Eagles news: Injury updates on Jalen Hurts and others; Greg Olsen defends broadcast; CJGJ apologizes after ejection

Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson took to social media Monday to apologize after being ejected from Sunday's loss to the Washington Commanders.

Tensions began to simmer late in the first quarter when Gardner-Johnson incurred his first unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. During the television timeout ahead of the second quarter, Gardner-Johnson, Jalen Carter, and other members of the Eagles defense engaged in a back-and-forth with Jayden Daniels, Terry McLaurin, and others on the Commanders offense.

While it appeared that some shoving ensued between both sides, Gardner-Johnson was the only player who was flagged, giving the Commanders an extra 15 yards of field position and a new set of downs.

The Eagles (12-3) won’t get one last regular season game with Tom Brady after all.

The NFL has decided to move the Birds’ lackluster matchup against the Dallas Cowboys (7-8) Sunday off Fox’s national 4:25 p.m. broadcast and shift it earlier to 1 p.m.

Replacing it is an NFC North matchup between the Minnesota Vikings (13-2) and Green Bay Packers (10-4).

Jalen Carter was assessed his fourth penalty for unnecessary roughness Sunday at Washington. He leads the league. C.J. Gardner Johnson was assessed two penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct within 19 minutes of each other in the loss, and was ejected. As Gardner-Johnson left, he flipped the crowd a double bird, his two middle fingers likely costing him $5,000 apiece in fines, if recent NFL history is any indicator.

These double Birds have a habit of confrontation. Both burnished their bad reputations Sunday. Their unprofessionalism has to end.

The Eagles were “sloppy with penalties,” said coach Nick Sirianni.

Despite yesterday's last-second loss to the Washington Commanders, the Eagles can still clinch the NFC East in Week 17 with a win against the Dallas Cowboys.

All four NFC divisions are up for grabs this week. Here's a rundown of the scenarios heading into Week 17:

Full NFC playoff picture

Fox Sports announcer Greg Olsen has proven himself to be on of the best NFL analysts in the game, which includes a widely-praised call during the Eagles’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.

But Sunday, Olsen took to social media to defend himself after a small section of Eagles fans accused him of being biased during the loss to the Washington Commanders. 

The main beef coming from fans was Olsen and play-by-play announcer Joe Davis didn’t emphasize enough the impact Jalen Hurts getting knocked out of the game early had on the outcome. Some fans also felt the duo appeared to be rooting for the Commanders' comeback win, capped by Jayden Daniels last-second touchdown throw to Jamison Crowder.

Despite Sunday's loss to the Washington Commanders, the playoff math remains simple for the Eagles — a win and the Birds clinch both the NFC East and the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

The only scenario where the Eagles don't win the NFC East is if they lose both their remaining games against the Cowboys and New York Giants and the Commanders win out, defeating the Atlanta Falcons and the Cowboys in Week 18.

In that case, the Commanders would win the NFC East and the Eagles would drop down to the No. 5 or No. 6 seed, depending how things shake out in the NFC North.

Of all the areas in which the Eagles struggled against Washington, the one that feels most likely to stick are the special teams woes that cost them in multiple phases.

Jake Elliott eventually rebounded from a missed 56-yard field goal at the end of the first half, hitting a 50-yarder in the fourth quarter to give the Eagles a lead and finishing 4-for-5 on the day. His miss on a cold, blustery day can be excused some even with the margin of defeat begging for the make, but the bigger concern is how consistently poor the Eagles were on kickoffs against Washington.

Commanders returners averaged 29.4 yards per return against Eagles punter Braden Mann, who handled kickoff duties on Sunday. Mann’s opening kick fell short of the landing zone and the ensuing one floated to about the 10-yard line before Washington rookie Luke McCaffrey fielded it for a 47-yard return.