The Linc – Jordan Howard expected to play against Washington

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 1/2/22.

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

Eagles rookie storylines entering the second WFT game – BGN
DeVonta Smith is only 92 yards away from breaking Desean Jackson’s rookie receiving record and 172 yards away from being the first Eagles receiver to break 1,000 yards since 2014. While these statistical achievements are great on their own, DeVonta Smith producing is conducive to the Eagles passing game functioning at a high level. The Eagles have been somewhat inconsistent in getting the ball to Smith on a week to week basis, but hopefully they feed him over the next two weeks to help propel the team to a playoff appearance.

Eye On the Enemy #79: Eagles-WFT Preview with Bryan Stabbe + favorite John Madden moment with the Birds – BGN Radio
On the latest episode John Stolnis and Hogs Havens’ Bryan Stabbe previewed this Sunday’s matchup between the Eagles and the WFT. John also goes through the WFT’s COVID injury list, Kirk Cousins’ COVID diagnosis and its effect on the Eagles wild card picture, and played back my favorite John Madden moment with the Eagles.

Mailbag: How concerning are the Eagles’ recent slow starts? – PhillyVoice
I think that if you’re a quarterback needy team this offseason, Minshew isn’t going to be at the top of anyone’s wish list. However, I can see a quarterback-desperate team maybe making a move for him, say, if their starter went down in-season next year. Maybe the Eagles could siphon off a high Day 3 pick? That’s about the most I think they could hope for.

Lots On The Line – Iggles Blitz
They’ll be missing Gibson, who is their best offensive player, as well as a pair of starting OL. They are thin at CB and will be without their stud punter. Washington will be without some key pieces once again. They will have QB Taylor Heinecke this time out. Heinecke moves well and has playmaking ability. The Eagles tend to struggle more with pocket passers, but Heinecke can make a difference becaue of his willingness to take chances and ability to make plays. With a couple of OL out, the Eagles DL needs to come up big. This would be a great time to have 6 or 7 sacks, but I’ll settle for regular pressure. The Eagles have been shutting down bad offenses recently. Washington hasn’t scored more than 20 points in five weeks. They only went above 300 yards once in that span. This would seem to be a team the Eagles should shut down.

In Roob’s Observations, mulling Brooks’ future – NBCSP
10. One remarkable thing about Dallas Goedert’s season is his yards per catch. Goedert is averaging 15.2 yards per catch on 50 receptions, and only five tight ends since 1988 have had a higher average with minimum of 50 catches (Shannon Sharpe in 1997, Antonio Gates in 2010, Vernon Davis in 2010 and 2013, Rob Gronkowski in 2015 and 2017 and George Kittle in 2018). Heck, there are only four WRs this year with 50 receptions and a higher yards-per-catch average. The last Eagles WR to catch 50 passes and average 15 yards per catch was Jeremy Maclin in 2014.

6 key matchups to watch Sunday vs. Washington – PE.com
1. Win the running game. The last time these teams met, the Eagles outgained Washington on the ground by a 238-63 margin. And the Eagles won the game after a rough start. Washington has largely been strong against the run this season – ranking eighth in the NFL allowing an average of 104.2 yards per game, but in the last three games, that number has ballooned to 156 yards per game. Losing players along the defensive front to injury and COVID has been a problem, but the fact is that teams have had success running against Washington. Running the ball has been the linchpin of the Eagles’ 6-2 run as Philadelphia leads the NFL in rushing offense. Expect the Eagles to try to establish the line of scrimmage. There are some questions with Washington up front so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the offense test the edges and get the ground game going early. Washington’s best running back Antonio Gibson is on the Reserve-COVID list and out for Sunday’s game. It’s a significant loss for Washington, leaving the bulk of the running duties to rookie Jaret Patterson, who has 50 carries for 188 yards.

Washington Roster Moves: 7 practice squad players activated for Eagles game; Antonio Gandy-Golden released – Hogs Haven
Washington’s Reserve/COVID-19 list is up to 8 players after another wave hit the team this week. That leaves a lot of open spots on the roster and Washington has activated 7 practice squad players to help get then through another game. Tress Way won’t play for the first time in his career thanks to COVID-19. Ryan Winslow was signed to the practice squad so he could be a replacement player for this week’s game against the Eagles. Washington also activated DE William Bradley-King, LB De’Jon Harris, CB DJ Hayden, S Jeremy Reaves, RB Wendell Smallwood, and G Deion Calhoun from the practice squad. Most of these players have been used on gamedays this year due to injury or as COVID-19 replacements. Washington is particularly thin at RB, OL, and CB this week and will have to rely on reinforcements from the practice squad.

Poll: Is this the most confident you have felt entering a recent Dallas Cowboys playoff run? – Blogging The Boys
Dallas Cowboys fans polled by SB Nation Reacts have returned to a place of feeling extremely confident in this team and the four-game winning streak is obviously a huge factor in that. With the offense finally matching the defense as far as legitimacy is concerned, and the special teams chipping in as well, it is hard not to let your mind run away from you as far as what this team is capable of. Looking back at the last few Cowboys teams who entered the playoffs there (with the benefit of hindsight) were some warts that had us concerned. In 2018 it felt like they had caught lightning in a bottle in the middle of the season after trading for Amari Cooper and that the ride had an expiration date of sorts. Two years earlier it was impossible not to worry about the offense’s driving forces being rookies (not that this played a role in the Divisional Round loss) and back in 2014 the defense played well above expectation all year until it was too late.

NBA MVP candidates, ranked for 2022 so far – SB Nation
6. Joel Embiid, C, 76ers: Embiid may have won the award last season had he not missed time with an injury as the Sixers sprinted to the No. 1 seed in the East. Philly hasn’t been as good this year with Ben Simmons out, but Embiid might be even better. He’s shooting better from three, dishing out more assists, and turning the ball over less. Missed games will again hurt his chances, but he should rise if he stays healthy. This likely isn’t the year he gets the award mostly because his team is fighting for a mid-table seed in the East playoff picture.

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