The Eagles were dealt a reality check on Thursday night when the reigning Super Bowl champs suffered a startling 34-17 loss to the Giants. If they weren’t already clear through five games, if winning temporarily washed them away, the Eagles’ deepest flaws were on full display.
The offense has zero identity. Saquon Barkley and the ground game can’t get going. Jalen Hurts and his top targets, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, aren’t on the same page. First-year coordinator Kevin Patullo has failed to establish any sort of rhythm. And that’s not even getting to a defense that was a sieve and a special teams unit that’s shooting itself in the foot.
The Week 6 loss to the Giants, who came in at 0-4 with the worst postseason odds in the NFL, was inexcusable at every level. Not even a boatload of injuries could explain it away. But it certainly doesn’t help.
The reality is, this mini bye week before the Eagles’ actual bye in Week 9 comes at a good time. Because the Birds desperately need to get healthy.
Here’s what the Eagles are currently dealing with on the injury front.
CB Quinyon Mitchell: Mitchell exited Thursday’s game with a hamstring injury in the first half and was downgraded to out after being initially listed as questionable. The Eagles cannot afford this to be a lingering issue. Mitchell is one of the best corners in the league, and the rest are barely serviceable right now. If that wasn’t obvious before, it was abundantly clear when Adoree’ Jackson and Kelee Ringo got torched by WanDale Robinson and Lil’ Jordan Humphrey.
DT Jalen Carter: Could the All-Pro defensive tackle have played on Thursday? NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport called Carter being inactive “somewhat of a surprise” and said the MetLife Stadium turf played a factor. In the pregame, we saw Carter walk onto the field and talk to agent Drew Rosenhaus before heading back up the tunnel. It’d be fair to expect him to be back soon, which is a necessity for a front-four that struggled to generate pressure without him.
OL Landon Dickerson: The Eagles were without another All-Pro vs. New York, but this one was expected. Dickerson was out with an ankle injury picked up vs. Denver. Dickerson’s presence was missed; Barkley acknowledged that postgame. The problem with Dickerson is, the ankle just compounds what has already been an injury-affected start for him. Dickerson suffered a torn meniscus in August. He had been playing through that valiantly, but his play was seemingly affected. That’s understandable, but it’s also not ideal in the slightest.
EDGE Nolan Smith: Smith was placed on IR after re-injuring the triceps that forced him to miss most of last postseason. The pass rush was an offseason concern after losing Josh Sweat to free agency and Brandon Graham to retirement. But where Smith’s absence really hurts is in the run game. He’s one of the best run-stopping edge rushers in the league. And since he was placed on IR, the Broncos and Giants both had success on the ground.
CB Jakorian Bennett: Bennett, the August trade acquisition from the Raiders, being on IR wouldn’t be that big of a deal if Jackson and Ringo weren’t struggling. But they are. So Bennett, who was acquired to provide competition at the CB2 spot, missing time isn’t great. Smith and Bennett are both reportedly eyeing returns after the Week 9 bye.
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OL Cam Jurgens, Lane Johnson: We’ll lump these two in to close it out. Neither Jurgens nor Johnson carried injury designations going into the Giants game. But both have battling nagging issues this season. Johnson has exited games for back and neck injuries. Jurgens is still feeling the effects of an offseason back surgery. Football players deal with in-season injuries, especially in the trenches. Johnson was right in saying after the Giants loss that the lingering issues can’t be used as an excuse. But they certainly don’t help.
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