’ll figure it out.”
Barkley found success as a pass catcher Sunday. He had seven catches for 52 yards, but it was after a catch when he made his biggest mark on the game — a fumble with the Eagles driving in Dallas’ territory in a 21-21 game with under eight minutes to play.
“It’s the guy you don’t see,” Barkley said. “We always coach that. They made a good play. I got to be better.”
The ball pops out of Barkley’s hands in the fourth quarter on Sunday against the Cowboys.
Barkley, who has gone over 100 yards this season just once, said he doesn’t think he’s pressing. He said he is healthy, too. He’s not frustrated, he said, but is “disappointed in myself.”
The running game, he said, “starts with me, ends with me.”
There’s more to it, though, even if Barkley wants to take all of the ownership. The play call needs to be the right one and the blocking needs to be executed before Barkley does anything. Too often, Barkley has been hit behind the line of scrimmage.
Asked why he feels the need to put it all on his shoulders when so much more goes into the success of the running game, Barkley replied: “Because I’m the running back.”
Barkley said he has “had funks like this before.”
“I just got to break it,” he said. “The only way I know how is by flushing this, working my butt off, and get ready for my next opportunity.”
There is a thought process out there in the ether that A.J. Brown at 28 is not the same player he was just last year or the season prior, when he had 106 catches and 1,456 yards.
What would he say to those who believe that?
“I guess Saquon ain’t the same player either then,” Brown responded Thursday with a laugh. “All right. But I don’t got no comment about that. I don’t care about that.”
The Eagles’ star receiver has made it clear in recent weeks — and recent seasons — what he cares about. He wants to win, and the Eagles have done a lot of winning, but he wants to be a bigger part of the victories.
He’s on pace to come up shy of his 2024 numbers in both catches and yards, and he played just 13 games last season.
He caught seven passes for 49 yards. He has been held under 50 yards six times this season. In the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined, he had just seven such games.
The 8-2 Eagles have continued to find ways to win even as their offense has sputtered. Getting the passing game back on track should be a little bit easier Sunday in Dallas against a team that is one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL.
“It’s something we’re continuing to work at each and every day, trying to be on the same page and be where we need to be at the right time,” Brown said Thursday when asked if the Eagles were closer to finding answers against the zone.
Brown attempts to catch the football against Detroit Lions cornerback Rock Ya-Sin last Sunday.
Could more crossing routes, which Brown is running fewer of this season, be an answer to zone? And why isn’t he running more of them?
“Yes, I think so,” Brown said. “I think it’s really a time and spacing thing. I think the second half of that question is a question” for offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
Overall, as an offense, Brown said the Eagles were “close” to finding their footing.
“I think we are,” he said. “I think that’s the mindset to have. I think it’s really just cleaning up those mistakes. It’s not about being close; it’s really just finishing drives.”
The latest drama surrounding the Eagles emerged when the Athletic reported over the weekend that “multiple offensive players have grown frustrated with Jalen Hurts’ approach this season.”
Asked about that report Thursday, Brown replied: “Ask me about Dallas. Thank you.”
Brown catches a pass short of the first down on Sunday against the Lions.
Brown was later asked if he watches what other receivers are doing. Dallas’ passing game has flourished, and George Pickens is second in the NFL with 908 yards. CeeDee Lamb has played in just seven games to Brown’s nine, but Lamb has 557 yards to Brown’s 457.
Brown said he doesn’t pay attention.
Why?
“It gets me upset,” he said. “So I stay away from it.”
It was clarified to him that the question was more from a skill set perspective, as in what makes Lamb, for example, so good?
“No, the only person I’m really watching is Julio Jones,” Brown said.
Brown has long talked about Jones being his favorite receiver, and the two played together in Tennessee and with the Eagles. The two still talk often, Brown said, though he declined to share what those conversations have been about recently.
The Eagles may end up only being down one starting offensive lineman when they travel to Dallas to play the Cowboys this weekend.
Center Cam Jurgens, who left Sunday’s game and missed Wednesday’s practice with a concussion, returned to the practice field on Thursday as a limited participant. He was still sporting a brace on his right knee.
Jurgens returning to the field means he is progressing through the NFL’s return-to-participation protocol, a five-step process players must progress through before being cleared to return to the field for a game.
A right knee injury knocked Jurgens out of the Eagles’ Week 7 game in Minnesota. He returned to Sunday’s 16-9 victory over the Detroit Lions but was injured and left the game in the fourth quarter. Brett Toth, who filled in during Jurgens’ absence, finished the game Sunday.
They will face a Dallas front that has improved with the addition of defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, whom the Cowboys acquired from the New York Jets before the trade deadline. Williams, who plays next to the talented Kenny Clark in the interior, tallied a season-high five pressures in his Cowboys debut Monday night on 28 pass rushes, according to Next Gen Stats. Williams was credited with 1½ sacks. Williams was doubled on half of those 28 pass rushes.
The Eagles will likely need to focus extra attention on Williams, regardless of whether a banged-up Jurgens returns or Toth gets the nod.
Toth said he sees a lot of Kansas City defensive tackle Chris Jones and former Eagles tackle Fletcher Cox in Williams.
“He’s a great player and he’s a force,” Toth said. “He’s a game-wrecker if you give him a chance. They’re a unit that’s been looked at a certain way, but it’s the NFL. Every given week you have to go out there and prove yourself.”
The Dallas Cowboys acquired defensive tackle Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline, and he made an immediate impact with a sack and a half against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Williams has also been stout against the run. He leads all interior defensive linemen in run stops (26), according to Pro Football Focus. In his debut Monday, the Cowboys did not allow a single rushing yard before contact, according to Next Gen, with all 27 Las Vegas Raiders rushing yards gained after contact.
Toth said Dallas could be similar to the Eagles of 2024. They were a team that didn’t have an identity heading into their bye week. Dallas retooled at the deadline, then had its bye week, then emerged from the bye with a dominant win over a lesser opponent.
“You got to try to piece together, are they giving different schemes because of the personnel or was it something that was always packaged together as well?” Toth said. “You have to be able to adjust on the fly.”
Right guard Tyler Steen said schematically he is seeing a lot of the same stuff on film that he saw before Week 1. That week, the Eagles entered with a relatively healthy offensive line, though left guard Landon Dickerson left the game early with an injury. This time, Steen could be sandwiched between two backups. With the amount of time Jurgens and Lane Johnson have missed, that has been a constant in Steen’s first year as a starter.
“I don’t think it’s impacted me too much,” he said. “Obviously, Cam and Lane are extremely good players. Brett and Fred are also pretty good players as well. It all goes back to making sure everyone is on the same page.”
This week, with an improved Dallas front, that will be key. Jurgens could clear protocol in time to face one of his toughest challenges yet.
Eagles practice report
Jurgens was the only Eagles player listed as limited on Thursday’s practice report. Lane Johnson (foot) did not participate. He has not yet been placed on injured reserve, a move that is expected.
Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, who was listed as limited Wednesday with a shoulder injury, was upgraded to a full participant.
There was a small sequence midway through the second half of Villanova’s 70-55 victory over La Salle in John Glaser Arena on Wednesday night that showed the allure of Kevin Willard’s small-ball lineup.
Matt Hodge was being guarded by La Salle’s 7-foot backup center, Bowyn Beatty. After a La Salle turnover, Hodge caught a pass on the wing as Villanova looked to quickly set up its offense. Hodge, a redshirt freshman, was 3-for-5 from three-point range at that point. So when he pumped, Beatty bit.
Hodge then drove past the big man in no time, en route to a two-handed slam that extended Villanova’s lead to 16.
Hodge, in his fifth college basketball game, scored a game-high 17 points and led the Wildcats with 35 minutes in their victory. He went 7-for-9 from the floor and is up to 12.6 points per game. More important, though, for Villanova’s long-term development, a healthy Tafara Gapare, who has missed time with a foot injury, allowed Willard to go to his small-ball lineup with Hodge and Gapare in the frontcourt.
Willard raved before the season about the different styles of play his personnel afforded him. It’s most apparent in Hodge, who starts at power forward, and senior Duke Brennan, the starting center. Brennan continued his gritty start to the season with eight points and 13 rebounds, five on the offensive glass, in just 22 minutes. He leads the nation with 14.4 rebounds per game.
“A shot goes up and you think you got a one-shot stop and he comes up with it,” La Salle coach Darris Nichols said of Brennan.
“They’re a hard guard.”
Especially given the versatility. Much has been made about this new-look Villanova team’s guard play. Redshirt-sophomore Bryce Lindsay entered the game averaging 23 points in Villanova’s first four games, but La Salle held him to just 10; freshman Acaden Lewis is starting to assert himself more; Devin Askew has shown flashes; and Tyler Perkins has been as steady as it gets.
But it was Villanova’s forwards and its ability to play smaller at times that had a major impact.
“When you have five guys out that can shoot the basketball and drive it, it opens up a lot of opportunities,” Willard said.
Villanova forward Duke Brennan, shown against Duquesne on Saturday, leads the NCAA in rebounding average.
Aside from Beatty, La Salle (2-3) is a relatively smaller team, and Willard said his small-ball unit — Hodge is 6-8, and Gapare is 6-9 — gives his team “opportunities to match up” with smaller teams that do more switching.
Bigger teams and bigger games are on the horizon for the 4-1 Wildcats. Willard pointed at future Top 25 opponents like Michigan, Wisconsin, Connecticut, and St. John’s having much bigger lineups. His frontcourt’s versatility will enable him to “maybe throw a curveball at them offensively or defensively. … I think it really helps.”
Hodge playing at this level makes it all easier, too. He was forced to sit out last season after being ruled academically ineligible, but through five games he is showing why he was a four-star prospect out of St. Rose High School in Belmar, N.J.
“It felt good, a good win for the team,” Hodge said.
Hodge, Willard said, has “been as solid as anybody.”
“I think he’s getting a little bit more comfortable with how we’re trying to play, and also being back, it’s much different from practice,” Willard said. “He’s worked really hard to put himself in this position.”
Villanova guard Bryce Lindsay, shown against Duquesne on Saturday, is the team’s leading scorer though five games.
Still, there’s more to be desired apparently. Hodge was the topic of conversation in the media room postgame, so it was worth asking how his defense was coming along.
“Oh, it’s horrible,” Willard said.
Matt?
“Work to do,” Hodge said before his coach replied: “Good answer.”
Where do you need the work most?
“Never give that answer,” Willard interjected. “Never give the weakness.”
Hodge might be a redshirt-freshman, but he finished this sequence like a senior: “No comment.”
Like everything else in November in this sport, it’s a work in progress.
Nick Sirianni’s message for Fred Johnson during his annual meeting when he explains each player’s role on the team was pretty simple.
The Eagles had just reacquired Johnson via trade at the end of training camp. They weren’t comfortable with their depth at tackle, and Johnson’s quest to be a starter when he signed with Jacksonville in free agency had not gone as planned.
The message, and the role: “Be ready for when your number’s called,” Sirianni said Wednesday. “You just never know when that’s going to be, and that’s every backup. Every guy’s one snap away from going in. We have a lot of faith in [Johnson].”
The role, Johnson said, was “the same role as last year. Be ready to go at any moment.”
The moment, once again, has come.
The Eagles and Johnson have been here before. Last season, Johnson started five games as a fill-in for Lane Johnson (once) and Jordan Mailata (four times), and he has come on in relief of Lane Johnson multiple times this season. But while Fred Johnson’s role is the same, and he’s being called on once again to fill in for Lane Johnson — who will likely hit injured reserve and miss at least the next four games with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot — he doesn’t want a repeat of last year.
There were things he “would have taken back,” he said. He felt as if he was just waiting for the starters in front of him to come back rather than trying to seize the opportunity.
“Lane Johnson is cemented in stone as one of the greats,” Fred Johnson said. “Fred Johnson is still trying to make a name for himself.
He has been a reliable backup for the Eagles so far. Four times this season, he has been asked to come in at right tackle to replace Lane Johnson, the Eagles’ perennial Pro Bowler.
The Eagles first added Fred Johnson as a practice squad member in November 2022. In addition to filling in, he has been used as an extra blocker in the Eagles’ jumbo package this season.
“There’s a reason why we were putting him into playing those big packages because we have a lot of faith in him,” Sirianni said. “For what we were trying to do, we felt like he was one of our best 11 to do what we were trying to do on those particular plays.”
Eagles tackle Fred Johnson is a seventh-year veteran who also has played for the Bengals and Buccaneers.
It is no secret that the Eagles are a worse football team without Lane Johnson. They are 12-23 since the beginning of the 2016 season in games he doesn’t start. Fred Johnson, though, has at least provided some reliable backup play over the last two seasons.
But some of the numbers show a big difference. The offense’s struggles, particularly in the running game, are well documented at this point. But when the Eagles do choose to run behind Lane Johnson — something they probably should do with more frequency — they have found success. According to Next Gen Stats, the Eagles average 4.6 yards on their 84 designed runs to the right side with Lane Johnson on the field. That average drops to 2.4 yards on 40 runs to the right side with him off the field.
Pass protection sees a similar drop-off.
According to Pro Football Focus, Lane Johnson has allowed seven pressures (and no sacks) on 262 pass-blocking snaps, a pressure rate of 2.67%. Fred Johnson, meanwhile, has also allowed seven pressures, but on 77 pass-blocking snaps, a pressure rate of 9.09%.
The Eagles will need to make adjustments, or live with the fact that their already-struggling offense is going to find improvements hard to come by for the duration of Lane Johnson’s absence.
“Lane’s one of the best players in the NFL, so it makes you do a couple different things here and there,” Sirianni said. “With that being said, I have a lot of faith in the guys with Fred. … We need all hands on deck. We’ve had a lot of guys play, so a lot of experience doing that, not just with Lane, but with every position.”
Fred Johnson, 28, said knowing he is starting changes little except getting more first-team reps in practice. He prepares to play every week.
“Fred knows the drill,” Mailata said. “Fred knows what’s going on, what we’re going to ask of him.”
Mailata said he sees a difference this year in the backup’s mindset and how he approaches the game plan each week. He thought Fred Johnson’s size and skills would have landed him a starting job and was excited to have the “extra-extrovert” back in the building when the Eagles traded him for after camp.
Maybe Fred Johnson did, too. For the next stretch of games, he’ll have another chance to, as he said, show what he can do. He wants the 2025 version to be better than the 2024 version. He thought he “left some meat on the bone” last time around.
“I don’t want nobody to see a down step in physicality, execution, things like that that Lane does day in and day out,” he said. “I want people to forget that I’m even on the field.”
The Eagles this weekend head to Dallas, where they will try to sweep their rival for the second consecutive season and move one step closer to clinching the NFC East for the second straight year. They would become the first team to win the division in consecutive seasons since they did it in 2004.
Here are some important numbers and trends for Sunday’s game:
4.6 … 2.4
Lane Johnson’s impact on the Eagles is a well-known fact. As a reminder, the Eagles are 12-23 since the start of the 2016 season in games Johnson hasn’t started.
The Eagles’ running game has not been close to what it was in 2024, and it’s a big reason the offense ranks 25th in the NFL in yards per game. But Johnson has at least been a player the Eagles can run behind (when they choose to). In 84 designed runs to the right side when Johnson is on the field, the Eagles are getting 4.6 yards per attempt, according to Next Gen Stats. In 40 carries to the right side with Johnson off the field, the Eagles average 2.4 yards.
The Eagles will be without Lane Johnson (center) indefinitely.
Further, the Eagles have totaled minus-16 rushing yards before contact (an average of minus-0.4 yards) and 113 rushing yards after contact (2.8 per) on designed runs to the right side, resulting in 97 net rushing yards.
The Eagles’ obsession with possessing the football and not giving it away is nothing new. It’s largely the impetus behind their conservative offensive approach.
The tendencies of the two teams that have led to the difference in turnover differential — plus-6 for the Eagles (seventh-best), minus-4 for the Cowboys (21st) — could play a big part in the result.
Jalen Hurts has been impressive in not turning the ball over. He’s up to 156 consecutive passes without throwing an interception when under pressure, according to Next Gen, dating back to Week 2 of last season against the Falcons. That’s the second-longest active streak in the NFL.
14.8%
What was the cure to getting A.J. Brown the football a little more last week? Man coverage. The Lions deploy man coverage at the third-highest rate in the NFL, according to Sharp Analytics.
Brown saw a lot of Rock Ya-Sin, who matched up with the receiver on 19 of his 28 routes, according to Next Gen, including 14 man-coverage matchups. Eight of Brown’s 11 targets came against Ya-Sin.
The Cowboys, according to Sharp Analytics, play man coverage just 14.8% of the time, the fourth-lowest rate in the NFL.
The Eagles have struggled against zone, and Dallas may be wise to stick to its tendencies.
9-33
The Cowboys are a dangerous team. They have one of the best offenses in the NFL by yards per game (third, 378.7) and points per game (second, 29.6). They lead the NFL in passing yards per game (258.7).
But they have largely beaten up on bad teams. Sure, they trounced the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football a few days ago, but they were coming off double-digit losses to Arizona and Denver, which rolled Dallas in a 44-24 game on Oct. 26.
Eagles linebacker Jalyx Hunt puts heat on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott during the first quarter in Week 1.
Dallas’ wins this season are against the Giants, Jets, Commanders, and Raiders, four teams with a combined record of 9-33.
How can an offense this dominant belong to a team with a 4-5-1 record? The defense is almost as bad as the offense is good. Maybe Jerry Jones shouldn’t have traded Micah Parsons, one of the best defenders in the NFL.
Dallas owns the third-worst defense in yards allowed per game (381.3), and the second-worst in points allowed (29.3).
The Eagles, of course, haven’t looked of late like an offense that is capable of putting up big numbers, but Sunday’s opponent could be the remedy.
42.9%
Just five weeks ago, when the Eagles were 4-2, their percentage chance of making the playoffs, according to FTN Fantasy, was 59.2%.
Now, they are up to 42.9% to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Funny what a four-game winning streak — coupled with some poor play from the rest of the NFC East — can do to a team.
A trip to the playoffs is pretty much sewn up. The Eagles have a 99.6% chance of making the postseason.
Jihaad Campbell paused briefly in the middle of answering a question last week inside the Eagles’ locker room at the NovaCare Complex. The linebacker was drinking his post-practice smoothie too quickly and needed to take a beat.
A few weeks ago, Campbell passed protein-packed gummies to a few reporters near his locker stall, playfully offering a snack in a trade for an interview request.
It is easy to forget sometimes that Campbell, who is playing pretty high-level football and is 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, is still so young. The Eagles might go win another Super Bowl, and Campbell could parade down Broad Street before his first year being able to legally buy alcohol in the U.S. is over.
That Campbell is a 21-year-old rookie is necessary context, considering the topic on the day of his smoothie-induced brain freeze. Since Nakobe Dean has returned to the defense after recovering from a patellar tendon injury, Campbell’s usage has declined.
On Sunday, Campbell played his lowest number of total snaps (20) and his lowest snap share (34%) of the season. The addition of Jaelan Phillips, too, has meant less need for Campbell, a hybrid inside-outside linebacker, to take snaps along the defensive line. He lined up there just three times Sunday and 17 times in the box as a linebacker, according to Pro Football Focus.
Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs slips past Jihaad Campbell of the Eagles on Sunday night.
Compare that to Week 6 — when Dean returned but only as a special-teamer — and the decline in playing time is pretty drastic. That week, in a Thursday night road loss to the New York Giants, Campbell played 45 snaps from the box, 13 along the line, and four at a corner spot. His 62 defensive reps represented 90% of the possible snaps.
Campbell has taken it all in stride. If Dean had been healthy at the beginning of the season, perhaps this current rotation, with Campbell being used part time, would have been what happened from the jump.
Vic Fangio’s defense is new to Campbell, and though he performed well against the run and in coverage during the early weeks, he knows he still has a lot of learning to do.
“It’s football,” Campbell said. “The opportunity is going to present itself whether I get less snaps or not. It doesn’t matter. What matters is us winning, us executing, us playing together, and, at the end of the day, it’s all about the opportunity.
“The biggest thing is just staying prepared, not getting down, and just staying prepared, understanding the game plan and what has to happen, so when it is my time to go in the game, I know exactly what I have to do, when I have to do it, with full confidence.”
The last two weeks, Campbell has been in for about an equal amount of running plays (25) as passing plays (28), and he was in for just one pass-rushing snap in each of the last two games.
Dean is looking like the player who broke out in a big way in 2024 next to Zack Baun, but Fangio said he wants to continue rotating Campbell in to make sure the rookie is “ready to roll” if he is needed more often. There is a learning curve in all of this, Fangio explained last week, particularly when Campbell is asked to play outside linebacker.
Linebackers Jihaad Campbell (30) and Zack Baun react after the Eagles stopped the Lions on fourth down in the second quarter Sunday.
“All camp and everything, he was strictly inside because we knew Nakobe was going to miss seven games or whatever it was,” Fangio said. “For a rookie, that’s tough.”
Fangio likened it to last season, when the Eagles “messed” with Quinyon Mitchell a little bit during camp. They had the cornerback working at nickel during the early portions of the offseason program and eventually let him settle in as a corner on the right side.
With Cooper DeJean, they started him as a backup nickel and starting dime cornerback because of the time he missed at the beginning of training camp. Once DeJean was settled in as the starting nickel, he took off.
“You don’t want to give a rookie too many extra jobs, but sometimes you’re forced to,” Fangio said.
Fangio said he does whatever is best for the team when asked how he balanced what he puts on Campbell’s plate in a given week. Winning a given game, Fangio said, is more important than taking into consideration Campbell’s long-term development.
The Eagles traded up a spot to draft Campbell 31st out of Alabama in fear of another team trading into the spot to grab him. They view him as a versatile defender who will be part of the defense for years to come. Dean, it’s worth mentioning, is in the final year of his contract, and it remains to be seen what will happen in the offseason.
Campbell, a South Jersey native, is so far loving life in the NFL and playing so close to home. Sometimes, he said, he forgets what week on the schedule it is.
“I’m just like practice, practice, practice, next game,” he said. “Practice, practice, practice, next game.”
Jihaad Campbell sees his rookie season as “a great opportunity to display my skills and display who I am.”
Campbell said his confidence keeps “growing and growing” every week, even as his workload during games has changed.
“A lot of people can view it as a lot,” Campbell said. “But for me it’s like a day-by-day process and understanding what I have to do to attack the day at a high level and execute the plays that I need to and do what I got drafted here for.
“I truly believe that the situations I’m being put in, it’s a great opportunity to display my skills and display who I am. Of course, there’s learning and growing and different stuff like that, but I think the biggest thing is just me being where my feet are, me getting better with practice and after practice, 500 shots, working on my pass rush, working to continue to be a better linebacker.
“Just being a complete overachiever, a guy that just loves to work and just loves being around this great group of guys here.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about getting a win.”
Johnson, who has missed snaps already this season with shoulder and knee injuries, suffered the midfoot injury Sunday in the first quarter of the Eagles’ 16-9 win over the Detroit Lions and did not return to the game.
The 35-year-old lineman is expected to miss at least 4-6 weeks — landing on injured reserve, as is expected, means Johnson would be forced to miss at least the next four games.
Here’s more about the injury that will keep him out …
What is a Lisfranc injury?
According to the Neville Foot & Ankle Centers, “Lisfranc injuries often occur as a result of a high-energy impact to the midfoot. It’s common to see fractures of the Lisfranc Joint in contact/collision sports like American Football, however low energy incidents (like twisting) can also be a cause.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, a Lisfranc injury is “any damage to the Lisfranc joint on top of your foot. It’s where your metatarsal bones (the bridges to your toes) connect to the rest of your foot.”
The Cleveland Clinic describes the Lisfranc joint as “a busy highway or on-ramp” because so many parts of the foot meet up in one place.
The Lisfranc was named, according to the National Institutes of Health, in homage to French physician Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin, “who was the first to describe an amputation through this joint.”
Lisfranc was a surgeon and gynecologist who during the Napoleonic Wars was brought in to help France, which was dealing with a physician shortage.
The story has it that a soldier dismounting from his horse had his foot stuck in the stirrups. The blood flow to his lower limb was stopped and it created a “gangrenous foot,” according to the Neville Foot & Ankle Centers.
Lisfranc described the surgery as “amputation of the foot through the tarsometatarsal articulation.”
Does a Lisfranc injury require surgery?
Unlike in Lisfranc’s days, the injury isn’t a prescription for an amputation anymore.
It sometimes doesn’t even require surgery.
In Johnson’s case, it might. He is awaiting results from X-rays from foot and ankle surgeon Dr. Robert Anderson. While he is believed to have suffered a sprain, a decision will be made if he needs potentially season-ending surgery, according to sources. Nonsurgical Lisfranc injuries could take about six to eight weeks to recover, but sometimes less. If Johnson doesn’t require surgery, he could be back on the field after four to six weeks.
Anderson, a former Packers and Panthers physician, is a sort of NFL authority on the Lisfranc injury.
Have other Eagles suffered Lisfranc injuries?
Yes. Many of them.
Offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo suffered a Lisfranc injury in September 2021 that required season-ending surgery. Two years earlier, defensive tackle Malik Jackson suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury in a season-opening game.
More recently, Nakobe Dean suffered a Lisfranc sprain in early November 2023 that required surgery and ended his season.
Others, like Cre’Von LeBlanc, have suffered Lisfranc sprains that did not require surgery. LeBlanc suffered his injury in training camp in 2019, and while he did not have to have surgery, he did not make his season debut until December.
Johnson’s timeline will all depend on the severity of his sprain.
Johnson, who is playing in his 13th season, has dealt with multiple injuries this season. He left the Eagles’ Week 3 game against Los Angeles with a stinger, then left the Week 4 game due to a shoulder injury. He left last week’s game vs. the Green Bay Packers due to an ankle injury and missed a large chunk before returning in the fourth quarter.
Despite the injuries, Johnson has played in every game this season and continues to perform at a high level. This one, however, will cost the All-Pro at least a few contests, which historically presents a problem to the Eagles.
The Eagles are 12-23 in games Johnson hasn’t started since the beginning of the 2016 season. But backup tackle Fred Johnson has filled in well this season — and last year — when Johnson has missed time.
The Eagles traded to bring Fred Johnson back at the end of training camp after the tackle left for Jacksonville in free agency. He has been a difference maker for the Eagles. They were 5-1 last season when he started and are 3-0 in games this season when he has come on in relief to play at least 50% of the offensive snaps.
