Eagles news: Trade deadline intel and injury updates; Cowboys defender melts down after loss; Jags will be shorthanded
Jalen Hurts had his best game of the season, pushing the Eagles to 5-2. Next up? Doug Pederson and the Jaguars.
The Eagles defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 37-17 Sunday, led by Jalen Hurts and an offense that found its identity.
The Birds will face Doug Pederson and the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Linc Sunday at 4:05 p.m. on CBS after the NFL flexed it out of Sunday Night Football.
DeVonta Smith hauled in an improbable TD catch Sunday, while the Birds' defense clamped down on Ja'Marr Chase.
Eagles grades: Play-calling deserves credit, as does Saquon Barkley.
Columnist Marcus Hayes praised Hurts for outplaying his college rival, Joe Burrow.
Eagles injury report
The Eagles escaped Sunday's win against the Bengals without suffering any major injuries. Here are the Birds players who are banged up:
Cornerback Darius Slay left the game in their third quarter with a goin injury and did not return. On his Big Play Slay podcast Monday, he said he was getting an MRI and was hopeful he could play against the Jaguars Sunday.
Other Eagles injuries
Offensive tackle Jordan Mailata is on injured reserve and will miss at least two more games with a hamstring injury.
Tight end Dallas Goedert was inactive Sunday with a hamstring injury. His status for Sunday's game against the Jaguars is not clear.
Defensive tackle Byron Young was placed on injured reserve Friday with a hamstring injury
Right guard Mekhi Becton was ruled out Sunday with a concussion.
– Rob Tornoe
Jalen Hurts' touchdown pass traveled nearly 60 yards in the air
One of Hurts’ most aggressive passes of the day was his go-ahead 45-yard touchdown heave to Smith in the third quarter. The pass to Smith traveled 59.3 yards in the air per Next Gen Stats, marking the longest completion by air distance of Hurts’ career. Air yards include yards behind the line of scrimmage from where the ball is thrown and yards beyond the goal line from where the ball is caught.
The Bengals only rushed four on the play and the Eagles blockers outnumbered them by two, affording Hurts plenty of time and space to chuck the ball deep to Smith with Bengals safety Jordan Battle in close pursuit. According to Next Gen Stats, Smith had just 0.8 yards of separation from Battle, which factored into the play’s 21.6% completion probability. The Eagles’ win probability jumped by 16.5% percent after Hurts and Smith connected for that touchdown.
» READ MORE: Eagles stats: An accurate and aggressive Jalen Hurts feasted on the Bengals
— Olivia Reiner
The Eagles' 'selflessness' on offense is paying dividends
Jalen Hurts admitted after Sunday’s game that the Eagles have “a lot of mouths to feed” on offense. They entered the season with one of the league’s top wide receiver duos and then added one of the league’s best running backs to the mix. That’s without mentioning injured tight end Dallas Goedert, and the fact that Hurts, too, has the ball in his hands beyond the line of scrimmage.
The topic came up because of DeVonta Smith’s breakout game following his performance last week in North Jersey, where he had just one catch for minus-2 yards in a blowout win over the Giants.
Smith, of course, came back with six catches for 85 yards and the go-ahead touchdown.
Nick Sirianni weighs in on the trade deadline
The Eagles will certainly be in the buyer’s market in the next week before the NFL’s trade deadline. Their emphatic win over a team that entered this season with Super Bowl aspirations assured that.
But what will they look for? And how will they balance the need to improve with the realization that some moves on the past have not panned out?
Regarding the second point, Sirianni said every season is different. But the first point?
Rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean keep making plays. Nick Sirianni isn't surprised.
The Bengals threw Quinyon Mitchell’s way just three times Sunday, according to Pro Football Focus, and the Eagles rookie surrendered just two catches for 16 yards. Both of those catches came while Mitchell was covering Ja’Marr Chase, the NFL’s leader in receiving yards.
This, after Mitchell surrendered just one catch for nine yards when the Giants targeted star rookie Malik Nabers against him.
Mitchell, the Eagles’ first-round pick this past spring, wasn’t alone as a rookie making his mark against Chase. Second-round pick Cooper DeJean was tasked with following Chase on a critical fourth-and-1 late in the third quarter, the Bengals opting to be aggressive on their own 39-yard line. Chase motioned across the formation and caught a pass from Joe Burrow in the flat. DeJean followed the play perfectly and tackled Chase for a loss.
Watch live: Nick Sirianni speaks to reporters
Jalen Hurt's shoe malfunction
Early in the fourth quarter, ahead of a third-and-10, Jalen Hurts’ shoe exploded on him. Hurts went to the sideline to get back into the shoe, but Dallas Goedert couldn’t untie his laces, so the Eagles had to take a timeout. Hurts came back out onto the field for the third down with mismatching shoes, one green and one white.
Goedert may not be able to help out on the field thanks to his hamstring injury, but he’s still doing what he can for the team — even if that means using his teeth to try and untie Hurts’ shoes. What a real one.
Kenneth Gainwell also had a shoe issue of his own near the end of the fourth quarter. Let’s hope for some better shoes next game! That timeout could have been important!
Jaguars will likely face Eagles without top two receivers
Jacksonville is likely to be without its top two receivers next Sunday in Philadelphia.
The Jaguars pushed Green Bay to the brink yesterday, but their 30-27 loss was costly.
Wide receiver Christian Kirk, who was a potential trade candidate ahead of the deadline, broke his collarbone and is out for the season, according to reports.
Eagles could be buyers as trade deadline nears
Sunday’s win should push the Eagles well into the buyer’s category ahead of next Tuesday’s trade deadline.
Although the Bengals entered with a shaky record (3-4), the Eagles put together the type of performance they’ll need in big matchups later this year and beyond. It’s the type of win that leaves less room for interpretation when assessing how they’ll handle the deadline. Howie Roseman has a track record of being one of the league’s most active general managers year-round, and especially at the deadline when his teams are positioned the way the Eagles are currently.
Which areas could use reinforcement? Edge rusher seems like an obvious one. The Eagles’ pass rush has been significantly better the last three weeks with second-year edge Nolan Smith logging sacks in three consecutive games, but it’s a premium position the team has addressed at past deadlines because a deep rotation can change games. Tight end would make sense as well with the Eagles leaning further into a run-first approach and currently coping without Dallas Goedert in the lineup. An interior defensive lineman could also be worthwhile, although the first two spots have more of an apparent need.
Commanders' Hail Mary cost the Eagles first place
The Eagles were almost certain to have a hold on first place in the NFC East as the clock wound down at Northwest Stadium. The Commanders had blown a 12-0 lead in the second half, and the Eagles, after their 37-17 win in Cincinnati, were a deserving division leader.
But then Jayden Daniels made some magic. The rookie quarterback danced around some traffic in the backfield to buy some time for his receivers to get down to the end zone. He launched a Hail Mary that was tipped by a Chicago defender into the waiting arms of Washington’s Noah Brown for a game-winning touchdown. Final score: Commanders 18, Bears 15.
The consolation came later, when Dallas dropped its Sunday Night Football game vs. the 49ers to fall two games in the loss column behind the Eagles and Commanders. The Eagles are a half-game behind Washington, which has not yet had its bye.
Play-action was effective for the Eagles Sunday
Eagles backup gets revenge... and Trey Hendrickson’s jersey
“I love you, bro.”
”I’m proud of you, man.”
As he peeled off his jersey almost an hour after his Eagles won, Fred Johnson pointed at a plastic bag at his feet with a dirty white Bengals jersey inside.
Have the Eagles finally found their offensive identity?
There’s a yin and yang, a balance between the light and dark sides of the force — whatever the phrasing — that coexists in football.
Coaches have long sought to strike this balance — between enforcing your will on the opposition and responding to whatever designs the competition has presented on offense or defense.
Through the first five games of the season, the Eagles didn’t quite seem to know how to accomplish either, especially on offense. Critics who favor the former approach suggested that they lacked an identity, or at least a successful one.
Cowboys defender melts down to reporter following loss to 49ers
Two more interceptions from Dak Prescott and a failed attempt at a comeback win. A defense that allowed three straight TD drives in the third quarter. A star player confronting a media member over a social media post just minutes after the game ended.
The week off for the Dallas Cowboys did little to solve the litany of problems that have a team that won 12 games in each of the past three seasons struggling for a playoff spot in 2024 after losing 30-24 to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night.
“I can definitely tell you nobody is shaking or giving up,” Prescott said. “Frustration is very high, but it’s a long season. A lot of the division games are still ahead of us. Frustrated. That’s the best way I can put it.
Eagles will don their kelly greens next week against the Jaguars
The Eagles (5-2) take their three-game winning streak back to the Linc to face the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6) and former head coach Doug Pederson.
The game was originally scheduled for Sunday Night Football with the Birds wearing their kelly green uniforms, but the Birds were flexed out of primetime and into the 4:05 p.m. regional window on CBS in favor of Minnesota Vikings (5-2) vs. the Indianapolis Colts (4-4).
The last time the two teams faced off, the Eagles narrowly defeated the Jaguars 29-21 in 2022. Sunday's game will be just the eighth time the two teams have played on another, with the Birds holding a 4-3 edge.