Eagles News: Philadelphia has the NFL’s third easiest schedule for the rest of 2019

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NFL schedule strength: Ranking all 32 teams from toughest to easiest - ESPN+
30. Philadelphia Eagles. Football Outsiders’ DVOA ratings currently have Dallas (fourth) significantly ahead of Philadelphia (12th); along with a half-game lead and a head-to-head win, that makes Dallas our current favorite to win the NFC East. But the difference between the Cowboys’ upcoming schedule (12th hardest) and the Eagles’ schedule makes the NFC East race closer than it would be otherwise. Five of Philadelphia’s eight remaining games are at home. Yes, New England is one of those opponents at Lincoln Financial Field. However, December should be remarkably easy for the Eagles. Four of Philadelphia’s final five games come against teams at the bottom of the DVOA ratings, including a game at Miami (32nd), a game at Washington (29th) and a home-and-home set with the New York Giants (26th). The tough game in December is Week 16, when the Eagles host the rematch with Dallas.

Eagles fan confidence rebounds ahead of Bears game - BGN
One week can make a huge difference in the NFL. Last week at this time, the Philadelphia Eagles had the third least confident fan base in the league by FanPulse standards. And could you blame them? No, you couldn’t, because the team was coming off two blowout losses that were accompanied by off-field drama. A decisive win over the Buffalo Bills now has Eagles fans feeling significantly better. This is what a jump from 7% fan confidence to 54% fan confidence looks like.

Babes On Broad #11: We Ain’t No... - BGN Radio
Sam Wilson & Jessica Towne review the Eagles win over the Bills, talk about DeSean Jackson’s potential return, then it’s all Philly sports and listener questions! Powered by SB Nation & Bleeding Green Nation!

Mailbag: Sunday’s Eagles-Bears outcome is kind of a big deal - PhillyVoice
If the Eagles win, they’re probably looking at a 10-win season, given the rest of their schedule. If you assume wins over the Dolphins, Giants (x2), and Washington team (perhaps we shouldn’t be predicting a sweep of those four teams, but whatever), that brings them to nine wins. They’d only need to win one of the three remaining games against the Seahawks, Patri*ts, or Cowboys, all of which are at home. If they lose, they’re 4-5 heading into a long two weeks until their next game, with the Patri*ts waiting for them on the other side. Not ideal. If you’ll note, there’s more at stake for the Eagles this week in “playoff probability leverage” in Week 9 than there is for any other team in the NFC, with a difference of 23 percent probability to make the playoffs depending on a win or loss.

A Big Game - Iggles Blitz
The Bears have lost three games in a row. They are a desperate team. The last time the Eagles faced someone like that, Dallas put a curb-stomping on the guys in green. There is a big difference…Mitchell Trubisky. He’s thrown five TDs all year. Five. That is crazy in the modern NFL. The Bears are 29th in yards gained. That’s not all on Trubisky, but he’s a big part of their offensive struggles. The Eagles need to embrace the moment. They have the better record, but that doesn’t mean they can’t play with an edge. The Eagles didn’t have that in Dallas and it showed. They better change that on Sunday. This is an important game for both teams.

Best bets: Bears-Eagles, total, survivor picks and more - Windy City Gridiron
Oh, Sam... I’m not excited about this game. I haven’t been excited about it for awhile. Just when the Bears get something going in the run game, they draw the mighty Eagles front 7. The way to beat this Eagles team is to pass on that vulnerable secondary. Do we think that Trubisky can take advantage? I’m just not willing to go there at this point. As much as it pains me to say it, give me the Eagles -5. As for the over/under, I’m actually kind of digging the over. The Bears defense might be put in some difficult positions like last week and Wentz is much more dangerous at this point than Rivers. I’ll take the over for the first time in awhile.

How long has it been since Eagles’ secondary was healthy? - NBCSP
Jalen Mills was thinking back, trying to remember the last time the Eagles had their full secondary together. “It had to be Jacksonville last year, right? Before I got hurt?” he said. “No wait. Rodney (McLeod) got hurt Week 3. Has to be the Colts game, right? That’s when Rod got hurt. He got hurt Week 3, I got hurt Week 8, (Ronald) Darby got hurt Week 9. We haven’t all played together since the Colts game.” Bingo. It’s been more than 13 months since the Eagles had a healthy secondary. They’ve played 23 consecutive games with one of their starters missing. At least one of their starters. On Sunday, when the Eagles face the Bears at the Linc, the band will finally be back together.

The Continuing education of the Eagles’ Miles Sanders: Notebooks, Tupac, and potholes - Inquirer
The 22-year old, despite the expectations and public impatience, has already accomplished so much. Sanders’ 550 scrimmage yards and 250 return yards are the most for an NFL running back in his first eight games since Adrian Peterson in 2007. But getting to this point has been quite an NFL education. From getting drafted in the second round in April, to missing spring workouts because of a hamstring injury, to enduring Staley’s tough love, to public praise and criticism – sometimes within only a matter of plays – Sanders has already experienced a lot. “The hardest thing is living up to expectations, but that’s what brings me back to canceling out everything outside of what’s not in here,” Sanders said. “People don’t know what we do every day, what time we wake up. They don’t understand the time and effort that gets put into this. I work my ass off every day. I only expect success. Knowing that I’m having a little bit of success, most importantly, doing whatever I can to help the team, is making me feel good.”

NFL Week 9 Preview: Players to watch, fantasy football advice and betting projections - PFF
There isn’t a lot to like in regards to Mitchell Trubisky, but his passes downfield are truly some of the worst. He ranks dead last among qualifying quarterbacks in PFF passing grade on throws of 10-plus air yards (44.2) entering Week 9. ‘Bisk has completed just 21-of-55 attempts for 444 yards, two touchdowns and two picks throwing 10 or more yards down the field.

If Eagles are going to win NFC East over Cowboys, these 6 players need to play better in 2nd half of season - NJ.com
WR Nelson Agholor: He’s been written about quite a bit, but Agholor’s struggles have been especially problematic with DeSean Jackson out, as he’s been the de facto No. 2 wide receiver, except he’s not exactly playing like one. Among 70 wide receivers with least 30 targets, Pro Football Focus has Agholor ranked 70th. As in, the worst. Is he the worst wide receiver in the NFL? Certainly not. He should be able to focus on the short-to-intermediate areas of the field with Jackson back in the mix and, simply, he needs to catch the ball when that happens.

NFL Midseason Power Rankings: The Patriots, 49ers, and Their Historic Defenses Reign - The Ringer
11. Philadelphia Eagles (4-4). The Eagles are maddening. Philly’s secondary had a bounceback game against the Bills, but they’ll continue to struggle against more potent passing attacks. Even so, the Eagles’ performance last week is a reminder of just how dangerous Doug Pederson’s guys can be. The offensive line is still among the best in the NFL, and Pederson seems to be figuring out how to use his dual-threat backfield of Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard. Fletcher Cox and the rest of the pass rush are still capable of taking over entire games. And quarterback Carson Wentz could welcome DeSean Jackson back into the fold this week, which would be a huge boon for the passing game. Despite the slow start, Philly has hung around for just long enough to potentially make some noise in the NFC playoff picture.

The 8-Point Lead: Avonte Maddox’s 20 scary seconds, DeSean Jackson’s return, advice from Zach Ertz’s ‘therapist’ - The Athletic
“I liked Miles a lot,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said by phone this week. “We saw a lot of good things from him. He’s very versatile in what he can do. He obviously can do a lot of things out of the backfield. His film, there was just so much evidence at Penn State of a lot of great vision, being able to cut on the dime and make guys miss. He had that one run against Michigan State that was special. We really liked the kid. Howie (Roseman) and Doug (Pederson) did a great job of drafting him.” Montgomery is the Bears’ leading rusher this season, with 98 carries for 366 yards and three touchdowns. He had his best game last Sunday, rushing 135 yards against the Chargers. Sanders has paired with Howard in the Eagles’ backfield and has been their most dynamic offensive player. He has 66 carries for 294 yards and one touchdown, along with 19 catches for 274 yards and one touchdown. Sanders missed practice on Wednesday with a shoulder injury, but he returned Thursday and is expected to play Sunday against the team that could have drafted him. “It was Philly and Chicago,” Sanders said. “Very similar offenses, too. And situations were pretty good.”

Week 9 Rankings - Rotoworld
The TE9 in PPR, Zach Ertz is an even more disappointing TE11 in standard. A tough schedule and Dallas Goedert’s continued emergence — 17 targets over the past three weeks — have both played a part. The Bears are another below-average spot for Week 9.

Which streaming quarterbacks are worth starting over Lamar Jackson?- Fake Teams
Q: Samuels, D Monty or Marv Jones PPR flex?— @StillyRyan ... Marvin Jones. I expect this Lions offense to come out firing against the Raiders that’s giving up the sixth most points to opposing receivers. Plus, Curtis Samuels and David Montgomery’s matchups are much, much worse. I’m benching Montgomery in all my leagues. I have no faith in the Bears or him against this stout Eagles run defense.

Report: Detroit Lions working out RB Jay Ajayi - Pride Of Detroit
At this point, it’s unclear if the Lions are simply checking out Ajayi’s current health status or if they have legitimate interest in the former fifth-round pick. But based on the team’s latest news and rumors, they will give him some serious consideration if he proves healthy enough to play again. Detroit’s running game currently ranks 22nd in rushing yards per game and 26th in yards per carry. They need all the help they can get.

Arizona Cardinals sign Zach Brown, release Alfred Morris - Revenge Of The Birds
Haason Reddick has been unreliable at best as an inside linebacker and Joe Walker is more of a special teams player at this point in his career. Signing Brown to play across from Jordan Hicks makes a lot of sense.

Midseason ‘things I think’ about the New York Giants - Big Blue View
The most disappointing end to a fantastic career — You know where this one has to go. We’re talking about Eli Manning here. The Giants tried for years to stick with Manning and give the best quarterback in franchise history a proper sendoff as the leader of a winning team. They tried one final time this year. It didn’t work and Pat Shurmur (mercifully?) pulled the plug after two games. It can’t be easy for Manning to show up day after day with nothing to do but run the scout team and to know that his career is likely over, and, sadly, it has to end this way for him, but perfect fairy tale endings are few and far between.

Counter Trey Pod: Do The Redskins Regret Drafting Haskins? - Hogs Haven
At 1-7, the Washington Redskins need to be focused on the future. Coming into the 2019 season, that future included rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr. But, in limited action, the rookie quarterback has looked, well, like a rookie. Most recently, reports have surfaced that Haskins isn’t picking up the playbook as quickly as many in the organization had hoped. With the team needing to fill multiple holes on both offense and defense, in addition to a potential top-5 draft pick in 2020, leads me to wondering... Does the team regret drafting Dwayne?

Russell Wilson was already the MVP favorite. Now he has Josh Gordon to help bring it home - SB Nation
Russell Wilson doesn’t need Josh Gordon’s help, but it certainly won’t hurt. At the time the team claimed Gordon off waivers, Wilson already led the NFL in touchdown passes (17) and passer rating (115.5). He dragged the Seahawks to a 6-2 record through the first half of the season, despite the defense ranking 23rd in yards allowed and the rushing offense averaging 4.1 yards per carry, 18th best in the NFL. There’s still Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers and Christian McCaffrey in the hunt, but Wilson is the midseason MVP favorite. Now he gets a player who once led the NFL in receiving yards in a season by averaging 117.6 yards per game. Granted, it’s no guarantee it’ll work out for Seattle. It’s pretty easy to be optimistic, though.

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