A.J. who? Feed DeVonta Smith; Eagles’ opponents having horrible injury luck; NFL Week 2
The Slim Reaper's peers have had far more big-game opportunities than him. That should change. Also: first Laremy Tunsil and Myles Garrett, now Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and maybe Puka Nacua.
Since 2021, the year he was drafted just ahead of DeVonta Smith, Ja’Marr Chase has been targeted at least 10 times in 38 games. Justin Jefferson has been targeted at least 10 times in 39 games. CeeDee Lamb, 37.
Smith: 16.
The most recent: A 13-target, 10-catch explosion Sunday in Tennessee with 117 yards and a touchdown. Four of those targets came during the game-winning, fourth-quarter drive, when everyone in Nissan Stadium knew that Hurts would be looking for Smith on virtually every snap, the way Joe Burrow looks for Chase, Dak Prescott looks for Lamb, and whoever is Minnesota’s flavor of the moment looks for Jefferson, which only underscores Jefferson’s unmatched ability.
But I digress.
Marcus Hayes alerts
A number of reasons factor into Smith’s lower frequency of high targets. Among them: The presence of tandem receiver A.J. Brown from 2022-25; the presence of high-volume running back Saquon Barkley from 2024-26; and the presence of Jalen Hurts, a reluctant and limited passer whose 2,307 pass attempts and 1,505 completions lag far behind the other nine quarterbacks who have played in at least 75 games.
The point?
The Eagles must feed Smith the way the Bengals feed Chase, the way the Vikings feed Jefferson, and the way the Cowboys feed Lamb.
There no longer is any reason not to.
There was much hand-wringing done after Brown forced a trade to New England, reaction which now seems to have been overwrought. At any rate, he’s gone.
Barkley clearly lacks the explosion and elusiveness that earned him the Offensive Player of the Year award in 2024.
Which leaves Smith as the clear and constant No. 1 option.
Smith beats man-to-man coverage, finds space against zones, makes contested catches and low catches and throws that lag behind him, and he has toe-tap sideline feet like Cris Carter. He has superb speed and is eager to catch in middle-of-the-field traffic.
NFL rules were rewritten several times over the past three decades to make Smith and his ilk essentially unstoppable. Use him as such.
Locking on Smith might occasionally lead to ruin, as was the case with Hurts’ first interception Sunday, but Hurts misdiagnosed a zone coverage as man-to-man, so that’s on Hurts. The better throw was probably to the other side, where Dontayvion Wicks was open in the corner. But again, I digress.
I’m not jumping on a bandwagon here. I campaigned for the Eagles to draft Smith out of Alabama during the first half of the 2021 College Football Playoff title game.
Before the season began, I predicted that Smith would rewrite the Eagles’ record books in 2026. It still could happen.
We’ve seen other passers lock onto elite pass-catchers with negative outcomes: Prescott to Lamb, Josh Allen to Stefon Diggs when they were paired in Buffalo, Patrick Mahomes to Tyreek Hill when they were paired in Kansas City. It’s going to happen.
Hurts’ second interception also was intended for Smith, who was wide open for at least a 30-yard gain, if not a touchdown. However, Cam Jurgens, who’d switched from center to left guard to replace injured Landon Dickerson, got beat cleanly by defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, the Titans’ best player. Hurts failed to step up in the pocket, which continues to be one of his deficiencies, and, like most other quarterbacks, he lacks the arm strength to throw flat-footed through contact.
If this seems like a lot of Hurts criticism, understand that, for years, I have presented Hurts as a franchise quarterback, full stop. But all except the best of franchise QBs have weaknesses, and Hurts has never been the best player on any Eagles roster.
Considering the continued regression of offensive tackles Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata, the stalled production of Barkley, and the inconsistency of defensive tackle Jalen Carter, the best candidates for that designation are linebacker Zack Baun, who makes the basic play; cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, who doesn’t intercept passes; and Smith.
In this moment, Smith wins in a landslide.
Feed him.
Injury attrition
Nothing guarantees wins in the NFL, even when the other teams’ best players suffer injuries. But some of the most accomplished players the Eagles were scheduled to face have been beset by a series of misfortunes.
In August, the Commanders lost five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil to a torn triceps. He was their best player. The Eagles beat the Commanders in Week 1.
On Sunday, the Bears lost star quarterback Caleb Williams to a hamstring injury. Even if Williams’ injury is minor, there’s a good chance he will not be allowed to start, and if he does start, he certainly won’t be as dynamic a threat as he usually is. The Eagles play in Chicago on Monday night.
Last Thursday in Australia, Myles Garrett, the best defender on the planet, limped through the Rams’ opening loss, then underwent knee surgery. The Eagles host the Rams in two weeks. Also, Pro Bowl receiver Puka Nacua was questionable for the Rams’ Monday night game with leg injuries that could linger.
On Sunday, the Commanders lost Pro Bowl quarterback Jayden Daniels to a dislocated left elbow. He was their most important player. The Eagles face the Commanders again Nov. 1, in six weeks. He injured the elbow twice last season. He missed three games after the first injury, but aggravated it a few weeks later and was lost for the rest of the year. He’s the No. 2 overall pick from the 2024 draft, and the Commanders might choose to sit him longer to protect him. Will he be back by Nov. 1?
None of this is cause for celebration, of course, and the same fate could befall the Eagles at any point. There’s a case to be made that it already has, since left guard Landon Dickerson is on IR with a knee injury. But then, Dickerson, for all his accomplishments, isn’t quite as big a loss as Garrett, Williams, Daniels, or Tunsil.
Extra points
Dak Prescott broke Tony Romo’s franchise record for TD passes with his 249th in Dallas’ win over Washington. They remain tied in playoff wins, at two. ... Patrick Mahomes’ 382-yard passing performance in the Chiefs’ overtime win against the visiting Colts on Sunday Night Football should erase any doubt that Mahomes again is the NFL’s best player. ... Don’t sleep on the Jags: Jacksonville had won nine straight regular-season games before losing at Denver on Sunday. ... The Raiders, who lost their last nine meaningful games last season and had a trade of pass rusher Maxx Crosby in March nullified after the Ravens gave him a physical, are 2-0 after a home win over the 0-2 Chargers. New starter Kirk Cousins threw for three TDs. Crosby has 1½ sacks. ... Controversial QB Deshaun Watson will remain the starter in Cleveland after his two TD passes led a weird win over the Buccaneers. With 2 minutes to play, the game was stopped due to weather for more than two hours. The Bucs faced second-and-four at the Browns’ 28-yard line when the game stopped, picked up the first down when it resumed, but the drive then fizzled.
Landon Dickerson has made a career of fighting through injuries and pain, last season being the latest instance. But after the left guard looked like a shell of himself Week 1 vs. Washington, the Eagles decided to shut him down — at least for now. With Dickerson landing on injured reserve, The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane explains why, this time around, he and the Eagles are taking the cautious route. Jeff also shares what he's heard about how the Eagles might fill Dickerson's void on the offensive line, and takes listener questions in this week's mailbag segment. Listen here.
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