Eagles’ Week 2 opponent loses starting offensive lineman to injury

The Eagles aren’t the only NFL team to receive some bad injury news on Monday. Philadelphia’s Week 2 opponent — the Atlanta Falcons — suffered a loss of their own.

Multiple reports indicate Falcons 2019 first-round pick (No. 14 overall) and starting right guard Chris Lindstrom will miss at least eight weeks with a broken foot. This obviously means Lindstrom won’t be available for Atlanta’s Sunday Night Football matchup against the Eagles this weekend.

Here’s the reaction to the news from our associates over at The Falcoholic:

I’m not going to sugarcoat how much this would suck. Lindstrom isn’t great just yet, but he had the potential to be great sooner than later, and playing time was the way he was going to get there. Depending on how severe the fracture is, where it is, etc., Lindstrom will likely miss anywhere from eight weeks to the entire season. This is a huge blow for the Falcons and a huge bummer for Lindstrom.

The Falcons’ depth-building moves are the only saving grace here. Jamon Brown didn’t win the left guard job but has played pretty well at right guard at times in his career, and he could slide right in there with James Carpenter minding the left guard spot. If the team doesn’t feel great about that move, Wes Schweitzer and his series of unending improbable starters might take over, and it’s worth remembering that at this point Schweitzer has a ton of experience and is, while not exactly inspiring, better than he’s generally given credit for. If the team needs more depth and Lindstrom’s going to be gone a long time, Sean Harlow lurks on the practice squad as an emergency call-up.

The aforementioned Jamon Brown does have plenty of experience with 38 starts in 50 career games played. Brown started eight games with the New York Giants in 2018 but he didn’t necessarily perform well. Brown ranked 70th out off 88 guards graded by Pro Football Focus last season. The Giants, who were in need of offensive line help, allowed Brown to walk in free agency.

In order to beat the Falcons, the Eagles will likely need to pressure Matt Ryan better than they did Case Keenum in Week 1. The Vikings generated four sacks and seven quarterback hits against the Falcons so Atlanta’s protection unit hardly looks impenetrable. Losing Lindstrom might only make their offensive line worse. The Eagles must take advantage.