The Eagles’ Jordan Davis had a different role Tuesday night at the Salvation Army Camden Kroc Center. The 6-foot-6, 336-pound defensive tackle lined up under center as the designated quarterback in a room with over 100 children, ready to play flag football.
Davis spent time with four teams, joining each huddle and running plays as he introduced football to several kids who had never played the sport before.
“This is the best flag football team in Camden, New Jersey. And I’m standing on that right now,” Davis said. “If I had so much time, I would actually coach y’all because y’all have so much potential.”
This was just one way the North Carolina native helped families in need Tuesday. The Jordan Davis Family Foundation provided a fully catered Thanksgiving meal to families who attended. And to end the night, all the families were handed Thanksgiving turkeys and AT&T laptops as they left the Kroc Center.
The Jordan Davis Family Foundation provided Thanksgiving meals for families at the Salvation Army Camden Kroc Center in Camden on Tuesday night.
Partnering with the Salvation Army is a full-circle moment for Davis. When he was a child, his family received assistance from the organization. Now, it’s his turn to give back.
“It was hard for my mom, just making sure that we had a meal every night, me and my brothers,” Davis said. “And even nights that she might have sacrificed the meal for herself, it was always meant for us to eat. And I think that’s just a wonderful story for me because it shows the type of woman that she is.
“She raised me to be that way. And it might not be a meal here, it could be a coat drive. It could be another drive. It could be a back-to-school event. It could be a kids camp. Anything matters. Everything matters. So, that’s just something that I keep in my heart, and I want to keep that going.”
Davis isn’t the only Eagles player giving back ahead of the holiday season. Last week, running back Saquon Barkley partnered with Ashley Furniture and the Salvation Army to give out mattresses and bedding to families in need.
Jordan Davis played flag football with the kids after eating providing a Thanksgiving meal through his foundation on Tuesday night.
“It takes a village to raise a child,” Davis said. “And that’s something that my team, we always say. It takes a village. … When you have an opportunity to give back, it doesn’t matter what time it is. As long as you have that time, you want to make sure that you’re providing that time.
“Time is the most important thing you can spend. And we could be doing anything else with this time right now, but we spend it giving back and we spend it doing the things that matter most to us.”
Jihaad Campbell paused briefly in the middle of answering a question last week inside the Eagles’ locker room at the NovaCare Complex. The linebacker was drinking his post-practice smoothie too quickly and needed to take a beat.
A few weeks ago, Campbell passed protein-packed gummies to a few reporters near his locker stall, playfully offering a snack in a trade for an interview request.
It is easy to forget sometimes that Campbell, who is playing pretty high-level football and is 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, is still so young. The Eagles might go win another Super Bowl, and Campbell could parade down Broad Street before his first year being able to legally buy alcohol in the U.S. is over.
That Campbell is a 21-year-old rookie is necessary context, considering the topic on the day of his smoothie-induced brain freeze. Since Nakobe Dean has returned to the defense after recovering from a patellar tendon injury, Campbell’s usage has declined.
On Sunday, Campbell played his lowest number of total snaps (20) and his lowest snap share (34%) of the season. The addition of Jaelan Phillips, too, has meant less need for Campbell, a hybrid inside-outside linebacker, to take snaps along the defensive line. He lined up there just three times Sunday and 17 times in the box as a linebacker, according to Pro Football Focus.
Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs slips past Jihaad Campbell of the Eagles on Sunday night.
Compare that to Week 6 — when Dean returned but only as a special-teamer — and the decline in playing time is pretty drastic. That week, in a Thursday night road loss to the New York Giants, Campbell played 45 snaps from the box, 13 along the line, and four at a corner spot. His 62 defensive reps represented 90% of the possible snaps.
Campbell has taken it all in stride. If Dean had been healthy at the beginning of the season, perhaps this current rotation, with Campbell being used part time, would have been what happened from the jump.
Vic Fangio’s defense is new to Campbell, and though he performed well against the run and in coverage during the early weeks, he knows he still has a lot of learning to do.
“It’s football,” Campbell said. “The opportunity is going to present itself whether I get less snaps or not. It doesn’t matter. What matters is us winning, us executing, us playing together, and, at the end of the day, it’s all about the opportunity.
“The biggest thing is just staying prepared, not getting down, and just staying prepared, understanding the game plan and what has to happen, so when it is my time to go in the game, I know exactly what I have to do, when I have to do it, with full confidence.”
The last two weeks, Campbell has been in for about an equal amount of running plays (25) as passing plays (28), and he was in for just one pass-rushing snap in each of the last two games.
Dean is looking like the player who broke out in a big way in 2024 next to Zack Baun, but Fangio said he wants to continue rotating Campbell in to make sure the rookie is “ready to roll” if he is needed more often. There is a learning curve in all of this, Fangio explained last week, particularly when Campbell is asked to play outside linebacker.
Linebackers Jihaad Campbell (30) and Zack Baun react after the Eagles stopped the Lions on fourth down in the second quarter Sunday.
“All camp and everything, he was strictly inside because we knew Nakobe was going to miss seven games or whatever it was,” Fangio said. “For a rookie, that’s tough.”
Fangio likened it to last season, when the Eagles “messed” with Quinyon Mitchell a little bit during camp. They had the cornerback working at nickel during the early portions of the offseason program and eventually let him settle in as a corner on the right side.
With Cooper DeJean, they started him as a backup nickel and starting dime cornerback because of the time he missed at the beginning of training camp. Once DeJean was settled in as the starting nickel, he took off.
“You don’t want to give a rookie too many extra jobs, but sometimes you’re forced to,” Fangio said.
Fangio said he does whatever is best for the team when asked how he balanced what he puts on Campbell’s plate in a given week. Winning a given game, Fangio said, is more important than taking into consideration Campbell’s long-term development.
The Eagles traded up a spot to draft Campbell 31st out of Alabama in fear of another team trading into the spot to grab him. They view him as a versatile defender who will be part of the defense for years to come. Dean, it’s worth mentioning, is in the final year of his contract, and it remains to be seen what will happen in the offseason.
Campbell, a South Jersey native, is so far loving life in the NFL and playing so close to home. Sometimes, he said, he forgets what week on the schedule it is.
“I’m just like practice, practice, practice, next game,” he said. “Practice, practice, practice, next game.”
Jihaad Campbell sees his rookie season as “a great opportunity to display my skills and display who I am.”
Campbell said his confidence keeps “growing and growing” every week, even as his workload during games has changed.
“A lot of people can view it as a lot,” Campbell said. “But for me it’s like a day-by-day process and understanding what I have to do to attack the day at a high level and execute the plays that I need to and do what I got drafted here for.
“I truly believe that the situations I’m being put in, it’s a great opportunity to display my skills and display who I am. Of course, there’s learning and growing and different stuff like that, but I think the biggest thing is just me being where my feet are, me getting better with practice and after practice, 500 shots, working on my pass rush, working to continue to be a better linebacker.
“Just being a complete overachiever, a guy that just loves to work and just loves being around this great group of guys here.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about getting a win.”
Another week, another lackluster performance from the Eagles offense.
While the Eagles defense came up with five fourth-down stops against the Detroit Lions — plus Cooper DeJean’s first-quarter interception — the offense didn’t have much to show for it. They scored nine points off those defensive stops (three field goals).
The Eagles went 1-of-3 in the red zone (33.3%, the offense’s second-worst rate of the season) and 4-of-15 on third down (26.7%, its fourth-worst rate). Kevin Patullo defended Jalen Hurts’ performance (14-of-28 for 135 passing yards) and asserted that the quarterback “played well” and took care of the football during “a difficult kind of game.”
When asked for his biggest frustration following the game against the Lions, the Eagles offensive coordinator pointed to a familiar issue for the group — negative plays, of which the offense had five (including a sack), and penalties, six of which came against the offense (not including a delay of game).
“I think like everything, when you look at the situations we have sometimes, when we’re on track, we do a pretty good job,” Patullo said. “And if we get off track a little bit, whether it’s a negative play or a penalty, that puts us kind of in a hole. We’ve had some trouble with that.
“It starts with us as a staff to make sure we’re in a good play and we’re executing at a high level and we’re all detailed up. And then if something happens like a penalty, sometimes those happen. We’ve got to be able to overcome that.”
One of the most eye-catching differences in the passing game between Weeks 10 and 11 was A.J. Brown’s involvement. The 28-year-old receiver went from three targets against the Packers to 11 against the Lions and finished Sunday’s game with seven catches for 49 yards.
However, Patullo pushed back on the perception that he made a concerted effort to get Brown the ball.
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown had seven catches on 11 targets against the Lions.
“It was really no different,” Patullo said. “I think, really, the plan was pretty much similar to how it was every other game with him, and the ball found him a little bit more, which is great. And he made some critical plays for us when we needed it. Made some really tough catches in traffic, and that’s what he’s awesome [at]. He’s a phenomenal player and did a really good job from that standpoint.”
Brown indeed made critical plays, including his 11-yard reception in the red zone in the second quarter that picked up a fresh set of downs and helped set up the Eagles’ lone touchdown.
But in the third quarter, Brown and Hurts also had an uncharacteristic miss on a go ball down the left sideline with Lions cornerback Rock Ya-Sin matched up against him in single coverage. Brown appeared to slow down on the route, which Patullo attributed to his battle down the field with Ya-Sin.
“He got kind of tangled up with a DB,” Patullo said. “I’m not so sure he located the ball wholeheartedly. But we’ve just got to continue to find ways to just connect on those kind of things and work on them in practice and really, throughout the history of it, Jalen and A.J. do an unbelievable job of connecting on those kind of things, and we’ll continue to throw them to them because he’s going to do his job and get open, and we usually hit them.”
Smith’s snaps limited
The Eagles’ defensive front has been on a tear the last two games, and one of its most important players isn’t even contributing on a full-time basis.
Nolan Smith has been on a snap limitation, according to defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, since he returned from injured reserve for the Eagles’ Week 10 game against the Green Bay Packers. Smith, the 24-year-old edge rusher, has played just 32.3% of the defensive snaps over the last two weeks, down from 75.9% in Weeks 1-3.
Fangio confirmed Tuesday that the decision to prevent Smith from seeing the field as often isn’t coming from him.
“You’ll have to speak to [vice president of sports medicine] Tom [Hunekle] about that,” Fangio said Tuesday when asked about Smith’s decrease in snaps. “I don’t know.”
Eagles edge rusher Nolan Smith (3) has played 32.3% of the defensive snaps over the last two weeks, including on Nov. 10 in Green Bay.
Smith’s workload increased slightly on Sunday night against the Lions. He played 37.5% of the defensive snaps, up from 27.9% against the Packers. He wasn’t as impactful against Detroit, though, and finished the game without a quarterback pressure for the first time this season, according to Next Gen Stats.
While Smith may still be working through his triceps injury, the Eagles edge rusher corps has stepped up in his absence, thanks to the addition of Jaelan Phillips. The former Miami Dolphins outside linebacker has led the group in defensive snaps (77.2%) since he joined the team. His 21.3% pressure rate leads all Eagles defensive linemen this season.
Linebackers rotation
Don’t expect Fangio to shake up the rotation of linebackers Nakobe Dean and Jihaad Campbell alongside Zack Baun any time soon.
The Eagles defensive coordinator said that rotation will “probably stay similar” going forward.
“Just because, keep Jihaad in there ready to roll, ’cause he’s the next guy up as an ILB,” Fangio said. “But he’s been getting time, too, at OLB.”
Dean has taken the majority of those reps at inside linebacker lately. According to Pro Football Focus, Dean took 40 snaps at inside linebacker against the Lions, while Campbell took 17 and just three at outside linebacker. The rookie’s 20 defensive snaps (33.9%) were his fewest of the season.
Over the last two weeks, Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean (right) has 10 tackles (including two for a loss) and two sacks (three quarterback hits total).
But Dean has rounded quickly into prior form since his return from the physically unable-to-perform list with a knee injury in Week 6. In his last two games, Dean has posted 10 tackles (including two for a loss) and two sacks (three quarterback hits total). Fangio said he hasn’t been surprised by Dean’s immediate impact on the defense.
“I know he worked really hard in his rehab,” Fangio said. “He was bugging those guys in the training room to come back earlier than they allowed him to. So from that regard, no. Nakobe’s got good instincts, good football acumen. Kind of a football, I don’t want say it comes easy, but it comes natural to him. So that speeds it up, too.”
For the second week in a row, it was the Eagles defense leading the way as the Birds scraped past another NFC North opponent, this time in a 16-9 win over the Detroit Lions.
Last week after their win over the Green Bay Packers, the Eagles (8-2) seemed to confuse those who compile weekly NFL power rankings. Some saw the victory over another NFC contender as a reason to move the Eagles up. Others, however, saw the narrow victory as a reason to drop the Birds, largely because of the questions surrounding their lack of offensive output.
Did another defensive win confuse the list makers even more? Or did the impressive showing by Vic Fangio’s defense — against one of the NFL’s best offenses — confirm that this team doesn’t need to score a lot of points to win? Here’s a look at where the Eagles stand in the latest round of power rankings as the season enters Week 12 …
ESPN: Second
Our first outlet, and we’re already seeing the Eagles drop despite their win. Last week, ESPN was one of the sites that moved the Eagles up to the top spot. This week, they’re back to No. 2, and the team that leapfrogged them — the 8-2 Los Angeles Rams — is one the Eagles already have beaten this season, albeit on a last-second blocked field goal.
So what was the difference? The Eagles offense, according to Tim McManus, who also says that offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo is under the most pressure.
“The offense has been a disappointment,” McManus wrote. “The Eagles rank 25th in total yards (300.1 per game), 28th in passing (184.9) and 29th in third-down conversion rate (33.87%). They’re averaging 115 rushing yards per game (17th in NFL), compared to 179 in 2024 (second). They are, however, the best red zone offense (75% conversion rate) and have a league-low four giveaways. That, paired with a defense that has played lights out as of late, has been enough to keep Philly atop the NFC. But the offense has not yet reached its potential, and it falls on the first-year play caller to help remedy that.”
We’re more than halfway through the season. At what point do we stop talking about the Eagles’ offensive “potential” and just come to terms with the product they put out there each week? You are what you repeatedly do, right?
The Eagles beat the Rams this season — barely — but still trail them in most national power rankings.
Yahoo! Sports: First
The tight win on Sunday Night Football wasn’t enough for Yahoo! to drop the Eagles from the top spot, even if it openly acknowledges that the already struggling offense just took another hit with the loss of right tackle Lane Johnson to a Lisfranc injury.
“Lane Johnson’s injury will knock him out 4-6 weeks and everyone by now knows the Eagles aren’t nearly as good without their All-Pro right tackle,” Frank Schwab wrote. “Still, the Eagles are becoming masterful at overcoming adversity. Their defense is finally hitting its stride, too.”
No surprise that the Rams are right behind the Eagles, with the Indianapolis Colts in third and the Seahawks in fourth after each dropping a spot after being leapfrogged by the Rams.
The Athletic’s Josh Kendall and Chad Graff offered a seemingly simple suggestion to the Eagles, one that is hard to argue with after watching their last two games: “Be more interesting.” But boring football wasn’t enough to drop the Birds from the top spot.
“Thank goodness for A.J. Brown,” Kendall and Graff wrote. “The wide receiver’s weekly passive-aggressive complaints about his role in the offense are the only things making this team worth watching anymore. Jalen Hurts completed 14 passes for 135 yards Sunday night. The sublime Saquon Barkley averaged 3.2 yards per carry and is 14th in the league in rushing (662 yards). Yet the Eagles and their smothering defense are marching joylessly back toward the Super Bowl.”
The Rams held steady at No. 2, while the idle Colts climbed to No. 3, and the Denver Broncos, courtesy of their win over the Kansas City Chiefs, moved into the fourth spot.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts hasn’t posted big numbers this season, but he’s been efficient and avoided turnovers.
The Ringer: Second
Unlike ESPN, The Ringer didn’t drop the Eagles to second after their win; it elevated them from third to second. “This team is finding its 2024 form again, and I’m starting to believe,” Diante Lee wrote.
“As the ugly wins stack up in 2025, it’s hard not to think about the similarities to last year and whether all the issues will iron themselves out once we get to the playoffs,” Lee added. “If this defense keeps playing this well, I’m inclined to believe that the answer is an emphatic yes.”
The Rams have held steady in The Ringer’s top spot for several weeks. Meanwhile, the Seahawks (No. 3), Broncos (No. 4), and Colts (No. 5) round out their top five.
The Rams were already well ahead of the Eagles at Sports Illustrated — they moved from second to first this week — but the Birds were one of the outlet’s biggest risers, climbing five spots, up from seventh, to second.
“The clips of Nakobe Dean staying stride for stride with all of Detroit’s best players was just another reminder of how weaponized this Eagles defense is,” Conor Orr wrote. “Can’t we understand now that the team’s best talent and coaching resides on that side of the ball, which is why the offense is being used as a game-shortening tool rather than an elevator of personal feelings and your fantasy team?”
The Eagles jumped over the New England Patriots, Seahawks, Broncos, Colts, and Lions to claim that second spot.
The Eagles moved up one spot at NFL.com, thanks to the Seahawks’ loss. But that also meant that the new No. 1 team, the Rams, and the new No. 2, the Colts, also moved up a spot each as Seattle fell to fourth.
“The Lions might have hurt themselves with their own overaggressiveness, but the Eagles certainly had a lot to do with that,” wrote Eric Edholm. “Philadelphia’s relentless pressure has been the new calling card of a defense that has reached another plateau since the bye. That’s now two straight games in prime time where the Eagles have held a playoff-contending opponent to single-digit points. The trade acquisition of Jaelan Phillips looks like a gem of a pickup, with the edge rusher making his impact felt in both games since his arrival in Philly. … Doubt them at your own risk.”
The Eagles added linebacker Jaelan Phillips at the trade deadline, and he has made an immediate impact on the defense.
CBS Sports: Third
A big tumble by the previously top-ranked Seahawks (now No. 7) meant a lot of teams moved up, including the Eagles, who climbed one spot to third, behind the Rams and the Patriots, respectively.
“The offense still isn’t great, but they are winning games,“ Pete Prisco wrote. ”The defense has really stepped up the past two weeks.”
The Colts (No. 4), and Broncos (No. 5) also cracked the top five.
The Eagles remained in the fourth position at USA Today, as there was very little movement among Nate Davis’ top five teams.
“A replenished defense has held two high-octane offenses to single-digit points in successive weeks − which is even better news with injured RT Lane Johnson set to miss a chunk of time with a Lisfranc injury for an already sputtering offense,” wrote Davis.
The Rams, Patriots, Seahawks, and Broncos — in that order — make up the rest of their top five, with the only change this week being the Patriots and Seahawks swapping spots.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A.J. Brown might have been wrong. The Eagles’ offense isn’t just a “s— show;” it’s looking way worse. But enough about that side of the field, at least for now . The reason why the Eagles’ path to the playoffs remains promising is because their defense has been lights out, increasingly so since the team returned from the bye two games ago. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Jeff Neiburg take stock of the Eagles’ successes and failures at the 10-game mark, and also react to the breaking news about right tackle Lane Johnson’s foot injury. unCovering the Birds is a production of The Philadelphia Inquirer and KYW Newsradio Original Podcasts. Look for new episodes throughout the season, including day-after-game reactions.
Johnson, who has missed snaps already this season with shoulder and knee injuries, suffered the midfoot injury Sunday in the first quarter of the Eagles’ 16-9 win over the Detroit Lions and did not return to the game.
The 35-year-old lineman is expected to miss at least 4-6 weeks — landing on injured reserve, as is expected, means Johnson would be forced to miss at least the next four games.
Here’s more about the injury that will keep him out …
What is a Lisfranc injury?
According to the Neville Foot & Ankle Centers, “Lisfranc injuries often occur as a result of a high-energy impact to the midfoot. It’s common to see fractures of the Lisfranc Joint in contact/collision sports like American Football, however low energy incidents (like twisting) can also be a cause.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, a Lisfranc injury is “any damage to the Lisfranc joint on top of your foot. It’s where your metatarsal bones (the bridges to your toes) connect to the rest of your foot.”
The Cleveland Clinic describes the Lisfranc joint as “a busy highway or on-ramp” because so many parts of the foot meet up in one place.
The Lisfranc was named, according to the National Institutes of Health, in homage to French physician Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin, “who was the first to describe an amputation through this joint.”
Lisfranc was a surgeon and gynecologist who during the Napoleonic Wars was brought in to help France, which was dealing with a physician shortage.
The story has it that a soldier dismounting from his horse had his foot stuck in the stirrups. The blood flow to his lower limb was stopped and it created a “gangrenous foot,” according to the Neville Foot & Ankle Centers.
Lisfranc described the surgery as “amputation of the foot through the tarsometatarsal articulation.”
Does a Lisfranc injury require surgery?
Unlike in Lisfranc’s days, the injury isn’t a prescription for an amputation anymore.
It sometimes doesn’t even require surgery.
In Johnson’s case, it might. He is awaiting results from X-rays from foot and ankle surgeon Dr. Robert Anderson. While he is believed to have suffered a sprain, a decision will be made if he needs potentially season-ending surgery, according to sources. Nonsurgical Lisfranc injuries could take about six to eight weeks to recover, but sometimes less. If Johnson doesn’t require surgery, he could be back on the field after four to six weeks.
Anderson, a former Packers and Panthers physician, is a sort of NFL authority on the Lisfranc injury.
Have other Eagles suffered Lisfranc injuries?
Yes. Many of them.
Offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo suffered a Lisfranc injury in September 2021 that required season-ending surgery. Two years earlier, defensive tackle Malik Jackson suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury in a season-opening game.
More recently, Nakobe Dean suffered a Lisfranc sprain in early November 2023 that required surgery and ended his season.
Others, like Cre’Von LeBlanc, have suffered Lisfranc sprains that did not require surgery. LeBlanc suffered his injury in training camp in 2019, and while he did not have to have surgery, he did not make his season debut until December.
Johnson’s timeline will all depend on the severity of his sprain.
Johnson, who is playing in his 13th season, has dealt with multiple injuries this season. He left the Eagles’ Week 3 game against Los Angeles with a stinger, then left the Week 4 game due to a shoulder injury. He left last week’s game vs. the Green Bay Packers due to an ankle injury and missed a large chunk before returning in the fourth quarter.
Despite the injuries, Johnson has played in every game this season and continues to perform at a high level. This one, however, will cost the All-Pro at least a few contests, which historically presents a problem to the Eagles.
The Eagles are 12-23 in games Johnson hasn’t started since the beginning of the 2016 season. But backup tackle Fred Johnson has filled in well this season — and last year — when Johnson has missed time.
The Eagles traded to bring Fred Johnson back at the end of training camp after the tackle left for Jacksonville in free agency. He has been a difference maker for the Eagles. They were 5-1 last season when he started and are 3-0 in games this season when he has come on in relief to play at least 50% of the offensive snaps.
The defense shut down one of the NFL’s best offenses, but the game wasn’t without a few minor controversies. Here’s what the national media is saying about the Birds after their 16-9 win …
An ‘absolute garbage’ penalty
A defensive pass interference call on Rock Ya-Sin ultimately iced the game for the Eagles, but was it fair?
On the broadcast, Cris Collinsworth immediately called it out as a “terrible” penalty, which should arguably have been on A.J. Brown, instead of Ya-Sin.
The morning was not any kinder to referee Alex Kemp, who told a pool reporter that “the official observed the receiver’s arm getting grabbed and restricting him from going up to make the catch.”
Many members of national media were not buying that justification.
“That is absolute garbage right here,” Rex Ryan said on Get Up. “You’re making it worse by coming up with that B.S. Here’s the problem, NFL. The entire country saw this, and everybody knows, except the guy that throws the flag here. I don’t know what the hell he’s thinking … You can’t cover a guy any better than this.”
Rex Ryan reacts to the questionable defensive pass interference call to seal the Lions-Eagles game ✍️ pic.twitter.com/7Dz2sJ4xO7
“As you see this type of game unfold, you know it’s going to come down to an epic finish,” Cam Newton said. “We were robbed of that, because, what happened to physicality and letting them play, ref? We didn’t see that. The ref made it about himself. Was it touchy-touchy? Yes, but was it that type of game? Absolutely.”
Cam Newton shares his thoughts on the questionable pass interference call at the end of the Lions-Eagles SNF matchup ✍️ pic.twitter.com/pVVOGNFYAJ
After the win, the Birds now sit at 8-2, firmly in control of the NFC East, with games against the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, Buffalo Bills, and Washington Commanders left to play.
So do the Eagles, winners of four straight, have another loss in them with the schedule as it stands? Kay Adams doesn’t think so.
“This was not my favorite game to watch, cinematically, but who the hell cares, because a win’s a win,” Adams said. “… I don’t see anyone beating them the rest of the year. I don’t see a loss on their schedule the rest of the way. I can’t remember seeing anyone make Jared Goff look this uncomfortable.”
"I don't think anyone's beating them for the rest of the year." 👀
For all the hand-wringing about the offense’s struggles, Vic Fangio’s defense continues to perform at an elite level week after week. On First Take, Stephen A. Smith said the defense was far more impressive than the offense was weak.
“You’ve got the second-ranked offense in the NFL coming into the game, averaging 31 points a game,” Smith said. “You didn’t just beat them, you beat them down.”
The Birds forced what may have been the worst performance of Jared Goff’s career. Goff, who was leading the NFL in completion percentage coming into the game, completed just 14 of 37 passes, the worst completion percentage of his NFL career. The Lions went 3-for-13 on third down and were 0-for-5 on fourth down conversion attempts.
Dan Orlovsky said the Eagles’ improved pass rush — thanks to the trade deadline acquisition of Jaelan Phillips from Miami — is reestablishing the defense as the class of the NFL.
“I’m praising Howie Roseman,” Orlovsky said. “This Jaelan Phillips addition feels like it’s going to be the Von Miller addition to the Rams from several years ago. This defense is the best defense in football along with the Rams and Seattle Seahawks.”
Don’t expect A.J. Brown to be happy any time soon.
Brown called the Eagles’ offense a “bleep show” on a livestream last week, prompting an unprecedented, on-field admonition at Thursday’s practice from Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, who reportedly told him to stop whining about the offense on social media.
The offense isn’t likely to get any better with the news that right tackle Lane Johnson will miss several weeks with a Lisfranc sprain in his right foot.
Johnson has been the team’s best player during its current Golden Era, evidenced by the club’s 15-23 record when he does not play. He missed 14 games early in his career to PED suspensions but has been remarkably durable, although ankle issues have plagued him the last few seasons and this injury reportedly will cost Johnson at least a month and maybe six weeks, if not longer. Johnson is 35, and he has long suffered chronic problems with his surgically repaired right ankle.
Johnson’s replacement, Fred Johnson, played passably well after Lane’s exit Sunday night, but Fred’s an undrafted seven-year career backup for a reason.
This means that, likely for the rest of the season, the Eagles will continue their streak of having zero consecutive games in which the first-team offensive line begins and finishes the game. Center Cam Jurgens just returned from an injury bug that also has affected left guard Landon Dickerson and, earlier in the season, Lane Johnson.
The Eagles had the No. 1 defense during their run to the Super Bowl LIX championship, but they also had the No. 1 offensive line, according to Pro Football Focus. In fact, in the span from 2013-24, the Eagles’ line was considered by most to be the best in football.
Line coach Jeff Stoutland arrived in 2013. He campaigned to draft Lane Johnson, a former high school quarterback, with the No. 4 overall pick.
To be fair, all might not be lost.
Eagles tackle Lane Johnson (center) giving a pep talk to teammates before heading out to the field prior to the game against the Lions.
Even with the lack of continuity, PFF ranked the Eagles’ line No. 5 entering Sunday. But the Birds rank 25th in yards per game and, to Brown’s repeated point, they have the 28th-ranked passing offense. This, despite boasting Brown, bookend DeVonta Smith, tight end Dallas Goedert, and Saquon Barkley, who is a home-run threat by run or pass out of the backfield.
And even without Lane Johnson, those rankings might soon rise, considering that the Eagles visit the Cowboys on Sunday, then host the Bears on Black Friday. They are two of the league’s poorer defensive teams.
Rest assured, if the Eagles offense doesn’t improve, Brown will let you know on your hellsite platform of choice.
The Eagles are on a four-game winning streak that has them atop the NFC standings. They’ve allowed 14.5 points per game in that stretch and 16 total points in their last two games in prime time, at Green Bay on Monday Night Football then home against the potent Lions on Sunday Night Football.
What happened four games ago?
Nakobe Dean returned.
Dean was the play-caller for the Eagles’ top-ranked defense that eventually won Super Bowl LIX, although he missed the end of the playoff run and the first five games of the 2025 season with a knee injury. He was limited in his first three games but has been unleashed in the last two. Sunday night, he was everywhere.
Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean leaves the field after his standout effort against Detroit.
On the Lions’ interception, Dean covered the back out of the backfield, Jared Goff’s first read. On Jaelan Phillips’ sack, Dean covered the receiver who chipped Phillips at the line, again taking away Goff’s first read.
Early in the third quarter, Dean blitzed and forced an incompletion. Late in the fourth quarter, Dean covered speedy running back Jahmyr Gibbs, then, on consecutive plays, he blanketed Jameson Williams, the fastest active receiver in the league. Finally, Dean bulled over 230-pound running back David Montgomery and sacked Goff. Dean weighs 231. It was brutal.
Said NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth, before the replay: “Don’t look if you’re squeamish.”
There have been other developments on the Eagles defense, chief among them the addition of edge rusher Phillips, but he has played only the last two games. It has been Dean’s kamikaze play and his indomitable spirit that have injected the Birds with some midseason juice.
He’s sharing time with first-round rookie Jihaad Campbell, and he’s still a bit lost in zone coverages, but Dean has once again become the soul of the defense.
“If all else fails, just strike somebody. Strike somebody. Be physical. Put hands on somebody.”
It’s been working.
Extra points
If the playoffs began Monday, neither the 5-5 Chiefs, who have made it for 10 straight years and played in four of the last five Super Bowls, nor the 6-4 Lions, who were cofavorites with the Packers at some sportsbooks to win the NFC, would even qualify. However, most analytics sites still give each a better than 50% chance to reach the postseason. … Bengals superstar wideout Ja’Marr Chase has been suspended next Sunday against the visiting Patriots after very nastily spitting a huge loogie on cornerback Jalen Ramsey in Pittsburgh on Sunday. The league’s emphasis on sportsmanship led to the one-game (sort of) suspension of Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter after he spat on Dak Prescott in the NFL season opener. Chase may appeal.
The Eagles defense paved the way to a victory for a second straight week, once again dominating an NFC contender on the defensive side and getting just enough offense to win. The Eagles limited the Detroit Lions to just nine points in their 16-9 win at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Birds improved to 8-2 with the win, but we’re already looking ahead at their next opponent — the Dallas Cowboys. From the Eagles’ chances against their division opponent to updates on yearly awards, here are some of the latest odds at two of the biggest sportsbooks …
Eagles vs. Cowboys odds
After securing a win at home, the Eagles are gearing up to travel to AT&T Stadium to face the Dallas Cowboys. The teams met at the Linc in the season opener, in a game that saw the Eagles pull out a 24-20 win despite a big ejection, a lightning delay, and some shaky early defense.
Now, the Eagles defense looks the best it has all season. Meanwhile, the Cowboys are preparing to play the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football after losing their last two games.
The Eagles continue to hold a big lead over the rest of the NFC East in the race to win the division. They are several games above the Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1), who have the second best odds to win the division.
Meanwhile, Washington’s (3-8) chances continue to fall without Jayden Daniels, and the New York Giants (2-9), who fired head coach Brian Daboll and are without quarterback Jaxson Dart, are at the bottom of the list.
The Eagles already have wins over several of the other top NFC teams, including the Lions, Packers, Rams, and Buccaneers.
NFC odds update
After their win over the Lions on Sunday night, the Eagles are now the favorites to win the conference at both sportsbooks — dethroning the Los Angeles Rams, who defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 21-19, on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Lions remain in the top five, just ahead of the Green Bay Packers.
Despite the Eagles having the better NFC odds, the two sportsbooks are split between the Rams and the Eagles as Super Bowl favorites. Sunday’s win was enough for FanDuel to move the Eagles into the top spot. At DraftKings, however, the Birds are still behind L.A., although they’re considerably closer than they were last week. The top three favorites remain the same: the Eagles, Rams, and the Buffalo Bills, who are in the third spot at both books.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Eagles are 8-2, just like they were through 10 games last season.
MVP odds
After throwing for just 135 yards in the Eagles’ win over the Lions, Jalen Hurts’ MVP odds continue to fall in both sportsbooks. Drake Maye, Matthew Stafford, and Josh Allen hold the top three spots in the race to MVP.
After a Week 12 performance in which he finished with 83 yards on 26 carries, Saquon Barkley continues to fall out of the race for offensive player of the year. Meanwhile, Jonathan Taylor remains a clear favorite despite his bye on Sunday.
