Author: Olivia Reiner

By the end of Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, it seemed possible that the Eagles — on a short week — could be missing three starters in the secondary for Friday’s contest against the Chicago Bears.

Reed Blankenship, Adoree’ Jackson, and Drew Mukuba were hurt in the second half of the loss and did not return to action. But only Mukuba, who will require surgery to repair a right leg fracture, sources told The Inquirer, is expected to miss the Week 13 game against the Bears.

That’s good news for Jackson, who was evaluated for a concussion Sunday just five weeks after he suffered one against the Minnesota Vikings. The 30-year-old cornerback did not enter concussion protocol, though, and decided not to return to the game as a precaution.

The concussion scare occurred halfway through the third quarter when Jackson said he hit his head on the turf while tackling Cowboys receiver George Pickens. Jackson immediately popped up and threw his helmet down out of frustration, he said, because he knew he had to come out of the game.

Ultimately, the decision not to go back in after he checked out OK was mutually made between Jackson and his evaluators, he said.

“I had one, literally, [five] weeks ago,” Jackson said Wednesday. “So if I know I hit my head and playing fast and throwing my body around, I ain’t about to go and do it again, you know what I mean? It could have been worse. I go back out there and I do some [stuff], and now it’s something else, and now I’m out. Like, out out. You know what I mean? So it’s one of those situations where we were both being precautious of the situation at hand.”

Jackson was a full participant Wednesday in practice, the lone session of the short week. That made practice all the more important, Jackson said, because he could marry the mental side of his preparation so far this week (film study and walk-through) with his physical movements on the field.

With Jackson healthy, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has the option to start the same trio at cornerback — Jackson, outside cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, and nickel cornerback Cooper DeJean — that started against the Cowboys. When Jackson came out in the third quarter, DeJean moved to the outside, and Michael Carter took over in the slot.

But Fangio will have a different starting duo at safety with Sydney Brown set to take over for Mukuba. Blankenship, who exited Sunday’s game with a thigh injury, said Tuesday that he’s still a “little sore” with just a brief respite to recover.

Blankenship was a limited participant in practice and expects to be available to play. While he’ll have a new partner alongside him on Friday, he won’t change who he is as a player and a leader in the secondary.

“I don’t like to change who I am as a person, regardless if you played with me a lot or not,” Blankenship said. “I want to give them the exact same thing I would if they played 1,000 snaps next to me because I feel like I’m not doing my job if I change for them. But I’m going to try and do my best to be more vocal, communicate a little bit more, little bit better, kind of say stuff and let [Brown] anticipate stuff that’s coming if he [doesn’t] really realize it at times. But I guess just be a shoulder to lean on.”

Friday will mark Brown’s first start at safety since Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs, when he was rotating with Mukuba. By Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams, Mukuba was the full-time starter.

Brown is eager for his opportunity to start, especially considering his NFL journey so far. Brown, the Eagles’ third-rounder out of Illinois in 2023, suffered a season-ending ACL tear in his rookie year that set him back in his second season, too.

“It’s going to be amazing,” Brown said Tuesday about starting. “That’s what I came here to do, and just embracing the opportunity for what it is. I feel horrible for Drew. He’s been having a great season so far, doing a really good job in the secondary as a safety. I hate to see that as a young player. I can relate to him, ’cause I went through it. I know what he’s going through is a tough process, but he’s going to get through it. He’s going to be better on the back end of it.”

The strength of the secondary will be all the more important against Caleb Williams and the Bears’ passing offense, which ranks 12th in the league at 227 yards per game. Williams, the Bears’ first overall pick in the 2024 draft out of Southern California, can test defenses deep and has completed 23 passes of 25-plus yards this season (fifth among NFL quarterbacks).

The Bears beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday as Williams had his fourth career game in which he passed for at least three touchdowns with no interceptions.

While Williams & Co. will provide yet another test for Fangio’s secondary, Jackson is optimistic that the unit will find stability after the way the game against the Cowboys ended.

“Everybody wants to be out there and to play and have yourself accessible and ready to go, but at the end of the day, the final judgment comes from above,” Jackson said. “But to have all hands on deck is always glass half full.”

Injury report

DeVonta Smith (shoulder/chest/illness) did not participate in practice. The illness was a new addition to the injury report for the 27-year-old wide receiver, who was listed with the shoulder and chest injuries on Tuesday’s estimated injury report. (The Eagles held a walk-through that day.)

In addition to Smith and Mukuba, Xavier Gipson (shoulder) and Lane Johnson (foot) did not participate. Meanwhile, Blankenship, Saquon Barkley (groin), Landon Dickerson (knee), and Brandon Graham (groin) were limited participants.

The Eagles’ final injury report will be released on Thursday.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Everything’s bigger in Texas, including Eagles collapses.

After going up by 21 points early in the second quarter, the Eagles gave up their three-score lead to the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas scored 24 unanswered points, capped by a 42-yard Brandon Aubrey walk-off field goal to give the Cowboys the 24-21 victory and end the Eagles’ win streak at four games.

The Eagles’ implosion was their own doing. They incurred 14 penalties, which tied the largest total in a single game in Nick Sirianni’s five-year tenure as head coach.

Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ first loss since falling at the Giants in Week 6.

Defense dissipates

The Eagles defense came out strong in the first half for the most part, limiting the Cowboys to just seven points.

They dominated the turnover battle over the game’s first 30 minutes. Zack Baun had a fumble recovery early in the second quarter after Cowboys wide receiver KaVontae Turpin fumbled a handoff at the Eagles’ 31-yard line. The fumble recovery eventually set up a Tush Push touchdown from Jalen Hurts to extend the lead to 21-0. On the Cowboys’ first trip to the red zone of the afternoon, Reed Blankenship picked off Dak Prescott in the end zone on a pass intended for CeeDee Lamb.

Unsurprisingly, Vic Fangio’s unit wouldn’t remain flawless against the league’s second-ranked scoring offense. This time around, the Eagles defense couldn’t put a Band-Aid over the listless offense that couldn’t sustain drives in the second half.

Late in the second quarter, Turpin generated a 48-yard catch-and-run, breaking multiple tackles over the middle of the field. That play eventually led to the Cowboys’ first touchdown, a 1-yard pass to George Pickens with Adoree’ Jackson in coverage to make the score 21-7, Eagles.

The Eagles bent but didn’t break in the third quarter, as Aubrey missed a 51-yard field goal attempt.

But the Eagles defense got banged up in the second half. In the third quarter, Jackson entered the concussion protocol and Blankenship went down with a thigh injury.

Cooper DeJean took over on the outside with Michael Carter slotting in as the nickel cornerback. The 22-year-old DeJean was tested heavily, getting called for defensive pass interference on a pass intended for Lamb in the third quarter, which was declined because the receiver made a 48-yard catch.

Lamb drew another defensive pass interference two plays later, this time against Kelee Ringo, who came in for a play at outside cornerback. Ringo didn’t see the field again on defense. The Cowboys scored on the following play, a 4-yard pass to tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford to make it 21-14.

DeJean was also in coverage for Pickens’ 43-yard catch down the left sideline early in the fourth quarter. That explosive play led to yet another Cowboys touchdown, an 8-yard Prescott carry to tie the game at 21-21.

The Cowboys had an opportunity to pull ahead late in the fourth quarter after Xavier Gipson’s fumble on a punt return at his own 8-yard line. However, the Cowboys opted to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the Eagles’ 1-yard line instead of settling for a field goal. Prescott’s short pass to tight end Jake Ferguson was incomplete, leading to a turnover on downs.

Ferguson began to make up for the incomplete pass with less than a minute remaining in regulation. He caught a 19-yard pass over the middle of the field with Sydney Brown trailing behind him. Brown, the 25-year-old safety, had entered the game in relief of Blankenship.

That play, plus a 24-yard catch from Pickens two plays later, set up Aubrey’s game-winning field goal.

Second-half offensive struggles

The Eagles offense was far more conservative after their three straight touchdown drives to start the game. With 17 seconds remaining in the first half and two timeouts, with the drive starting from their own 28-yard line, the Eagles opted for a handoff to Saquon Barkley.

He gained just 1 yard and both teams returned to their respective locker rooms, the Eagles squandering a potential opportunity to put Jake Elliott in position to kick a field goal.

The Eagles posted just 28 net yards of offense on their first three drives after halftime, punting on all three.

After the game, Sirianni pushed back at the notion that the offense became more conservative after going up three scores.

“I didn’t think so,” Sirianni said. “Obviously, we’re always trying to be a balanced attack. So I just think, again, we’ll have to look at ourselves and look at the schemes and we’re going to have to look at the execution and see what the issues were. We just weren’t very efficient as an offense in that second half. I didn’t really feel that we took our foot off the gas.”

The group suffered from a litany of self-inflicted wounds. DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown incurred back-to-back penalties early in the fourth quarter — an offensive pass interference and a false start, respectively. The Eagles couldn’t overcome the 25-yard deficit, leading them to settle for a 56-yard field goal attempt from Elliott. The Eagles kicker missed, giving the Cowboys the ball back at their 46-yard line.

The offense seemingly had a spark halfway through the fourth quarter, moving the ball 45 yards down the field (a 19-yard Brown reception made up nearly half that total). But Fred Johnson’s illegal use of hands penalty killed their momentum, bringing up second-and-17 from the Cowboys’ 38.

On the following play, Hurts dumped a short pass off to Barkley while under duress. Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams knocked the ball out of the running back’s grasp and linebacker Kenneth Murray recovered it at the Dallas 33.

While the Cowboys failed to take advantage on the following drive, they got a gift of their own on the ensuing Eagles punt return. Gipson coughed up the ball deep in his own zone and Cowboys long snapper Trent Sieg corralled it at the Eagles’ 7-yard line.

Once again, the Cowboys couldn’t score following the turnover. But Hurts took a 13-yard sack from defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa on third-and-2 at the Eagles’ 37-yard line, forcing them to punt.

With the Eagles’ run game practically nonexistent this season, Barkley couldn’t salt away the contest in the second half as he had so many times last season. He finished the game with 10 carries for 22 yards (2.2 yards per carry is a single-game season low for Barkley). Four of those carries (for a total of 5 yards) came on first down on the five possessions that followed their 21-0 lead.

First-half flourish

It was a tale of two halves for the Eagles offense. Through the first 18½ minutes of the game, the Eagles passing game was practically unrecognizable from their performances in the last two weeks against the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions.

Hurts surpassed the 135 passing yards he mustered last week against the Lions in the first half alone. The 27-year-old quarterback threw early and often, going 13-of-19 for 163 yards and a touchdown in the first 30 minutes.

In the first half, Brown hauled in five receptions on six targets for 67 yards and a 16-yard touchdown, which occurred on the Eagles’ opening drive and gave them a 7-0 lead. Brown beat Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland on a post route to haul in Hurts’ throw in the middle of the end zone.

The play marked Brown’s first touchdown in more than a month (Oct. 19 against the Minnesota Vikings). Against a zone-heavy Cowboys defense, the Eagles targeted the intermediate middle of the field to great success, especially on in-breaking passes to Brown.

The Cowboys defense also gave the Eagles a few early holiday gifts in the form of self-inflicted wounds. A roughing the kicker penalty on Dallas against punter Braden Mann gave the Eagles a fresh set of downs on their second possession. Hurts took advantage of their misstep, especially on a third-and-5 conversion when he connected with Brown for a 22-yard completion on an in-breaker.

The chunk play ultimately helped set up a Hurts 7-yard touchdown on a quarterback keeper, putting the Eagles up, 14-0. Hurts later added the Tush Push touchdown to give the Eagles the 21-0 lead and what would turn out to be their final points.

Smith’s acrobatic 41-yard reception on third-and-12 from the Eagles’ 48-yard line helped set up the push sneak at the goal line. But the offense couldn’t sustain its first-half firepower.

“Whatever it was, it wasn’t enough,” Hurts said of the passing game’s strides in the first half. “I think everything that we’ve been able to do hasn’t been a lack of capability. We’ve got a lot of confidence in how we can go out there and play. Ultimately, we can’t focus on that. … I can only focus on the things that we can control that didn’t go our way.”

Injury report

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.

With 35 seconds remaining in the game, Drew Mukuba went down after Pickens’ 24-yard catch. The rookie safety left the locker room after the game on crutches, not putting any weight on his right foot, which was in a boot.

Two years into his Eagles career, Jalyx Hunt counts his blessings in pairs of cleats and gloves.

He doesn’t lack either. About a dozen brand-new white gloves wrapped in cellophane are stacked on a low shelf on the left side of his stall in the NovaCare Complex. Hunt has four pairs of cleats sitting on the racks below that shelf, but he knows that if he busts them, he can ask assistant equipment manager Craig Blake for another pair.

The 6-foot-3, 252-pound outside linebacker still isn’t used to the extravagance. He didn’t take his first charter flight with a football team until two years ago, his senior season at FCS-level Houston Christian. If he wore through a pair of cleats, the cost for new ones came out of his pocket.

Hunt, 24, picked up odd jobs to pay for those expenses integral to attaining his NFL dream, especially his training. He delivered takeout for DoorDash. He and his friends signed up to work as overnight security guards at the 24-hour library on campus, even when they had to lift in the morning.

In high school in Orlando, the zero-star recruit worked nights as a janitor at the urgent care where his father, James, served as a physician’s assistant.

The experiences that shaped Jalyx didn’t magically evaporate after the Eagles selected him in the third round of the 2024 draft.

“I got a chip on my shoulder to a certain degree,” Hunt said on Wednesday. “But I also just appreciate things a lot more, because a lot of these people were able to be blessed coming out of high school. … I was like, ‘Should I be paying for training? If I have to do this, is it really that feasible?’”

A cursory glimpse at his early football path suggests that Hunt’s NFL dream was a long shot. He began his collegiate career at Cornell, a struggling program not known for producing pro players. One of the rising edge rushers on the NFL’s most feared defense just four years ago could be found working as an Ivy League safety.

When Hunt entered the transfer portal in 2022, all he said he needed was an opportunity to make an impact. That, and a program that thought he had a chance to reach the NFL.

Houston Christian gave him both in earnest. A shift closer to the line of scrimmage altered the trajectory of his football journey. His perseverance in realizing a once-unlikely dream doesn’t surprise those close to him, however.

“People think I say stuff like this because he’s my son,” said James Hunt. “But I don’t. My wife will tell you I am very, very real and upfront with my son, my daughter, anybody I know, any kid trying to do something. She calls me a dream killer, because I’m going to tell you.

“But I didn’t think it would be an issue, because I truly feel you can put Jalyx anywhere and he will get it done.”

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Jaaqua Hunt discovered her son’s unrelenting motor long before he charged after quarterbacks on Sundays.

Jalyx was always busy, always moving. James recalled how long it took to get him dressed in the mornings before school because he couldn’t stand still. A teacher herself, Jaaqua emphasized to his educators that he needed an activity to do after he finished his work, otherwise he would talk the ears off his classmates and no one would get anything done.

“I told his doctor when he was 15 months [old] that he had ADD,” Jaaqua said. “And they said, ‘You couldn’t possibly know that now. He’s 15 months.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I do.’ I was at home at the time. I said, ‘He doesn’t have an off switch. He hits the floor in the morning, and he is nonstop until he drops at night.’”

Behavioral therapy as a child helped Hunt learn how to channel his energy in a productive way. His therapist recommended origami, so he folded up what felt like millions of ninja stars, paper cranes, and waterbombs. Origami gave way to thousand-piece puzzles, LEGOs, the saxophone, and most recently the guitar.

Sports became an outlet for Hunt’s energy, too. He started playing basketball around age 6 at the YMCA. James served as an assistant coach for his team.

“He was really dominating these kids,” James said. “They were the same age, but he just had that ‘it.’ And he was bigger. So you kind of felt bad for that, but then you started realizing everything he did, it’s like the environment would change.”

The Hunt family moved around, spending Hunt’s adolescence in the Orlando area where James completed a physician-assistant program, then came Tennessee, Maryland, and eventually South Carolina to be closer to their daughter, Jessica, who was a track athlete at Winthrop University.

Jalyx longed to play football, just like his father had at Alcorn State and Ole Miss. His parents encouraged it, too, believing his chances of earning a scholarship in football were greater than in basketball by sheer numbers alone. Plus, Hunt was cut out better for football, Jaaqua said.

“His dad told him he didn’t have the mentality to play D-I basketball,” Jaaqua said. “And it’s true. Jalyx is a sharer. He’s not selfish enough to play basketball. Even in high school, and all the way back to when he was 6 or 7 years old, he would get a rebound and then give it to someone who didn’t have any points so that they could try and score.”

The Hunt family moved back to Florida before his sophomore year, as James figured that every college football program in the country would recruit in the state. Still growing into his body, Hunt primarily played cornerback and eventually added receiver to his resumé in his senior year.

But he had a hard time getting on the field, finishing his senior season with 20 catches for nearly 500 yards. His recruitment was limited, James said, because he didn’t play much. James put together a highlight video and sent it out to more than 100 schools, which garnered offers from smaller programs and walk-on offers from bigger ones, such as Florida, Marshall, Boston College, and Georgia State.

Cornell was among the smaller programs. Hunt appreciated the opportunity to get an Ivy League education in addition to his football pursuits. He aspired to earn an engineering degree, which he thought would blend his hands-on personality and his affinity for math.

Ultimately, it felt good to feel wanted, and that’s how Cornell made Hunt feel.

“You loved the girl who loves you the most,” Jaaqua said. “They loved him. Simple as that.”

Hunt transitioned to serving as a big free safety in Cornell’s defense. Hunt was responsible for rolling down into the box to play outside linebacker, but would also play in the post and cover receivers downfield.

Hunt was still growing, though, and James always thought he played better when he was closer to the line of scrimmage. The position issue was indicative of the struggles that Hunt had faced throughout his football career.

“Part of the problem he had, his coaches didn’t know how to use his ability,” James said. “Because he was very athletic, and then when you start to grow, he was a bigger guy who had small-guy skills. What do you do with this guy? So let’s put him here. Let’s try him there. They just didn’t know where to put him.”

COVID-19 didn’t make things easier, especially from a mental health perspective. His parents could tell that the isolation — Cornell’s entire 2020 season was canceled — was taking a toll on Hunt’s wellbeing. It showed in his slipping grades, too. Hunt wanted to stick it out at Cornell, according to James, but his parents encouraged him to make a change.

Hunt entered the transfer portal after his junior year in 2021. He garnered interest from some Power 5 programs, including Texas Christian and Boston College, but Hunt was behind on class credits. Houston Christian was the only program that had a plan, on and off the field, for Hunt.

Houston Christian, a 4,700-student member of the Southland Conference, was clear during its recruitment that it viewed Hunt as a defensive lineman/linebacker rather than as a safety.

“We didn’t feel like he could dominate the game covering 20 yards down the field man-to-man,” said Roger Hinshaw, Houston Christian’s linebackers coach. “But you just could see … we [could] make him faster by just moving him closer to the ball.”

Houston Christian was prepared to bring Hunt into its summer school at the local community college so he could get back on track from an academic standpoint, too.

It didn’t matter to Jaaqua or James that they had never heard of Houston Christian (formerly known as Houston Baptist) or its nine-year-old football program. Hunt said defensive coordinator Shane Eachus displayed a sense of belief in him that no one else had.

“He said, ‘We think you can make it to the League,’” Hunt said. “That’s all I need to hear. Like, if you believed in me, bet, let’s go. Even if you’re lying to me, you could be lying to me, but I just needed somebody to even fake it. So, shoot, that’s why I went. That’s the only reason.”

Hunt had all of the physical traits — from his athletic ability to his size to his length — that former Houston Christian defensive line coach Isaac Mooring was looking for in an edge rusher. Hunt had a natural talent at some aspects of the position, Hinshaw said, that his coaches couldn’t teach.

“When he was lined up and the ball was snapped, he was dynamic, which is really the key to any good pass rush,” Hinshaw said. “Quite frankly, that was a DNA thing. God gave him that. Everybody doesn’t get that.”

But beyond his inherent traits, Hunt had a strong desire to learn the position and to be great. Mooring detected that desire through the residency Hunt took up in his office. He was constantly watching film, asking questions in meetings, and taking notes.

Mooring would pull NFL clips and study them with Hunt, and once the young pass rusher began to learn the requisite technique of the position, he began to point out technical nuances on film.

That diligence translated to the football field. If Hunt didn’t get a drill down pat in practice, he would stay after and work on it some more. It didn’t matter if the team had just completed a 24-period session. Hunt could be found striking the sled because he wanted to make sure his hand placement was correct.

Mooring discovered that Hunt had that same attitude after games. After Hunt’s third or fourth contest with Houston Christian, Mooring went around the locker room as he typically would to hug his players and offer words of encouragement. He couldn’t find Hunt.

Eventually, Mooring was told that Hunt was still out on the field. Sure enough, there he was, running 100-yard sprints after playing anywhere from 50 to 70 snaps. He ran sprints at home and on the road, win, lose, or draw.

“I learned to be the type of player that I feel like if we lose, it’s because of me,” Hunt said. “I feel like it’s because of me, like I could have made more plays. I could have done this, I could have done that. So it was one way for me to just think, get some lactic acid out of my legs, but also condition a little bit more.

“Sometimes, I’d get home, off the bus, and go work out, like on the field or bags, whatever the case may be, just so I could do something more. I just felt I needed to get better right now.”

Hunt gradually improved. He began to put on the weight needed to go up against 300-pound offensive tackles. He leaned on the football IQ that he had developed as a safety to understand run fits and drops in coverage when he wasn’t rushing the passer.

Development turned into sacks, and sacks turned into recognition from NFL teams that traveled to Houston Christian to scout him ahead of the draft. In 2022, his first season with the Huskies, Hunt led the Southland in forced fumbles (three) and tackles for a loss (11.5), and his team in sacks (seven).

The following year, he earned the conference’s defensive player of the year honors, leading the team in tackles for a loss (nine), sacks (6.5), and forced fumbles (two). He also had a 16-yard interception returnfor a touchdown.

“That just shows the guys that don’t let somebody tell you just because you’re here at Houston Christian, nobody’s going to find you,” Hinshaw said. “That’s not the case at all.”

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Patrick Johnson, the Eagles’ 2021 seventh-round defensive end out of Tulane, first met Hunt through one of his high school teammates who played for Cornell. That fall, Cornell visited Philadelphia to play against Penn.

Immediately, Johnson was struck by Hunt’s size.

“When I first met him, I was like, ‘Dang, you sure you’re a safety, not an outside linebacker?’” Johnson recalled.

Johnson and Hunt didn’t keep in touch. It wasn’t until Johnson dug into the newest Eagles outside linebacker’s film after the 2024 draft that he realized who Hunt was — and that he had made a position change.

Hunt had independently caught the eyes of both Vic Fangio and Jeremiah Washburn, the Eagles’ defensive ends/outside linebackers coach, in the lead-up to the 2024 draft. Washburn saw him at the combine — where he had a 128-inch broad jump (95th percentile among edge defenders) and a 4.64 40-yard dash (81st percentile) — and his pro day.

Hunt possessed great size and athleticism at the position, but he also had an intangible that convinced Washburn that he would be a fit for the team.

“He had intense focus,” Washburn said. “He just had a good demeanor to him, a competitive demeanor, and it just felt like he was an Eagle.”

An Eagle who helped the team win a Super Bowl in his rookie season, notching a sack in that game to boot. In hindsight, though, Hunt wasn’t satisfied with his overall performance in his rookie season, as he finished the year with 1.5 sacks.

He still isn’t this year, but Hunt is beginning to show progress. He has two sacks (five quarterback hits total) in his last three games. He said he is stronger, too, sitting at roughly 260 pounds after listed at 252 this year and last year.

In Hunt, Jaelan Phillips said he sees a “stud” with a deep toolbox of pass-rush moves, an ability to blend speed, power, and agility, with a high motor. Brandon Graham said he sees a sense of confidence in Hunt that he didn’t this time last year. Washburn said he sees a more decisive player now compared to his Week 1 performance against the Dallas Cowboys.

Hunt sees room for improvement, but said he’s learned to become patient with himself.

“It takes a lot of patience not to get [ticked] off,” Hunt said. “Like, ‘Oh, I want to get a sack right now,’ especially at the beginning of the year. I didn’t start out how I wanted to start out. But my goal, and I’ve stuck through to it, is I just want to improve on something each week. And I think if you watch my film, you can definitely see that.”

While Hunt has evolved as a player, the small-school chip on his shoulder hasn’t gone away. The stack of fresh gloves in his stall serves as a daily reminder of where he came from. He doesn’t just internalize his journey. He is vocal about it, too, even on the league’s biggest platforms.

In the aftermath of the Super Bowl and his sack on Patrick Mahomes, Hunt appeared on the NFL Network’s Good Morning Football. Mooring’s ears perked up when he gave his coach a shout-out for seeing a skill set in him as a pass rusher that he didn’t recognize in himself.

“That just kind of shows you even though he’s reaching all these types of heights that people only dream of, he’s still humble Jalyx where he understands his beginnings and still [gives] his flowers to people that poured into him,” Mooring said.

Cam Jurgens (concussion) is questionable to play in Sunday’s rematch against the Dallas Cowboys, according to the Eagles’ final injury report.

The 26-year-old center practiced in a full capacity on Friday for the first time this week. He had been a limited participant in practice on Thursday and did not participate on Wednesday.

“Anytime these guys can get back out there coming off things, that’s huge,” coach Nick Sirianni said Friday of Jurgens’ return to practice. “We will see where he is today, but excited to have him back out there when he was.”

Jurgens exited the Week 11 game against the Detroit Lions late in the fourth quarter with the concussion, requiring Brett Toth to take over in his place. The concussion was the latest ailment that Jurgens has navigated this season. He missed the prior two games with an injury to his right knee, which still requires him to wear a brace.

Additionally, Jurgens is just nine months removed from the offseason back surgery he underwent in late February. He played through that injury in the NFC championship game and the Super Bowl.

Jurgens isn’t the only Eagles offensive lineman who has dealt with numerous injuries this year. Lane Johnson was officially ruled out for Sunday’s game after sustaining a Lisfranc injury in the first quarter against the Lions. He is expected to miss at least four to six weeks. Fred Johnson, the 6-foot-7, 326-pound swing tackle, is slated to start at right tackle in his absence.

This will be the first game that the two-time All Pro Johnson has not started this season. He has dropped out of games with various ailments, including a neck injury in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams, a shoulder injury in Week 4 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and an ankle injury in Week 10 against the Green Bay Packers (he ultimately returned to action).

Tackle Myles Hinton (back) and center/guard Willie Lampkin (knee/ankle), who are both on injured reserve, are listed as questionable to play.

The Eagles are at capacity on their 53-man active roster, so they would need to make corresponding moves to open up spots for Hinton and Lampkin if they are activated. One of those moves could be placing Lane Johnson on injured reserve.

Jaelan Phillips, who popped up on the injury report this week with a shoulder issue, is available to play.

The Eagles and Cowboys met to open the NFL season back on Sept. 4 in a game the Eagles won, 24-20.

They meet again Sunday in Dallas, and although the Eagles are running away with the NFC East, this game presents a challenging potential roadblock for the Eagles in their pursuit of the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

Here’s how our writers see it …

Jeff Neiburg

This isn’t your 2-month-old’s Cowboys.

The team that practically gave Micah Parsons away before the season added Quinnen Williams to its defensive front at the trade deadline, and he immediately provided a spark. The Raiders doubled him on half of his 28 pass rushes on Monday and he still put up a season-high five pressures, according to Next Gen Stats, while being credited for 1½ sacks.

Even if center Cam Jurgens clears concussion protocol and plays, the Eagles will have their hands full up front.

If the Eagles are finally going to fix their scuffling offense, it will be a challenge, though Dallas has been very beatable in the air. The Cowboys play a ton of zone, using man coverage just 14.8% of the time, the fourth-lowest rate in the NFL.

If the Eagles are going to figure out their inability to beat zones through the air, Sunday will be a big test, but one they should be able to ace with the right plan.

Dallas’ offense, meanwhile, is one of the best in the league. The game sets up as a great offense and a bad defense (Dallas) against a great defense and a bad offense (Eagles). The game will probably be decided by who wins the matchup between Dallas’ offense and the Eagles’ defense.

Who has the upper hand? It’s hard to pick against the Eagles right now.

Prediction: Eagles 27, Cowboys 16

Olivia Reiner

On paper, Eagles-Cowboys is set to be a strength-on-strength, weakness-on-weakness matchup.

Vic Fangio declared the Cowboys offense one of the best in the NFL, and the numbers back that up, especially in the passing game. The Dak Prescott-led offense leads the league in passing yards (2,587), ranks second in passing touchdowns (22), and places third in passing attempts.

George Pickens leads the way with 908 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on the season, above CeeDee Lamb (557 yards and two touchdowns in just seven games) and tight end Jake Ferguson (400 yards and seven touchdowns).

But the Eagles defense is playing like one of the best in the league lately, too. The last two games, against playoff contenders the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions, were defensive masterclasses, with the Eagles limiting those opponents to a combined 16 points.

While the Eagles defense ought to be up for the challenge, can the same be said for the offense? The Cowboys defense has been one of the worst groups in the league overall, but they boast a formidable interior defensive line that recently added Williams to the mix.

The offensive line has been solid at pass blocking this year, even when Lane Johnson goes down, but the run blocking has seen a serious drop-off from last season. Though I’m not so sure this will be the get-well game on the ground the Eagles are looking for, they could have a chance to get going in the passing game, given that the Cowboys are conceding 6.9 net yards per passing attempt — No. 29 of 30 teams in the league.

Prediction: Eagles 21, Cowboys 17

Matt Breen

Will the Eagles fix their offensive problems on Sunday? It feels like we’ve been asking the same question for three months. So maybe this is just their offense. And that might be OK thanks to a defense that is suddenly the best in the NFC.

The defensive line is overwhelming, and Quinyon Mitchell is playing like an All-Pro in the secondary. The Cowboys looked good last week, but they won’t be playing the Raiders on Sunday.

Teams have picked apart the Dallas defense through the air this season, but I’ll wait and see if the Eagles can do the same. It’s hard to see the Eagles offense, especially with a banged-up line, suddenly flipping a switch. By now, it’s fair to have a read on who a team is.

But the defense is elite and they’ll carry them again on Sunday. We’ll find out how far that unit can carry them the rest of the way.

Prediction: Eagles 24, Cowboys 10