Eagles News: Eagles “still aren’t sure about the extent to which the injury will affect” Jalen Hurts

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Predicting NFL Week 17 upsets, plus weekly buzz, notes - ESPN+
Despite what the Eagles were saying publicly last week, I don’t believe there was ever any consideration given to Jalen Hurts playing against the Cowboys after his shoulder injury was revealed — and once again, I’d be surprised if he played this week. The Eagles’ real decision could end up being whether to give Hurts some game action in Week 18 against the Giants just so he hasn’t had five weeks off before their divisional-round playoff game (assuming they secure that No. 1 seed and bye). The impression I get from talking to people about this situation is that the Eagles believe they will have Hurts back before their first playoff game, but they still aren’t sure about the extent to which the injury will affect him once he does return.

Eagles favored to beat the Saints - BGN
The Birds can officially seal the deal by beating the New Orleans Saints in Week 17. Nick Sirianni’s side enters this matchup as 6.5-point home favorites, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. After playing three straight road games, the Eagles are back at Lincoln Financial Field for the first time since December 4. And home field advantage may not be an irrelevant factor in this battle. The Saints are just 2-5 in away games this season. One of those two wins came in a game that wasn’t played in a dome. And that was the Saints’ Week 16 victory over the Cleveland Browns, where they actually got outgained and their starting quarterback turned in a 44.3 passer rating.

NFC East Mixtape Volume 91: All four teams might make the playoffs - BGN Radio
Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) and RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) discuss the biggest storylines in the division.

Saints at Eagles: Five matchups to watch - PhillyVoice
It probably not the best sign for an offense if the No. 3 QB / No. 3 TE / No. 3 RB / No. 6 WR / core special teams guy is the best player, but that’s just sort of where the Saints’ offense is right now after a decade and a half of excellence under Drew Brees and Sean Payton. And then there’s Alvin Kamara, who does not look like the same player he was earlier in his career. On the season, Kamara has 184 carries for 717 yards (3.9 YPC) and two TDs. He has also caught 55 passes for 480 yards (8.7 YPC) and two TDs. Over the last two games (both wins), Kamara has gotten 45 touches. They want to run it and let their defense win it.

Trends - Iggles Blitz
The Eagles turned the ball over 10 times in the first 13 games. They turned it over three times in Chicago and four times in Dallas. That’s why the Eagles barely beat the Bears and lost to the Cowboys. Simple as that. Protect the ball and the Eagles win by double-digits in Chicago and they beat Dallas. The only two losses for the season both involved four turnovers. The Eagles beat themselves. That can make you feel confident about their chances for a Super Bowl run. This is a really good team. It also shows they are vulnerable. Play sloppy and you can lose. It still seems crazy that Taylor Heinicke was the first QB to beat them.

Spadaro: Defense needs to be ‘on the scent’ against Saints - PE.com
Every game is a learning experience and win or lose, there’s no time to dwell on what happened in the last game. You have to learn from the good and bad and then quickly shift your preparations to the upcoming game. That’s the case with Eagles Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who knows the team has to bounce back from Saturday’s loss at Dallas to play inhospitable host to New Orleans on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. New Orleans deploys some of its offensive weapons in a variety of ways – specifically dual-threat running back Alvin Kamara and jack-of-all-trades Taysom Hill – so the Eagles are preparing for that right now. What’s the Saints’ biggest threat on Sunday? “Versatility,” Gannon said. “They have some weapons that they deploy people different ways, and you have to be on with Taysom, Kamara, the quarterback (Andy Dalton) is playing pretty good. They have a lot of versatility, and they use a lot of different tools at their disposal to put stress on a defense. We have to get lined up. We have to know where to put our eyes, and we have to execute at a high level. That’s like any game you have to do that, but with these guys, they try to kind of get you off the scent, so to speak, so we have to be on it.” The Eagles were, um, “on the scent” in a lot of ways on Saturday against Dallas. They recorded six quarterback sacks to push their NFL-best total to 61 for the season. They had a takeaway that defensive end Josh Sweat turned into a 42-yard interception return for a touchdown. They limited a high-powered running game to 115 yards on 31 carries, a 3.7-yard-per-carry average.

Gannon gives his explanation for 3rd-and-30 disaster - NBCSP
Dak Prescott hit T.Y. Hilton for a 52-yard gain to keep the drive alive and the Cowboys scored a few plays later to tie the game at 34-34. Had the Eagles forced a punt they might already be the top seed in the NFC. For the first time since that fateful play, Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon had a chance to explain the call and what went wrong. “It’s me. I have to do a better job of coaching what I want out of that call,” Gannon said on Tuesday. “I’m not going to get into specifics of the call, but I liked the call. But looking back at it, we have to do a better job putting our guys in position to make that play and get off the field because you can’t give up a 3rd-and-30.

DVOA: Year of the Big Seven - Football Outsiders
There’s not much change on top of the Football Outsiders DVOA ratings this week. Now that we’ve got 15 games in the books, one game won’t do much to change the sample. Buffalo is still our No. 1 team for the year followed by three NFC teams: Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Dallas.

Saints expected to finally be put out of their misery in 2022 - Canal Street Chronicles
It is possible this week sees the return of CB Marshon Lattimore who has missed the majority of the season with a kidney injury, and as long as the season goes with meaningful football still left to play, the chances increase Lattimore returns in 2022. At this point, all eyes should remain fixated on the 2023 offseason considering playoff odds for the Saints are now less than 1%, so heading into the offseason with as much momentum is possible is as much of a high note as Saints fans can hope for at this point while keeping the Eagles from cashing in on a top-10 draft picks from New Orleans.

5 weird playoff factors including why it might be better for the Cowboys if the Eagles win this week - Blogging The Boys
The Philadelphia Eagles would love to clinch the top spot by beating the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Not only that, but it would also give the Saints another loss and drive up the value of their 2023 first-round draft pick (which the Eagles own). But don’t expect the Saints to lay down and die because they still have something to play for. If Tampa loses and the Saints beat Philly, there would be a three-way tie at 7-9 between the Bucs, Panthers, and Saints. That leaves a chance for the Saints to backdoor a division title. It seems like a longshot, but keep in mind the Saints are coming off two-straight wins and the Eagles are likely to be without Jalen Hurts once again. Anything is possible.

Giants vs. Colts, Week 17: Things to know as Giants seek playoff berth - Big Blue View
This is, of course, a ‘win and get into the playoffs’ game for the Giants. There are, though, other scenarios in which the Giants could reach the playoffs this weekend. Here are all of those scenarios”

Every stupid way each NFC South team could make the playoffs - SB Nation
The NFC South is a hilarious mess. There are only two weeks left in the season, everyone is playing each other, three different teams could win the division, and there’s even an outside chance two teams could get in — all while the winner finishes with a losing record. A bizarre combination of tie breakers and dumb luck has led us to this moment, with the Atlanta Falcons being the only team eliminated from the postseason. Whatever happens in the NFC South is sure to stir up debate with NFL playoff seeding, home field advantage and tiebreaker scenarios, because whatever happens will feel wrong, even if it’s technically right.

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