Eagles news: A.J. Brown, Saquon Barkley injury updates; Dak Prescott out vs. Birds; Nick Sirianni defends in-game decisions
The Eagles will take a four-game winning streak to Dallas on Sunday to face the Cowboys, who will be without Dak Prescott.
The Eagles (6-2) held on to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday 28-23, with Nick Siranni drawing criticism for some questionable decision making.
The Eagles will travel to Dallas to face the collapsing Cowboys (3-5) Sunday at 4:25 p.m. on CBS. Dak Prescott (hamstring) will miss the game. CeeDee Lamb was also injured in the Cowboys' loss.
Sirianni defended his decisions on Monday, but offered little information on A.J. Brown, who left the game with a knee injury, or Saquon Barkley, who was seen limping at different points throughout the game.
Eagles grades: The Birds' linebackers earn high marks, while Saquon Barkley backward hurdles his way into becoming the Birds' centerpiece.
Here's what our columnists thought: Mike Sielski | Marcus Hayes | David Murphy
Nick Sirianni offers little info on A.J. Brown, Saquon Barkley injuries
A.J. Brown, who exited Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a knee injury, isn’t expected to miss a significant amount of time, an NFL source told The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane.
The star receiver was ruled out of the contest with a knee injury in the second half. Brown had taken a hard hit from Jaguars inside linebacker Ventrell Miller late in the second quarter on a reception over the middle of field. He remained on the field for the next nine plays to finish out the first half, but he did not return to action coming out of halftime.
When asked about Brown’s status on Monday afternoon, Nick Sirianni declined to go into much detail. He said he would see “as the week progresses” how Brown is recovering before making a determination on his status for the Eagles’ visit to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Nike has already turned Saquon Barkley's reverse hurdle into an ad
Mike McCarthy confirms Dak Prescott won't play against Eagles
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who suffered a hamstring injury against the Atlanta Falcons, will not play on Sunday against the Eagles, coach Mike McCarthy confirmed. Cooper Rush will start, and Trey Lance will back up Rush in Dallas.
“Cooper’s played really good football for us,” McCarthy told reporters.
Rush has six career starts in seven seasons for the Cowboys. He went 4-1 in 5 starts in 2022 — the lone loss came against Jalen Hurts and the Eagles — completing 58% of his passes for 1051 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.
Nick Sirianni defends fourth-down, two-point conversion decisions
Sunday's win over the Jaguars never should've been as close as it was — and not just because Jacksonville's fumble recovery touchdown shouldn't have counted. The Eagles left a lot of points on the field, whether it was a trio of failed two-point conversions, a pair of ill-fated decisions to go for it on fourth down inside the Jaguars' 30-yard line, or a missed 57-yard field goal.
That's 15 points, 12 of which were a direct result of head coach Nick Sirianni's aggressive play-calling, which started with the team trying to go for two after a Jaguars penalty but also included two turnovers on downs that should've been chip-shot field goals.
On Monday, Sirianni defended those decisions, something he's found himself doing quite often this season — even when the Birds win.
Report: Dak Prescott won't play vs. Eagles
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a hamstring injury in his team's loss to the Falcons on Sunday. And now, according to Ian Rapoport, it appears he'll miss multiple weeks, ruling him out for this coming Sunday's game against the Eagles.
— Matt Mullin
Watch: Nick Sirianni speaks with the media at 3:15 p.m.
Report: Cowboys' Micah Parsons 'should be back' to face the Eagles
CeeDee Lamb reportedly avoids serious injury, could play vs. Eagles
While the prognosis for Dak Prescott's hamstring was less than ideal for the Cowboys — he'll reportedly miss multiple weeks — they seem to have caught a break with wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who suffered a shoulder injury against the Falcons on Sunday. According to ESPN, there's a chance he suits up against the Eagles on Sunday, albeit without his starting quarterback.
— Matt Mullin
A.J. Brown's absence highlights his importance
At the risk of being somewhat reductive, the swing in the game coinciding with A.J. Brown leaving with a knee injury is hard to completely dismiss.
The Eagles offense did find its footing at times during the second half thanks to the individual brilliance of Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, and Jalen Hurts in have-to-have-it moments, but the potential absence of Brown in the short-term will once again show how important he is to the framework of the offense.
The group seldom sustained production in the three games Brown missed earlier this season. It’s unclear how long Brown might be sidelined for this time, but the Eagles will need to reimagine parts of the offensive system if he does miss a few games. Considering how many of Hurts’ middle-field targets have been to Brown the last couple weeks, it’s fair to wonder if the passing game will revert back to an over-reliance on sideline shots as well. It would be ill-timed to do so with pivotal matchups against the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders coming up in the next two weeks.
» READ MORE: What we learned: Howie Roseman’s offseason moves, good and bad, took center stage ahead of the NFL trade deadline
— EJ Smith
Former Eagles react to the team's win over the Jaguars
“I’m going to tell my grandkids about Nick Sirianni one day,” former Eagles defensive end Chris Long said on Green Light podcast Monday following the Birds win over the Jaguars. Sirianni made a few questionable calls in the game, including going for two — and failing — three times and passing up on two makable field goals only to let Jake Elliott attempt — and miss — a 57-yarder.
“You should’ve seen him," Long continued. "He was like if you grabbed somebody out of the stands, six Miller Lites deep, and were like, ‘Go coach your heart out,’ for good and for bad.”
But both the Eagles’ defense and their skill players on offense kept Sunday a happy one for the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field.
Saints fire head coach Dennis Allen
The New Orleans Saints fired coach Dennis Allen on Monday, the day after a loss at last-place Carolina extended the Saints’ losing streak to seven games — its longest since 1999, a person with knowledge of the move said.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced the move.
Allen is 18-25 without a playoff appearance since taking over in 2022 after Sean Payton, the most successful coach in Saints history, began what turned out to be a one-season retirement from coaching.
Saquon Barkley, Nakobe Dean get Eagles' game balls after win
NFL trade deadline: Eagles could be looking for an edge rusher
Injured or not, edge rusher Bryce Huff has not been the player the Eagles thought they were getting when they signed him to a three-year, $51.1 million deal this offseason hoping he could be an every-down edge rusher and replace the production they would eventually lose when they traded away Haason Reddick.
Huff entered Sunday with just 1½ sacks after posting a career-high 10 sacks last season. And he entered Sunday having played more than 50% of the defensive snaps in a game just twice. He played just 38% of the snaps in last week’s win in Cincinnati.
The timing of Sunday was even more interesting because of what lies ahead. The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, and acquiring some pass-rushing help is something the Eagles could consider even as their four-game winning streak has coincided with their pass rush coming alive.
Eagles injury report
Wide receiver A.J. Brown left Sunday's game after the first half with a knee injury and did not return. Brown missed three games earlier this season with a hamstring injury, and head coach Nick Sirianni did not offer any updated following the game.
Linebacker Ben VanSumeren, who was making his first start at fullback, left the game with a concussion and did not return.
Defensive end Bryce Huff wasn't listed on the injury report, but Sirianni told reporters he didn't play many snaps Sunday due to a hand injury prior to the game.
Previous Eagles injuries
Offensive tackle Jordan Mailata is on injured reserve and will miss at least one 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 Cowboys is not clear.
Cornerback Darius Slay did not play Sunday after suffering a groin injury in Week 8 against the Bengals. His status for Sunday's Cowboys game is also unclear.
Two Cowboys stars could miss Eagles game with injuries
The Eagles travel to Dallas Sunday to take on the collapsing Cowboys, who could be without their top two offensive stars.
Quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a hamstring injury during the Cowboys' loss to the Atlanta Falcons Sunday, and is scheduled to have an MRI Monday.
Prescott told reporters he felt a pull he's "never felt" before and that his leg was "a tough deal to walk on," but added it would "take a lot for me to not be out there" against the Eagles Sunday.
Eagles who's up, who's down
Saquon Barkley’s playmaking, up: What more evidence is needed that Barkley needs to be the focal point of the offense? There was the backwards hurdle. The over-the-shoulder catch on the wheel route touchdown. The 19-yard touchdown scamper. It was another 100-plus-yard day.
Nick Sirianni's math, down: The game was closer than it needed to be in part because of Sirianni’s questionable decision making. Where have we heard that before? The Eagles got cute a few times and left too many points on the board. It could have cost them majorly.
LB Zack Baun, up: Baun was everywhere, early and often. He led the Eagles with 10 tackles and had two pass breakups. He also secured an interception off a drop by Jaguars running back Travis Etienne, marking consecutive weeks with a turnover for the defense.
NFC East standings: Commanders remain in first place
The Eagles improved to 6-2 with their win against the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-7) Sunday, but it wasn't enough to move them into first place.
The Washington Commanders (7-2) defeated the lowly New York Giants (2-7) Sunday, with rookie phenom Jayden Daniels throwing for 209 yards and two touchdowns. The Commanders head into their by next week, so the best the Birds could do this weekend is move into a first-place tie.
The Eagles face the Commanders at the Linc in Week 11 on Amazon Prime Video's Thursday Night Football Nov. 14.
Photos from Eagles' win against Jaguars
Eagles 2024 schedule
Week 1: Eagles 34, Packers 29
Week 2: Falcons 22, Eagles 21
Week 3: Eagles 15, Saints 12
Week 4: Buccaneers 33, Eagles 16
Week 5: Bye
Week 6: Eagles 20, Browns 16
Week 7: Eagles 28, Giants 3
Week 8: Eagles 37, Bengals 17
Week 9: Eagles 28, Jaguars 23
Week 10: Eagles at Cowboys, Sunday, Nov. 10, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
Week 11: Commanders at Eagles, Thursday, Nov. 14, 8:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime Video)
Week 12: Eagles at Rams, Sunday, Nov. 24, 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Week 13: Eagles at Ravens, Sunday, Dec. 1, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
Week 14: Panthers at Eagles, Sunday, Dec. 8, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Week 15: Steelers at Eagles, Sunday, Dec. 15, 4:25 p.m. (Fox)
Week 16: Eagles at Commanders, Sunday, Dec. 22, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Week 17: Cowboys at Eagles, Sunday, Dec. 29, 4:25 p.m. (Fox)
Week 18: Giants at Eagles, TBD