Eagles news: A.J. Brown not at practice; Jalen Hurts injury updates; Birds-Packers ticket prices drop a bit

A lot has changed about the Eagles and Packers since Week 1, but perhaps no facet is more glaring than the Birds' defense, which became the top unit in the NFL.

The easy turning point for the Eagles was their Week 5 bye. They were well-traveled and beaten up during their first four weeks. It’s when a group of offensive linemen went to Nick Sirianni to urge the coach to commit to running the football with Saquon Barkley. The change there is easy to see in Barkley’s game logs and the way the 10-game winning streak played out. But that week also involved more than tweaking the offensive approach.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had four games of data showing a pretty below-average defense, which should have come as a surprise to no one given how last season went.

Saquon Barkley’s average touchdown run was 31 yards, the longest In the NFL. Contrast that with Jalen Hurts, whose Tush Push duties dropped the average on his 14 touchdowns to just 3.1 yards, the lowest in the league with a minimum of ten touchdowns.

Barkley's average grew thanks to four touchdown runs over 50 yards. His shortest was two yards, and he had four under 10 yards for the season. Meanwhile, 11 of Hurts' touchdown runs were for one yard and his longest was 18 yards. The pair combined for 27 touchdowns.

Two other teams had multiple players with 10 or more touchdown runs — the top scoring teams in the league. The Detroit Lions scored 564 points this season, earning a bye this week. They were helped by two running backs who combined for 28 touchdowns on the season: Jahmyr Gibbs (16) and David Montgomery (12).

Looking for tickets to the Eagles’ playoff opener Sunday against the Green Bay Packers? Get your wallet ready. 

The Eagles put a limited number of tickets on sale last week at face value, and predictably they went fast. So your only chance is to pick up tickets on the secondary market. 

As of Thursday morning, the cheapest tickets to Eagles vs. Packers on resale sites like Ticketmaster, Seat Geek, and Vivid Seats were going for between $170 and $190, down from the $230 to $250 range last week, before fees. 

Jalen Hurts returned to action Wednesday with the expectation that he will report no post-concussion symptoms Thursday and thereby present himself for duty Sunday afternoon, when the Eagles host the Green Bay Packers.

While the availability of any starting quarterback logically means that the team will be the best version of itself, Hurts’ availability means a bit more. Hurts’ availability means that this Eagles team will be the best version of itself, ever.

That doesn’t guarantee a win in Super Bowl LIX, since the Kansas City Chiefs exist, and nothing is guaranteed; consider the 2007 New England Patriots, unbeaten until their Super Bowl loss. It doesn’t even guarantee a win in the NFC championship game, since the top-seeded Detroit Lions, the Eagles’ most likely opponent, would host that game in three weeks after having enjoyed a bye this weekend.

Frank Wycheck’s daughter worried about her father everyday, unsure if he would make it to appointments or even drink enough water. The NFL star from Northeast Philadelphia who died in December of 2023 struggled in retirement, often telling his daughter, Madison, that it “felt like his brain had a thick brick wall inside that stopped his will to follow through with anything.”

On Thursday, Wycheck’s family learned more about what he was dealing with.

Wycheck’s brain tested positive for Stage 3 Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) at Boston University’s CTE Center. Stage 4 is the most severe. CTE is a neurodegenerative disease that can lead to dementia, memory loss and depression.

The Eagles aren't the only team dealing with an injured quarterback. 

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love was limited in practice Wednesday with an elbow injury he suffered during the team’s Week 18 loss to the Chicago Bears. 

Love told reporters he can grip the football and that his hand is no longer numb, but his elbow hurts when he throws due to some remaining soreness. 

If Jalen Hurts is eventually cleared, the Eagles will enter the postseason with all 22 of their Week 1 starters healthy.

Reserve offensive lineman Trevor Keegan was the only nonparticipant in Wednesday’s session, although wide receiver A.J. Brown (knee/rest), Pickett (ribs), and running back Will Shipley (ankle) joined Hurts in the limited column of the team’s injury report.

Linebacker Nakobe Dean, who missed the team’s Week 17 game against Dallas with a groin injury, was a full participant in practice, as were tight ends Dallas Goedert (knee) and Grant Calcaterra (shoulder), edge rusher Bryce Huff (wrist), and reserve defensive tackle Byron Young (hamstring).

Jalen Hurts returned to Eagles practice Wednesday, marking a significant step for the quarterback’s progression through the concussion protocol.

Since leaving the team’s loss to the Washington Commanders on Dec. 22 with the concussion, Hurts had missed all of the Eagles’ practices and each of the last two games.

Hurts was officially listed as a limited participant in practice, which Eagles coach Nick Sirianni elected to hold at Lincoln Financial Field because of less-than-ideal field conditions at the NovaCare Complex.

The video the Eagles released of Mekhi Becton, overcome with emotion on the sideline during their Week 17 win over the Dallas Cowboys, a trip to the playoffs for the first time in his career sealed up, could have been left on the cutting-room floor.

Becton had the chance to make sure the footage never went public; to make sure one fewer video of his tears was consumed by the masses.

So, why did he say yes? Why did he want his raw interaction seen?

The first round of the NFL playoffs begin this weekend.

Fox and ESPN will each broadcast one game during wild-card weekend, while CBS gets two.

One game will stream exclusively on Amazon's Prime Video, which just finished up the third season as the home of Thursday Night Football.