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  • What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 12 vs. the Cowboys

    What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 12 vs. the Cowboys

    Week after week, the Eagles just keep winning.

    They are now 8-2 after their latest defensive master class, a 16-9 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday night. But for every week that the defense has taken strides lately, the offense seems to stray further from the flashes it showed coming off the mini-bye week in early October.

    Week 12 might not be the get-well game the Eagles offense could use. The 4-5-1 Dallas Cowboys clobbered the lowly Las Vegas Raiders, 33-16, on Monday night. Is it a mirage or a sign of a defensive turnaround for the Eagles’ NFC East foe?

    Here’s what we know (and what we don’t) about the Eagles entering their final matchup of the regular season against the Cowboys, who are coming off a short week:

    A.J. Brown (11) was more involved in the offense on Sunday night against the Lions.

    Band-Aids galore

    Last week, A.J. Brown stood at his locker stall in the NovaCare Complex and identified the crux of his frustration about the state of the Eagles offense.

    He expressed a desire to make an impact on the Kevin Patullo-led offense, just a couple of days removed from a 13-yard performance against the Green Bay Packers. But he also didn’t make his frustrations solely about him. He had grown increasingly tired of the defense bailing out the listless offense and sought to play complementary football as a collective.

    “I think if we’re really focusing on winning and doing our job; we can’t just keep slapping a Band-Aid over the defense doing their job and getting us out of trouble,” Brown said Wednesday. “At what point are we going to pick a box as an offense and say, ‘We’re so great?’ That’s what I’m getting at.”

    That point didn’t come Sunday night against the Lions. Vic Fangio and the Eagles defense opened up another box of Band-Aids, limiting the league’s second-ranked scoring offense entering Week 11 to just nine points, the Lions’ lowest total since 2023.

    The Eagles offense, meanwhile, scored one touchdown and settled for three field goals. The group mustered just six points (two field goals) off five fourth-down stops generated by the defense.

    Eagles grades: Offense continues to lag against Lions

    According to Next Gen Stats, the Eagles offense registered the third-worst expected points added per play in the league in a win this season (-.28). The statistic measures the average points an offense generates on a play.

    “We want them to continue to play at a high level,” Brown said postgame of the defense. “We’ve still just got to do a better job on offense and get our stuff going. It’s a lot of room for improvement. A lot of self-inflicted wounds. But hats off to the defense because they are playing their butts off.”

    Brown might not be satisfied — and he’s certainly not the only one on offense — but what if the offense can’t get off the ground? Is the way the Eagles are winning right now sustainable?

    Will the Cowboys defense provide an avenue for Saquon Barkley to break off some major runs on Sunday?

    Unsurprisingly, recent history suggests it’s unlikely. In the last seven seasons, only one Super Bowl champion offense generated a negative EPA per play during the regular season — the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs (-.04).

    The Eagles offense sits at -.02 this season. While the offense may be able to get away with being inconsistent if the defense continues to excel, the offense can’t be consistently as bad as it was on Sunday night for the rest of the season.

    Offensive line attrition

    The offense’s quest to improve won’t get any easier in the absence of Lane Johnson. The 35-year-old right tackle suffered a Lisfranc injury and is likely headed to injured reserve, where he could spend the next four to six weeks.

    It goes without saying that the Eagles are a better team when the two-time All-Pro right tackle is on the field. According to StatMuse, the Eagles are 110-57-1 in games that Johnson plays. They are 15-23 in games he does not play.

    Cam Jurgens also exited Sunday’s game with an undisclosed injury. The center had previously been sidelined for the last two games with a knee injury. His status against the Cowboys is unclear.

    There’s a chance that two backups start on the offensive line in Week 12. Fred Johnson and Brett Toth generally have fared well in place of Johnson and Jurgens this season.

    But the overall performance from the offensive line has been substandard, particularly in the running game. Saquon Barkley has eclipsed 100 rushing yards in just one game this year so far. He’s averaging 2.5 yards per carry before contact this season, down from 3.8 last year.

    Barkley had a pretty average day when the Eagles faced the Cowboys in the season opener, finishing with 60 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.

    Lane Johnson’s absence means more ‘bleep show’ offense for Eagles; Nakobe Dean inspires

    Since the Eagles last saw them, the Cowboys have been atrocious overall on defense, ranking No. 31 in the league entering Monday night’s game. The Raiders couldn’t get much going on the ground against the Cowboys, but it’s also worth noting that Las Vegas played from behind for most of the game and boasts the league’s worst rushing offense.

    The Cowboys also acquired defensive tackle Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets before the trade deadline. He dominated in his Dallas debut and recorded 1½ sacks and five quarterback hits. He will be a tough assignment for the interior offensive line, regardless of whether Jurgens or Toth starts.

    Quinyon Mitchell’s work against the Cowboys’ receiving corps in Week 12 figures to be important.

    Right on Q

    The last time the Eagles played the Cowboys, Quinyon Mitchell didn’t shadow CeeDee Lamb. But when he was in coverage against the Cowboys receiver, he kept him in check, conceding one reception on four targets for 13 yards, according to Pro Football Focus.

    It was a precursor to a strong sophomore season for the 24-year-old outside cornerback. According to Next Gen Stats, Mitchell has allowed receptions on just 41.9% of his targets, which is the lowest by any player with at least 50 targets in a season since 2018.

    A.J. Brown was right. The Eagles offense is still a bleep show. They need to fix it soon.

    Mitchell played up to his standard again on Sunday night. He didn’t allow a catch on any of his six targets, according to Next Gen Stats, which is tied for the most targets without conceding a reception in a game over the last two seasons.

    He even played 39 coverage snaps, tying the third-most by an outside cornerback in a game this year without giving up a catch.

    Fangio has been utilizing Mitchell as a boundary cornerback over the last couple of weeks, often leaving him on an island on the short side of the field. Given the Cowboys’ dual receiving threats on the outside in Lamb and George Pickens, Fangio may take that approach with Mitchell this week.

    Pickens was quarterback Dak Prescott’s favorite receiver on Monday night. The 24-year-old receiver had 144 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions, while Lamb finished with 66 yards and a touchdown on five catches. Both receivers are on track to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards this season.

    Nakobe Dean has been a key part of a tremendous Eagles defense of late.

    Dazzling Dean

    Just over a month ago, it seemed uncertain if Nakobe Dean was going to have a role in Fangio’s defense upon his return from the physically unable to perform list. Jihaad Campbell, the No. 31 overall pick out of Alabama, was off to a solid start in his rookie season at inside linebacker alongside Zack Baun.

    But over the last four games, Dean’s snap count has steadily increased, peaking at 67.8% of the defensive snaps against the Lions. Meanwhile, Campbell’s has decreased, reaching a season-low 33.9% on Sunday.

    Nick Sirianni wins in spite of himself, some might say. Those critics are wrong.

    Dean has earned the opportunity to play, picking up where he left off before his knee injury. His excellence was illustrated by a two-play sequence late in the fourth quarter against the Lions, when he covered Jameson Williams on a crossing route to force an incompletion on first down and sacked Jared Goff on a simulated pressure on second down.

    No matter how the Cowboys and their top-ranked passing offense tries to attack the Eagles, Dean will provide a boost to Fangio’s group on Sunday.

  • Saquon Barkley and the Eagles run all over the Giants to head into the bye at 6-2

    Saquon Barkley and the Eagles run all over the Giants to head into the bye at 6-2

    No A.J. Brown, no Cam Jurgens, no problem.

    The Eagles avenged their blowout loss to the New York Giants on Oct. 9, handing their NFC East foes a 38-20 defeat on Sunday afternoon. Even though Philadelphia was missing two of its top players on offense, it still was dominant on the ground and through the air, finishing with a season-high 427 total yards.

    Jalen Hurts excelled again in the passing game, finishing with 15 completions on 20 attempts for 179 yards and four touchdowns.

    Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ second straight win as they head into the bye week with a 6-2 record:

    Barkley, Bigsby get busy

    Saquon Barkley rushed for more than 100 yards for the first time since the NFC championship game. Before his third-quarter exit because of a groin injury, he rushed for 150 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. He also had 24 receiving yards and another score.

    He reintroduced himself to his former Giants teammates on the second play of the game, using a familiar wrinkle the Eagles leaned on last week against the Minnesota Vikings. Fred Johnson was on the field as the sixth offensive lineman and Hurts was lined up under center, but the Giants seemed to anticipate a pass, as both safeties stayed deep.

    Kevin Patullo used Saquon Barkley and the running game properly | Marcus Hayes

    On second-and-10 from the Eagles’ 35-yard line, Barkley burst through a hole on the left side of the offensive line opened up by Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, and Brett Toth, who started at center in place of Jurgens. DeVonta Smith chipped in, too, with a block down the field on cornerback Cor’Dale Flott. Barkley took off untouched down the left sideline for a 65-yard touchdown to put the Eagles up, 7-0.

    Eagles running back Saquon Barkley gets pushed out of bounds by Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke after he picks up a first down on Sunday.

    Barkley found the end zone again in the second quarter. With the score tied at 7, the Eagles took advantage of a failed challenge from the Giants on a fourth-down Tush Push conversion. The Giants disputed that Hurts’ forward progress had been stopped before the ball came out of his grasp, but officials ruled in the Eagles’ favor.

    Two plays later, Barkley scored on a wide-open wheel route in the red zone. Hurts got the 9-yard pass off in time before an unblocked Kayvon Thibodeaux could hit him, pulling the Eagles ahead, 14-7.

    Barkley had success running outside. He exploded for a 28-yarder at the end of the third quarter when he followed a pulling Toth to the right side. Barkley visited the medical tent briefly after the run, and while he came back to the sideline with his helmet, he was deemed questionable to return and did not see the field again.

    The 28-year-old running back said postgame that he isn’t worried about the injury, which is something he’s dealt with before.

    Tank Bigsby spelled Barkley occasionally — and then permanently following his injury — and found success. In the fourth quarter while Barkley was in the tent, the Eagles fell well behind the sticks when Hurts took a 16-yard sack by outside linebacker Brian Burns.

    Tank Bigsby rushed for 104 yards on nine carries.

    On second-and-26, Bigsby took a handoff and picked up the first down on a 29-yard run as inside linebacker Darius Muasau whiffed on a tackle. Bigsby finished with 104 rushing yards on nine carries. Barkley and Bigsby are the first Eagles running back duo to each rush for over 100 yards since LeSean McCoy and Bryce Brown in 2013 (Week 16 against the Chicago Bears).

    “I think the O-line did a really good job of dominating up front,” Barkley said. “Creating space for us. It’s cool to see Tank get out there and make some big plays. I’ve never been part of a game, I don’t think so, of having two 100-yard backs. So it was great to see him go out there and make plays, especially to see him finish the game for us.”

    Receivers step up

    The Eagles were missing Brown on Sunday as the star receiver had been sidelined all week with a hamstring injury.

    That didn’t stop their passing game. Smith was the centerpiece for a second straight week, collecting 84 yards on six receptions. With Brown out, Smith was aligned out wide for each of his receptions instead of the slot.

    Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith had six catches for 84 yards on Sunday.

    Dallas Goedert got involved in the red zone, scoring his sixth and seventh touchdowns of the season, a career high. The Eagles opted for an empty set to spread out the defense on second-and-2 from the Giants’ 6-yard line. Goedert was matched up on the outside with safety Tyler Nubin, an advantageous matchup.

    Goedert ran a slant and Hurts threaded a pass for the tight end between Nubin and Muasau. While Nubin wrapped Goedert up short of the goal line, he refused to go down, driving his legs into the end zone and dragging the safety with him. His first touchdown put the Eagles up, 21-10, late in the second quarter.

    Grading the Eagles’ win over the Giants

    Goedert wasn’t finished. In the fourth quarter, he capitalized on Bigsby’s explosive run that brought the Eagles to the red zone for a third time on Sunday. On a run-pass option, Hurts rolled out to his right and connected with Goedert for a 17-yard touchdown reception.

    Inside linebacker Bobby Okereke was supposed to be covering Goedert, but he appeared to trip over the feet of Smith, who was blocking cornerback Deonte Banks. Goedert’s second touchdown gave the Eagles a 31-13 lead.

    “They’ve been letting me get the ball and use my big body to fall into the end zone,” Goedert said. “Did that on the first touchdown today. But it’s cool. We can score in many different ways. We’ve got a lot of different people. I’ve just been trying to do the most with my opportunities.”

    The Eagles earned other favorable matchups in the passing game, as the Giants went into the game without starting cornerback Paulson Adebo and top safety Jevon Holland. Flott, who had often aligned across from Smith, went down in the second quarter with a concussion.

    Hurts took advantage of rookie cornerback Korie Black, who had recently been signed to the Giants’ active roster from the New York Jets’ practice squad. Late in the fourth quarter, Jahan Dotson caught a leaping, 40-yard touchdown pass from Hurts with Black in single coverage. The touchdown pass marked the 100th of Hurts’ career.

    Giants running back Cam Skattebo waves to the crowd after he suffered a severe ankle injury in the second quarter.

    Skattebo goes down

    The Giants offense suffered a major loss in the second quarter when rookie running back Cam Skattebo went down with a dislocated ankle. He had been the heartbeat of their offense and contributed a receiving touchdown before he exited the game.

    It was tough sledding for Jaxson Dart before his garbage-time rushing touchdown with less than three minutes remaining in the game. Dart was under duress for most of the game, taking sacks from Zack Baun, Jalyx Hunt, Moro Ojomo, Jalen Carter, and Jordan Davis.

    Dart completed 14 of 24 passes for 193 and the passing touchdown to Skattebo. The Eagles fared much better at containing Dart on the ground than they did two weeks ago, in part because the Giants fell behind quickly. Dart finished with six carries for 17 yards.

    “We had a really good plan,” Baun said of the defense’s effort to keep Dart at bay. “I think the rush did a really good job, and when the rush is containing him like that, it’s eliminating explosives down the field as well, helping out the coverage.”

  • Eagles’ A.J. Brown ruled out for Giants game with hamstring injury

    Eagles’ A.J. Brown ruled out for Giants game with hamstring injury

    Receiver A.J. Brown (hamstring) has been ruled out for the Eagles’ rematch against the New York Giants on Sunday, according to the team’s final injury report released Friday afternoon.

    Brandon Graham (not injury related), cornerback Jakorian Bennett (pectoral/injured reserve), center Cam Jurgens (knee), cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (concussion), and outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari (hamstring) also have been ruled out against the Giants. Receiver Darius Cooper (shoulder/injured reserve), whose 21-day practice window opened on Thursday, is questionable.

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    Brown did not practice this week as he recovers from a hamstring injury, an ailment that popped up on the injury report in the aftermath of the win over the Minnesota Vikings. It is unclear when Brown sustained the injury, as he played 46 offensive snaps (92%) against the Vikings.

    He was on the field until the final passing play of the game, in which he caught a 45-yard pass from Jalen Hurts on third-and-9 with 1 minute, 45 seconds remaining. Brown has dealt with hamstring injuries before, most recently during training camp when he was sidelined for eight practices.

    “Obviously, he’s a great player,” receiver DeVonta Smith said on Friday before the final injury report was released. “We hope for him to be out there. But we’ll have to adjust if that’s the case that he’s not out there. We’ll have to adjust, and everyone’s going to have to study a little harder. Guys are going to be moving around in different spots and things.”

    Brett Toth likely will fill in at center for the injured Cam Jurgens against the Giants on Sunday.

    With Jurgens ruled out, Brett Toth likely will take his place as the starting center, just as he did in spot duty against the Vikings. Toth, the 6-foot-6, 304-pound depth offensive lineman, filled in for Jurgens at center in practice on Thursday during individual drills with the rest of the starters on the offensive line.

    Toth has started one game this season — the Week 6 matchup against the Giants, in which he took the place of the injured Landon Dickerson at left guard. He has taken 77 career regular-season snaps at center over the course of five seasons (four with the Eagles, one with the Carolina Panthers). The majority of his experience as a backup has come at guard (178 snaps at left guard, 27 at right) and right tackle (102 snaps).

    “A big thing in between the different positions in controlling, setting the point [as a center],” Toth said Friday. “Everyone’s job relies on you putting everyone in the right position to do their job. A lot of communication at both spots. But at center, it all starts there. Conducting the band kind of deal.”

    Meanwhile, even though Graham won’t return to action on Sunday, he was a full participant in practice all week. The 37-year-old defensive end came out of retirement on Tuesday. He said “everything’s going good right now,” even if he isn’t playing against the Giants.

    “Just being able to go three, four plays without really feeling, like, dog tired and really pushing,” Graham said Friday. “But I’d just say just a credit to the work that you put in during the offseason, and then for me, just making sure that if I am sore, we’re communicating. I mean, I was sore the next day. It felt like training camp. But it wasn’t a bad sore. It was a good sore, that first day of school.”

    Eagles WR DeVonta Smith’s toughness outweighs his undersized frame: ‘He’s small in stature, but he plays big’

    Kelee Ringo is the next man up to start in place of the injured Jackson. He has started two games this season (seven games total) at the outside cornerback spot opposite Quinyon Mitchell, conceding 11 receptions for 172 yards, according to Pro Football Focus. He also has registered a pass breakup and 22 tackles.

    Tight end Grant Calcaterra (oblique), Dickerson (ankle/back), tight end Dallas Goedert (calf), defensive tackle Moro Ojomo (shoulder), and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (ankle) have been removed from the injury report and are available to play. This will be Calcaterra’s first game since Week 5 against the Denver Broncos.

  • Eagles WR DeVonta Smith’s toughness outweighs his undersized frame: ‘He’s small in stature, but he plays big’

    Eagles WR DeVonta Smith’s toughness outweighs his undersized frame: ‘He’s small in stature, but he plays big’

    As Christina Smith-Sylve watched last Sunday’s game Eagles against the Minnesota Vikings in the U.S. Bank Stadium stands, her seat might as well have been made out of pins and needles with the way nerves pricked her skin.

    That sensation intensified when she saw three Vikings defenders tackle her 6-foot, 170-pound son, DeVonta Smith, on a 16-yard reception down the right sideline in the second quarter.

    Dallas Goedert even seemed to clamor for a defenseless receiver penalty against Blake Cashman after the play. The inside linebacker’s rally to Smith came after Byron Murphy already had stopped the small-but-stubborn receiver’s forward progress.

    Smith-Sylve felt those pins and needles again when the 26-year-old receiver absorbed a hit from Harrison Smith on a 19-yard cross over the middle of the field. But after both plays, Smith popped up with the ball in his hands as if he had been grazed by a butterfly and not tackled by men who likely can bicep curl his body weight.

    “It’s hard seeing him,” Smith-Sylve said. “It’s rough. But I know he’s tough. He’s small in stature, but he plays big.”

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    Jahan Dotson is used to Smith’s toughness by now, two seasons into his Eagles tenure. In theory, Dotson is one of the players responsible for assuming Smith’s or A.J. Brown’s spot on the field if either star receiver gets banged up or needs a moment to recuperate on the sideline.

    It usually plays out the same way every time, according to Dotson. After the hit over the middle against the Vikings, Smith came to the sideline, hands on his hips, trying to catch his breath. He insisted to wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead that he could go back into the game, refusing to miss a play.

    “He’s not the biggest guy,” Dotson said. “He takes the biggest hits. And he pops back up like he’s the biggest guy.”

    Smith was one of the biggest reasons the Eagles snapped their two-game losing streak, too, leading the team with a career-high 183 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions in that game. His 79-yard touchdown catch came on a play he had advocated for at halftime, eager to exploit the Vikings’ decision to bring a safety into the box when the Eagles were under center in their jumbo package.

    Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith celebrates his third-quarter touchdown against Minnesota on Oct. 19.

    “It was a great feeling seeing that little thing run down there to the end zone, man,” said left tackle Jordan Mailata. “It was beautiful.”

    Everyone is a little thing compared to Mailata, who is 6-foot-8 and 365 pounds. Still, Smith’s big plays are putting him on pace for a career-best 1,224 receiving yards. With big plays often come big hits from bigger defenders, especially at Smith’s second-percentile weight among draft-eligible wide receivers in 2021, when he was picked 10th overall.

    How does Smith bounce back up, regardless of his smaller stature? He claims he knows no other way to operate.

    “If I can walk, I’ll be all right,” Smith said.

    He “hopped right up”

    Much to the chagrin of Smith-Sylve, Smith began playing little league football and basketball when he was 5 years old in his hometown of Amite City, La. She was particularly scared for her undersized son in his football pursuits. But all of his friends in their small town, with a population just over 4,000, were participating, and he wanted to play with them.

    “I couldn’t crush his spirit,” Smith-Sylve said.

    So she acquiesced. He quelled her fears, though, because even though “Tay” often was the smallest player on the field, he typically was the toughest.

    He continued to cultivate his toughness at Butler Town Park, which is across the street from their home. Smith would hang around his older, bigger cousins and their friends, trying to join their basketball and football games. They allowed it, but they didn’t go easy on him. They roughed him up, Smith-Sylve said. As a result, Smith became well-acquainted with the surface of the basketball court.

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    “Plenty of times, I’d done hit that concrete,” Smith said.

    Those scrapes and bruises formed calluses on Smith’s mental toughness. He applied that mindset to the football field at Amite High Magnet School as a freshman on the football team, where coach Alden Foster already knew plenty about Smith.

    After all, Amite is a tiny town, and the football community is even tinier. Smith-Sylve is Foster’s cousin. His brother coached Smith in little league football. Foster’s nephew, Elijah Walker, was Smith’s teammate from little league through high school. Another cousin of Smith-Sylve’s, Dwayne Davis, was Foster’s defensive coordinator at Amite.

    Football games practically were family reunions. So Foster had plenty of intel on his small-but-mighty receiver. He quickly found out that he still was learning how to read defensive coverages, too.

    During Smith’s freshman year, Amite scrimmaged against Edna Karr, a perennial football powerhouse in New Orleans. Smith was running a route over the middle and didn’t remember to settle in the zone. A 6-foot-4, 250-pound defensive end — who went on to play for LSU, Foster said — dropped into coverage in the area.

    Eagles wide receiver Devonta Smith was 122 pounds as a freshman for the Amite High Magnet School football team.

    “[Smith] ran across, and the quarterback threw it,” Foster said. “Oh, man. He knocked him out. That little sucker was 122 pounds then and hopped right up.”

    Smith put the hit behind him. Later in the scrimmage, when the teams were working on goal-line situations, “that little freshman scored a touchdown against them people,” Foster said. The next year, Amite and Edna Karr played each other. Smith, then a sophomore, used that hit as ammo, fueling him to a three-touchdown performance, according to Foster.

    “He said, ‘Coach, I got to get my revenge,’” Foster said.

    “You’re not a quitter”

    Despite his toughness, one hard fall in his sophomore year almost took Smith out of football for good.

    On Thursdays, Foster sought to conclude their walk-throughs on a good play. The quarterback targeted Smith to end the practice, but he overthrew his receiver slightly.

    Smith, ever the competitor, dove for the ball. He came down hard on the field. This time, he didn’t pop up.

    “I said, ‘Oh, lord,’” Foster said. “My heart dropped.”

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    Foster took Smith to the hospital, where Smith-Sylve met them. They learned that Smith broke his clavicle, which ended his season.

    “The first thing he said: ‘That’s it for football. I quit. I’m not playing. I quit,’” Foster said.

    Smith was a multisport athlete at the time, competing in track and field and basketball. Smith’s father, Kelvin Dickerson, was adamant that his son had a future in basketball. The injury nearly led to Smith dedicating himself to basketball, which both of his parents played.

    Foster wasn’t having it. Smith had too much upside to waste as a football player. Smith was a good basketball player, Foster said, but he was different in football. Dickerson eventually came around to Foster’s pleas and had a conversation with Smith.

    “‘You wanted to play football,’” Smith-Sylve said of Dickerson’s message to their son. “‘That’s what happens. That’s a part of the game. You tough. You’ll be all right. You know what you’ve got to do next time.’ I think both of them, just talking to him and letting him know, ‘You’re not a quitter. That’s one hit of many. So let’s just go.’”

    That injury changed the way Smith approached the game, according to his family. He became more serious about hitting the weight room. Moorehead, the Eagles’ wide receivers coach, got to witness that work ethic in person when he traveled to Amite on a recruiting trip while serving in the same role for Texas A&M.

    Nick Saban took a chance on an undersized DeVonta Smith, and he finished his Alabama career with two national championships and a Heisman Trophy.

    The small weight room tucked beneath the football stadium looked like it hadn’t been updated in 25 to 30 years at the time, Moorehead said. Rust tarnished the weights. The air inside mimicked the sticky Louisiana heat outside, causing the 145-pound Smith and his teammates to drip with sweat. But Moorehead never heard a complaint.

    “That was just what they knew,” Moorehead said. “They didn’t know anything else. Didn’t care. Just trying to get better.”

    Smith grew stronger, but he didn’t bulk up with ease. Zephaniah Powell, Amite’s football coach beginning in Smith’s junior year, said his build was genetic. Powell claimed Smith looks just like his father, with a “thin build, not that big of a frame. But long arms, long legs, kind of put together like an antelope.”

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    His lack of size had nothing to do with his appetite. Foster would host seafood boils complete with crawfish and turkey necks in the yard. He said Smith loved to come by and eat with his cousins. But it didn’t seem to matter that Smith enjoyed seafood boils with his family or ate tablespoons of peanut butter to cram in extra calories, Foster explained.

    “His DNA wouldn’t let him gain a whole lot of weight,” Foster said. “But you can’t measure his heart.”

    Proving people wrong

    Moorehead once questioned how Smith would fare in the SEC. He wasn’t the only one.

    Some coaches at college football recruiting camps looked at the undersized receiver skeptically, Foster said. But he liked taking kids to Alabama’s camps because Nick Saban didn’t care how big they were. If they could play, Saban would give them a chance.

    One Heisman Trophy and two national championship titles later, the chance Saban took on Smith paid dividends.

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    “All he’s done is prove people wrong,” Moorehead said.

    That includes Jalen Hurts, his quarterback at Alabama for two seasons.

    “I remember times asking, ‘Hey, man, how much [do] you weigh?’” Hurts said. “And I stopped asking him that as the years have gone on, because that’s no indication of what type of player he is. He’s a hell of a player, and he’s been making some big-time plays.”

    The grittiness Smith once exhibited as a kid at Butler Town Park is still evident in his game in the NFL. In fact, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni could rattle off the specific plays over the past five seasons in which Smith exemplified the toughness that Sirianni so often preaches to the team.

    There was the third-down play Smith made in Super Bowl LVII on a shallow crossing route, when Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid sent him flying out of bounds.

    Nick Sirianni recalled a DeVonta Smith screen gain of 21 yards against the 49ers in 2023 as a display of the receiver’s toughness.

    There was the 2022 win over the Arizona Cardinals, in which Smith caught a screen pass from Hurts then immediately took a hard hit from Murphy, a member of the Cardinals at the time.

    There was the third-and-19 play against the San Francisco 49ers in 2023 when Smith caught a screen pass and broke three tackles before picking up 21 yards after the catch.

    In true Smith fashion, he just kept going.

    “We didn’t win that game, but it brought life to everybody,” Sirianni said. “I think that that’s what a big play can do, that’s what a great assist from a teammate can do, and that’s what great toughness shown on tape can do, because those are the things we talk about all the time that can just bring that energy to a football team.”

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    Perhaps no play in Smith’s NFL career can amount to the energy generated by his 46-yard touchdown in Super Bowl LIX, which has since been referred to as “The Dagger.” But Moorehead had been hesitant about the Eagles calling that play. Smith had been nursing a hamstring injury that week, and he was worried about the health of his receiver.

    Moorehead said he asked Smith four times before that play if he was sure he wanted to run it, deep route and all. Smith, playing in front of his loved ones at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, had no hesitation.

    “He finally looked at me and he said, ‘If you don’t get the F out of my face, I’m running this route,’” Moorehead said.

    Smith wasn’t finished.

    “‘They’re going to have to drag me off this field [in] the Super Bowl,’” Moorehead recalled Smith saying. “And he meant it. He was home. He wanted to win in that stadium. He wanted to play in front of his family and friends and score a touchdown in the Super Bowl and play well. And he did.”

    Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith touchdown catch in the third quarter of Super Bowl LIX is now known as “The Dagger.”

    NFL rules have evolved to better protect receivers. John Lynch and Ronnie Lott aren’t patrolling the middle of the field anymore. But receivers still get hit hard on occasion, a fate Smith seems to have accepted, according to Moorehead.

    The receivers coach surmised that those hits energize Smith, too. Smith-Sylve has a different feeling, but she wards off those pins and needles when she remembers the 5-year-old who pleaded with her to let him play little league football.

    “I know that’s what he loves to do,” Smith-Sylve said. “He has a love for the game. He’s small in stature. But he plays big, and he’s going to give it 100%.

    “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

  • Eagles vs. Giants predictions: Our writers pick a winner for Week 8

    Eagles vs. Giants predictions: Our writers pick a winner for Week 8

    The Eagles and Giants should be pretty familiar with each other, having just played two weeks ago at MetLife Stadium.

    It’s likely that game film is not something the Eagles want to see ever again. They got beat up in a 34-17 defeat, and that stinging loss to a team that entered with one win led to a self-evaluation during the mini-bye.

    The Eagles looked like they learned some things during their Week 7 victory at Minnesota. How will their rematch with the Giants go? Here’s how our writers see it:

    Giants rookie running back Cam Skattebo gashed the Eagles for 98 yards rushing and three touchdowns in Week 6.

    Jeff Neiburg

    The lasting image from Week 6 was the sequence where Cam Skattebo lowered his shoulder and plowed over Zack Baun and then scored on the next play. While Jaxson Dart waited for an official to make a signal, he offered a playful high-five. A few moments later, after the touchdown was confirmed, Skattebo did a backflip.

    The Eagles were tormented by two rookies at MetLife Stadium two games ago. How much will those memories impact Sunday? Maybe a little, or maybe not at all.

    What we know is that the Giants have been a much different offense since they handed the reins to Dart and Skattebo. The Eagles struggle with scrambling quarterbacks, and few this season have had as much success as Dart has when he’s on the move. The Eagles are struggling to make tackles, and only Christian McCaffrey has caused more missed tackles since Week 3 than Skattebo.

    Eagles vs. Giants: These numbers explain the Week 8 matchup

    Contain those players, which is easier said than done, and you’ll likely win the game.

    The Broncos and Eagles tried to blitz Dart over the last two weeks, but he was a blitz-beater. What the Eagles could learn from the Denver tape is how often Dart was held under wraps when the Broncos sent four or fewer rushers.

    They’d be wise to make the rookie win with his arm and not let him move the pocket and get things going with his feet. They have the athletes to spy on him and move around.

    On the other side of the ball, there were plenty of moments from Week 6, especially in the first half, that showed the Eagles could move the ball at will against a defense that gives up the fourth-most yards per game (376). The Eagles showed some new looks Sunday in Minneapolis, and we’ll see if the offense continues to look more dynamic moving forward.

    There are reasons to worry about the Eagles’ front line given the injury to Cam Jurgens, and A.J. Brown missed his second consecutive practice Thursday. Brown is expected to play, and the Eagles have enough talent to move to 6-2 before their bye.

    Prediction: Eagles 30, Giants 18

    Jalen Hurts and the Eagles will try to go into the bye on a two-game win streak.

    Olivia Reiner

    Who would’ve thought that the second meeting between the Eagles and the Giants would be so highly anticipated?

    Certainly not me when the schedule came out back in May, when I predicted that the Eagles would easily roll their NFC East foes twice within a span of just more than two weeks. That wasn’t the case. The Giants upset the Eagles on Thursday night in Week 6, extending Philadelphia’s losing streak at the time to two games.

    It seems unlikely that the Eagles will lose to the Giants twice. While their offensive issues are by no means fixed after one game, the Eagles showed some encouraging signs of evolution against the Vikings with their uptick in under-center runs and the play-action passes that were set up off them.

    Eagles Week 8 film preview: Key for big day for Jalen Hurts, stopping Giants rookie duo, and more

    The Eagles will also be healthier in the rematch than they were two weeks ago. Jalen Carter and Landon Dickerson are back. Nakobe Dean took his first defensive snaps last week, which should help keep Dart and Skattebo from running all over them.

    But the offensive line will likely be down Jurgens as he deals with a knee injury. Still, the Eagles are the team with the better talent and better coaches.

    Start spreading the news: The Eagles will go into the bye week on a two-game win streak.

    Prediction: Eagles 31, Giants 24

    Matt Breen

    Jalen Hurts was excellent last week, but it’s hard to feel good about the Eagles when they continue to have trouble running the football. Saquon Barkley said he’ll take the blame for the Birds’ run troubles, but he’s getting hardly any room to run.

    Barkley’s average of 1.8 yards before contact ranks 31st in the NFL and 2 yards less than last season’s mark of 3.8 Yes, Barkley was electric in 2024, but he was also powered by an offensive line regarded as the NFL’s top unit. That’s not the case in 2025.

    The line has been banged up but needs to tighten up if the Eagles are going to move the way they did in the second half of last season. Maybe that starts Sunday at home against a defense that allows the fourth-highest rushing yards per attempt.

    The Giants limited Barkley two weeks ago to 58 rushing yards, but it’s hard to see them doing it again. The Eagles finally figured out their passing attack last week. This week is a chance to get their running-game right. A big-game for Barkley would be the perfect way to enter the bye week.

    Prediction: Eagles 31, Giants 21

  • Eagles’ A.J. Brown, Cam Jurgens and Adoree’ Jackson out of practice

    Eagles’ A.J. Brown, Cam Jurgens and Adoree’ Jackson out of practice

    The Eagles were down a few prominent starters at practice on Wednesday, including Cam Jurgens (knee), A.J. Brown, and Adoree’ Jackson (concussion), as the week of preparation began for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.

    Jurgens, the 6-foot-3, 303-pound center, exited the game against the Minnesota Vikings with a right knee injury after the Eagles’ second possession. He appeared to sustain the injury on the first play of the game. Still, Jurgens finished the rest of the drive and returned for the next one with a brace on his knee.

    Brett Toth took over for Jurgens at center for the rest of the game, starting with the Eagles’ third possession. Toth said after the game that Jurgens would require an MRI for his knee. Coach Nick Sirianni declined to reveal the extent of Jurgens’ injury or his anticipated status for Sunday’s game.

    What to expect from Brandon Graham? Here’s how other NFL players who unretired fared.

    “We’ll see how it goes,” Sirianni said Wednesday. “He’s always going to do everything he can do and our trainers, our doctors and our strength staff will do everything they can do to get him back going as soon as possible. We’ll see where we are. You’ll get the injury report later [Wednesday], but we’ll see where we are as the week continues and where Cam is.”

    If Jurgens can’t play, the Eagles have a variety of options to consider to replace him. They could start Toth at center, leaving the rest of the offensive line intact.

    Landon Dickerson could also slide over from left guard to center, a move the Eagles made when Jurgens was out for the start of the NFC championship game last year against the Washington Commanders with a back ailment. The Eagles would have a few options to consider at left guard in Dickerson’s place, including Toth or Matt Pryor.

    The Eagles drafted Jurgens’ apparent backup at center in Drew Kendall this year, but the fifth-rounder out of Boston College has only been active for one game and has yet to take an offensive snap in the regular season.

    “You’re constantly trying to think of what the best thing is for the football team,” Sirianni said of the Eagles’ backup options at center. “So you have options because of the guys that we have there, with Landon, with everybody, you have options there. You want to keep continuity as much as you possibly can, but you also want to give yourself the best opportunity to win.

    “So, all those things are weighed, how practice looks is weighed, how practice goes, and walk-throughs for that matter. But we got a lot of confidence in the guys that if Cam can’t go, we have a lot of confidence in the guys that would be filling that spot.”

    What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 8 vs. the Giants

    Meanwhile, Brown stood on the sideline in a sweatshirt alongside Dom DiSandro during the brief portion of practice open to the media on Wednesday. The reason for Brown being sidelined will become public when the Eagles release their first injury report of the week on Wednesday afternoon.

    The star receiver played 46 offensive snaps (92%) against the Vikings and was on the field until the final passing play of the game, his 45-yard dagger on third and 9 with one minute, 45 seconds remaining.

    Jeremiah Trotter Jr., who dropped out of the Vikings game with an ankle injury, was also sidelined.

    Additionally, Jackson and Azeez Ojulari (hamstring) were not present for practice. Both players exited during the Vikings game.

    On Tuesday, Vic Fangio expressed doubt about Ojulari’s availability for Sunday’s game against the Giants. He also noted that Kelee Ringo may get more opportunities to play at the starting outside cornerback spot opposite Quinyon Mitchell, putting Jackson’s status in question, too.

    Fangio may have another option to consider at cornerback in Jakorian Bennett, as the Eagles opened his 21-day practice window on Wednesday. He was present and participating as he works his way back from a pectoral injury that placed him on injured reserve following the Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

    Grant Calcaterra (oblique) was practicing in some capacity on Wednesday for the first time in two weeks. The 26-year-old tight end exited the Week 5 game against the Denver Broncos and missed the two games that followed.

    Brandon Graham, who ended his retirement and signed with the Eagles on Tuesday, was present for his first practice of the season on Wednesday.

  • Could unretired Brandon Graham play as soon as Sunday against the Giants?

    Could unretired Brandon Graham play as soon as Sunday against the Giants?

    The Eagles edge rusher corps is even more banged up following the win over the Minnesota Vikings than it was before the game, when rumors began to swirl about the end of Brandon Graham’s retirement.

    Azeez Ojulari exited Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury, making him the third edge rusher to be sidelined with an ailment through seven contests this season. Nolan Smith and Ogbo Okoronkwo are out with triceps injuries. Smith is expected to return in November following the Eagles’ Week 9 bye, and Okoronkwo is done for the year.

    Brandon Graham says he didn’t want to retire — and this isn’t the first time the Eagles tried to bring him back

    Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said Tuesday he doesn’t think Ojulari will be available to play Sunday against the New York Giants, the team that drafted him 50th overall out of Georgia in 2021.

    So could Graham suit up on Sunday, given that the Eagles have just three healthy, full-time edge rushers — Jalyx Hunt, Joshua Uche, and Patrick Johnson — on the active roster?

    The 37-year-old defensive end announced that he was coming out of retirement to rejoin the Eagles on Tuesday morning on his podcast, Brandon Graham Unblocked. Graham estimated that he would return to action after the bye week for the Eagles’ Monday night game against the Green Bay Packers.

    That timetable would give him three weeks, including the bye, to get up to speed. But Fangio left Graham’s potential return date open-ended.

    “We’ll see what kind of shape he’s in, what kind of retention he has from last year,” Fangio said. “Shape comes in two forms: one, just your conditioning, but in football shape, too. Contact shape. So hopefully the sooner the better.”

    Fangio said he had been “teasing [Graham] not to retire” since the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX victory in February. That ribbing continued into this season whenever Graham would visit the NovaCare Complex in an effort, Fangio said, to “try and light the fire.”

    Now, following the surprise retirement of Za’Darius Smith last week, Graham is back under Fangio’s tutelage. The Eagles defensive coordinator said Graham’s experience in his defense last season gives him some reassurance that the 15-year veteran will have retained that knowledge.

    Fangio wouldn’t put a number on Graham’s estimated snap count upon his return based on experience with other veteran edge rushers.

    “I don’t know,” Fangio said. “Now, he’s coming out of retirement and he’s older, but when I was in Chicago, we traded for Khalil Mack, who had missed the entire training camp, and the fatigue police said, ‘Hey, he can only play about 20-22 snaps in this game’ because we got him the week of the first game. I said, ‘OK.’ He played about 45. So I don’t know.”

    Dean’s return

    Sunday marked Nakobe Dean’s first defensive snaps in 280 days, dating back to the wild-card matchup against the Packers in which he suffered a patellar tendon injury in his knee.

    Dean had a busy afternoon. He played 31 defensive snaps (45%) at inside linebacker alongside Zack Baun.

    Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean played his first 31 defensive snaps on Sunday.

    Entering the game, Fangio said he had planned for Dean to solely take snaps at inside linebacker when the Eagles were in base defense. In nickel, Jihaad Campbell would replace him. However, Fangio adjusted that plan in-game, keeping Dean at inside linebacker in nickel for select plays and moving Campbell to the edge, a role the rookie had filled in select packages throughout the season.

    “I think he got about 30 plays, which I think was a good number, and the way they came was good, too,” Fangio said of Dean. “It wasn’t like he had 10 in a row, I don’t think. And I thought he did well. And I think we did the right thing in not playing him the week before, even though we technically could have.”

    Can the return of Brandon Graham fill the leadership void on the Eagles defense?

    Fangio said Dean did not play defensively the previous week against the Giants because he didn’t have enough practice time.

    “It would’ve been negligent on our part to put him out there without practice,” Fangio said.

    Campbell, the Eagles’ top pick out of Alabama, ended up playing 60 snaps (87%) on Sunday. That broke down to 32 at inside linebacker and 28 on the edge, according to Pro Football Focus. He generated just one quarterback pressure from the edge alignment, according to Next Gen Stats, on five pass rushes.

    “It’s new out there, particularly the packages he was going up there earlier were different than this week, this past game,” Fangio said of Campbell. “So there’s a lot to learn. There’s a lot to get comfortable with. The more he’s up there, the better he’ll get at it.”

    Cornerback carousel

    The Eagles saw continued movement at their second outside cornerback spot opposite Quinyon Mitchell when Adoree’ Jackson (concussion) left the Vikings game in the third quarter.

    Kelee Ringo took Jackson’s place, but he didn’t fare as well. Before exiting the game, Jackson had allowed just one reception for 11 yards, according to PFF. Ringo conceded three for 47 yards, including a 25-yarder to wide receiver Jordan Addison in the fourth quarter on a drive that sputtered in the red zone.

    Still, Fangio said Ringo did “fine” when he was called to action.

    “Some of the completions he’s given up, not all of them, but some of them have come on tough routes,” Fangio said. “So still think he can eventually be better than he’s been. His opportunities will keep coming, probably, and hopefully he’ll turn the corner.”

    Eagles cornerback Jakorian Bennett’s 21-day practice window can be opened this week.

    Another opportunity for Ringo to play could come against the Giants if Jackson isn’t cleared to return by then. But he might not be the only candidate for the job. Corner Jakorian Bennett, who has been on injured reserve with a pectoral ailment since late September, is eligible to have his 21-day practice window opened this week.

    The 5-foot-10, 200-pound Bennett was acquired from the Las Vegas Raiders during training camp in exchange for defensive tackle Thomas Booker. He saw limited action through three regular-season games, playing just 24 defensive snaps in spot duty.

    Fangio said his assessment of Bennett preinjury was “incomplete” because he didn’t play enough. He also hesitated to define his precise role upon his eventual return to the active roster.

    “He hasn’t practiced,” Fangio said. “You can’t practice when you’re on IR. So once we open up his window and get him on the practice field, see where he’s at, I can answer that better. But, obviously, he’s a guy we’ll take a hard look at.”

  • Brandon Graham says he didn’t want to retire — and this isn’t the first time the Eagles tried to bring him back

    Brandon Graham says he didn’t want to retire — and this isn’t the first time the Eagles tried to bring him back

    The Brandon Graham farewell tour of 2024 is getting a reboot.

    The 37-year-old defensive end officially announced his return to the Eagles on Tuesday morning on his podcast, Brandon Graham Unblocked, saying, “We’re coming back, baby. We’re coming back one time.”

    Additionally, the Eagles made the move official, announcing that they agreed to terms with Graham. He has a two-game exemption to ramp up that the team can lift at any time, so he doesn’t count against the active roster just yet.

    Graham initially retired in March following the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX win. He had been playing at a high level early in the year but suffered a torn triceps twice last season, once in Week 12 against the Los Angeles Rams and again in the Super Bowl, his first game back from the injury. Lifting the Lombardi Trophy for a second time seemed to serve as a natural ending to his Eagles tenure.

    Brandon Graham set to come out of retirement to rejoin the Eagles

    But it wasn’t his perfect storybook ending. Graham acknowledged on the podcast that he “would’ve been back, for sure” had Howie Roseman asked him to return for a 16th season.

    “I really didn’t want to retire in the beginning,” Graham said. “It was kind of tough. But it was like, ‘Hey, Philly right now, they’ve got everything they need.’ So it’s like, ‘All right, I ain’t see myself on no other team.’ So it was kind of like, ‘I think this the best way to do it is go out on top.’”

    Graham continued to stay in shape, though, and visited the NovaCare Complex. At the start of the season, Graham said Roseman contacted his agent in need of a veteran, inquiring if he would be interested in returning to the team. Graham said he wasn’t ready then.

    Brandon Graham announced his retirement from the Eagles on March 18.

    Roseman then signed Za’Darius Smith, a 33-year-old pass rusher, following the Eagles’ Week 1 win over the Dallas Cowboys to bolster the edge rusher corps. While Smith made an immediate impact, registering 1½ sacks through five games, he retired last week after 11 seasons in the NFL.

    But in the aftermath of that call with Roseman, Graham continued to think about how he would respond if he was approached with another opportunity. Graham took Smith’s surprise retirement as a sign. This time around, Graham was ready for his opportunity to return.

    Graham said he still feels like he has some “juice left” to give on the field, acknowledging that he feels “springy and bouncy.” He said that he’s eyeing the Eagles’ Week 10 matchup against the Green Bay Packers as a potential first game back, but he didn’t rule out Sunday’s game vs. the New York Giants.

    What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 8 vs. the Giants

    Regardless, he’s open-minded about the role that awaits him.

    “I don’t have no expectations with it,” Graham said. “It’s just more like I’m going to just bring myself and bring the energy. Go out there, first play, ‘Oh, you thought I was done? You thought you wasn’t going to have to deal with me?’ Get to all that little fun stuff, man, because, obviously, we play a game that I enjoy playing. Of course, it was hard, because, just being honest, man, all of us, I don’t care how many years you play. It’s just something that you’re just used to all the time, and you’re trying to get used to that next-best thing.

    “Of course, I was doing a lot of stuff, but when that ball came and the Eagles was on, I was locked in. I know I’m going to get better with it as it goes, but, man, while I can still do it and the opportunity feels like it’s right, I feel like that’s exactly what I want to do. And that’s what I wanted to do in the beginning. But I know that it was Year 15, it’s just a great way to go out. But, hey, I don’t want to have no regrets, either.”

    Brandon Graham’s best Eagles moments, on and off the field, from the strip-sack to his great unblocking party

    Graham said he was “flattered and thankful” that the opportunity from the Eagles came back around. He added that he “might cry” coming out of the tunnel on Sunday.

    Not only is he looking forward to chirping at his opponents, but he’s also excited to bring his signature energy to his teammates for his first practice on Wednesday.

    “I can’t wait to go out there and be like, ‘Lane [Johnson], what’s good?’” Graham said.

  • What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 8 vs. the Giants

    What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 8 vs. the Giants

    Are good vibes officially restored in Philadelphia?

    The Eagles snapped their two-game losing streak with a 28-22 win over the Carson Wentz-led Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, largely thanks to Jalen Hurts and his perfect passer rating.

    Plus, sources say that Chief Vibes Officer Brandon Graham is on his way back to the Eagles, too, to bolster an edge rusher corps that is navigating the surprise retirement of Za’Darius Smith last week.

    But to enter the bye week on a high note, the Eagles must face the New York Giants, their division rivals who handed them a blowout loss two weeks ago. The Giants will try to bounce back after a fourth-quarter collapse against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, leading to a 33-32 loss.

    Eagles still can’t run the ball, but Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith, and A.J. Brown made sure it didn’t matter

    Here’s what we know (and what we don’t) about the Eagles entering their Week 8 matchup against the Giants:

    Lights, camera, play-action

    The Eagles came out of the mini-bye week wanting to establish the running game. That didn’t work. Brian Flores’ defense limited Saquon Barkley to just 44 yards on 18 carries, good for a 2.4 yards per attempt (his second-lowest clip this season).

    Still, the Eagles utilized the threat of the running game successfully against the Vikings, which is a step in the right direction. The offense incorporated play-action passes from under center on Sunday more frequently than in the previous six weeks of the season.

    In Weeks 1-6, the Eagles had five under-center play-action drop backs, according to Next Gen Stats. One of them resulted in a scramble. Another went for 1 yard. The others resulted in incompletions or penalties.

    Sunday was different. Hurts had four play-action dropbacks from under center, which resulted in four completions for 121 yards and a touchdown. Why was it so effective? For one, the Eagles had established a tendency of running the ball when Hurts is lined up under center before the snap. Entering Sunday’s game, 42 of the Eagles’ 48 plays from under center were carries (87.5%).

    By establishing that tendency (and continuing to do so with 15 under-center runs on Sunday), the Vikings aligned a safety in the box in anticipation of the run, especially when the Eagles utilized Fred Johnson as an extra offensive lineman. The Eagles made them pay by occasionally breaking that tendency, especially on the 79-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith, which occurred when the offense was in that jumbo package.

    “We had an answer for it,” Barkley said of Smith’s touchdown play. “We called it at the right time. That’s the beauty of this game. They can do whatever they want, but we should always have answers. I think that’s the mentality we’ve got to continue to get back to.”

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    Could we see more play-action passes from under center? And could the Eagles’ success in doing so on Sunday thwart defenses from loading up the box when Hurts lines up under center? That would benefit Barkley, who is averaging just 3.3 yards per carry this season, far behind the league’s average of 4.3.

    Nick Sirianni noted Monday that the uptick in under-center plays was a byproduct of the self-scout from the mini-bye week. He emphasized the importance of meshing the running and play-action passing games seamlessly, as it challenges the defense to convert from run to pass on the fly.

    “We will see how things move forward as far as the ways we want to attack,” Sirianni said. “Every game calls for different things. This is what this game called for, and these are some of the things that came off our self-scout. We’ll continue to work and find ways to get better.”

    Feel the Burns

    Barkley hasn’t been getting a consistent boost in the running game from the Eagles’ offensive line this year. The group has been reeling from injuries. Cam Jurgens suffered the latest, exiting Sunday’s game after the second drive with a knee injury.

    With Jurgens’ status in question for the rematch against the Giants, the Eagles could turn to a backup at center, which could present all sorts of challenges against a formidable defensive front.

    Giants edge rusher Brian Burns had four sacks over the last two games, including dropping Jalen Hurts twice on Oct. 9.

    The Giants exploited the Eagles’ weaknesses on the offensive line in their last matchup. Brett Toth started at left guard in place of the injured Landon Dickerson (ankle). Brian Burns notched two sacks against the left side of the offensive line, once on a stunt and another from 3 yards off the line of scrimmage.

    Burns has four sacks in his last two games, after adding two more in their loss to the Broncos. The good news for the Eagles is that Dickerson started and finished Sunday’s game against the Vikings. His presence against the Giants would help stabilize the left side of the line and minimize Burns’ impact when he lines up on that side.

    But if Jurgens can’t play, the Eagles could turn to Toth at center. He would be tasked with keeping Dexter Lawrence, the three-time Pro Bowler, at bay.

    Jalyx Hunt’s pick-six and timely sacks help Eagles defense deliver in win over Vikings

    Lawrence hasn’t been as disruptive as a pass rusher as he was last season and hasn’t posted a sack this year. Still, Lawrence is an important part of the Giants’ defensive front, ranking fourth on the team with 15 “stops,” which Next Gen Stats defines as tackles that result in a successful play for the defense.

    Scramblin’ man

    The last time the Eagles faced the Giants, rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart got his legs going. He scrambled five times for 42 yards and a touchdown, which helped him reach career highs of 58 rushing yards and 13 attempts.

    Vic Fangio’s defense has struggled at times to prevent quarterbacks from breaking loose. Unsurprisingly, Patrick Mahomes did the most damage against the Eagles this year (seven scrambles for 66 yards), but even Wentz, 32, had a couple of long third-down scrambles totaling 28 yards late Sunday as the Vikings attempted a comeback.

    Improved tackling would be a good place for the Eagles to start. Dart forced three missed tackles against the Eagles, according to Pro Football Focus. That was a new achievement for Dart, who didn’t force a missed tackle in any of his three other starts this season.

    New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart finished with 42 yards on five scrambles against the Eagles on Oct. 9.

    The rookie quarterback did not scramble against the Broncos, although he made passing plays on the move. According to Next Gen Stats, Dart completed four of six passes for 101 yards and a touchdown when running over 8 mph. Keeping Dart contained will take a group effort from the Eagles, in terms of the pass rush and coverage.

    Carter’s return

    Speaking of keeping Dart contained, Jalen Carter returned to action Sunday after missing the Week 6 game against the Giants with a heel injury.

    Wentz certainly felt his presence. In the second quarter, a simulated pressure left Carter one-on-one with Blake Brandel, the third-string center. Carter breezed past Brandel and launched himself toward Wentz, forcing the quarterback to make an ill-advised throw over the middle to Jalyx Hunt, who snagged the ball and returned it for a pick-six.

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    Even though Carter has been banged up this season, between heel and shoulder injuries, the Eagles could have used his talent and physicality against the Giants. In his absence, the group finished with a 26.5% pressure rate against New York two weeks ago, its lowest of the season, according to Next Gen Stats.

    Carter attempted to make up for lost time on Sunday. He led the team with six pressures against the Vikings, according to Next Gen Stats. His fourth-quarter stunt with Jordan Davis provided the initial pressure on Wentz that helped Joshua Uche register his first sack with the Eagles.

  • Eagles center Cam Jurgens suffers right knee injury, status uncertain for Giants game

    Eagles center Cam Jurgens suffers right knee injury, status uncertain for Giants game

    MINNEAPOLIS — Eagles center Cam Jurgens exited Sunday’s 28-22 win over the Minnesota Vikings in the first quarter with a right knee injury, bringing his status for next Sunday’s rematch against the New York Giants into question.

    Jurgens, who is in his second season as the starting center, appeared to sustain the injury on the first play of the game. Vikings defensive lineman Jonathan Allen fell on the back of Jurgens’ right leg on a Saquon Barkley run play. Jurgens immediately grabbed his knee.

    But Jurgens stayed in for the rest of the scoring drive, which lasted 8 minutes, 1 second and included a Tush Push conversion on a fourth down. Jurgens returned for the Eagles’ second possession with a brace on his right knee. For the third drive, though, Brett Toth entered at center.

    Grading the Eagles’ win over the Vikings

    After the game, Toth said Jurgens is going to undergo an MRI to determine the extent of his injury.

    “Obviously, he’s a fighter,” Toth said. “Tried going back out there, fighting with a brace on as well. And then just couldn’t keep fighting. It’s unfortunate. Things happen.”

    With Landon Dickerson playing his first game in two weeks following an ankle injury, Toth had almost exclusively taken snaps at left guard in practice in the week before the Vikings game. He said he only took three reps at center in a walk-through.

    Toth was critical of his play after the game. He acknowledged that he gave up a couple of tackles for loss in the run game and had close calls in pass protection, too. Toth also said Dickerson “saved my a—” at times throughout the afternoon.

    “I’m very thankful for having Landon next to me as well,” Toth said. “He’s definitely the smartest guy in the room. Can help me as well because I had a lot of bad plays and a lot of mispointed plays that I need to work on. I think the biggest thing is as a unit, we stick together, find a way, get through it. I’m thankful for the guys that were around me.”

    Jalen Hurts has never been better in saving the Eagles against the Vikings | Mike Sielski

    The Eagles offensive line has been hit throughout the season by injuries. Dickerson has been hobbled by meniscus and back injuries in addition to the ankle issue that forced him to drop out of the loss to the Denver Broncos two weeks ago and sidelined him last week. Lane Johnson left the Week 3 game against the Los Angeles Rams with a stinger and the Week 4 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a shoulder injury.

    Jurgens underwent back surgery in the offseason, an issue he acknowledged following the Broncos loss was “getting a little better” with every game. Still, Toth didn’t make excuses for the offensive line.

    “It’s football,” Toth said. ”You look around the league as well, everyone handles injuries. You harp on the cohesion of the unit as a whole. Again, I can only speak for my part into how that reflected on a unit as a whole. I wasn’t good enough today and just got to keep getting better.”

    Highlights from the Eagles-Vikings broadcast