Eagles News: Justin Jefferson says “there’s definitely some tension” going into Philadelphia

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Justin Jefferson: “Definitely some tension” after poor game against Eagles, Darius Slay last year - PFT
“It’s always going to be a great battle with the top corners in the league,” Jefferson said, via Judd Zulgad of USAToday.com. “I’m always excited to have those type of matchups. But definitely we have some things we’ve got to get back [at] them on. Having the loss last year, not having those plays we wanted last year. There’s definitely some tension going into the game.”

Eagles vs. Patriots: 10 winners, 7 losers, 7 IDKs - BGN
It really is crazy that nine teams allowed the Eagles to land the best player in the 2023 NFL Draft at No. 9 overall. Carter looked awesome from the jump. He was disruptive early and often, though it wasn’t until late in the game when he finally notched his first career sack. Getting to Mac Jones in that moment brought up 3rd-and-13 and forced the Patriots to call their final timeout. Two plays later, the Pats failed to convert to seal an Eagles win. Carter was certainly aided by playing against a Patriots offensive line missing both starting guards. But it’s still incredibly impressive that a rookie defensive tackle LEADS THE ENTIRE LEAGUE in pressures generated* after Week 1.

NFC East Mixtape Vol.127: Thoughts from Week 1 - BGN Radio
Brandon Lee Gowton and RJ Ochoa recap the Week 1 action in the division and look ahead to Week 2.

Vikings at Eagles: A Preview - Daily Norseman
The Vikings were as much as 7.5 point underdogs, but that spread has narrowed to 6.5 points with the injury reports. It would seem unlikely that Garrett Bradbury will start for the Vikings Thursday night, while Nakobe Dean is out for the Eagles and James Bradberry is unlikely to play having just entered concussion protocol and has yet to clear the five-step protocol to return to practice. While there is not a specific timeline to clear the protocol- every case is unique- it would seem unlikely for him to clear it by Thursday night. Additionally, Eagles starting safety Reed Blankenship has not practiced either Monday or Tuesday with a rib injury, which calls into question his availability Thursday night as well. Eagles’ starting running back Kenneth Gainwell has also yet to practice this week, also with a rib injury, casting doubt on his availability Thursday night too. Lastly, Fletcher Cox didn’t practice Monday and was limited on Tuesday with a rib injury, and I suspect he’ll be questionable but be available Thursday night- although he may not play as much. The Vikings also have Marcus Davenport and Christian Darrisaw with ankle injuries, and I’d expect Darrisaw to start. Hopefully Davenport will start too- he seemed like he was close to being available for the Bucs game so hopefully with a few more days he’ll be ready to go. Austin Schlottmann seems likely to start at center for the Vikings, but he did surprisingly well on Sunday, allowing just two hurries in 42 pass blocking reps according to PFF. It will certainly be a challenge for the Vikings to get a road win against the Eagles- the Eagles are basically touchdown favorites for a reason. They’re the best team in the league in the trenches, have plenty of weapons offensively, a top corner in Darius Slay, and are tough to beat at home.

A closer look at Eagles DT Jordan Davis’ Week 1 performance against the Patriots - PhillyVoice
Davis clogged up running lanes all afternoon against a Pats offense that wanted to be run-heavy. On the day, Stevenson and Elliott combined for 19 carries for 54 yards, partly because of Davis’ play in the middle of the Eagles’ defense. He was a crucial player in this matchup, and he played very well. He also flashed some pass rush ability that wasn’t always apparent in his rookie season. And, of course, he made a huge play on the forced fumble. That said, the Eagles’ staff may have to be wary of Davis’ snap counts and energy levels throughout games going forward so that he’s not taking crucial plays off in the fourth quarter.

Eagles DL Was Outstanding - Iggles Blitz
I didn’t realize how well Milton Williams played when watching the game live. It is really exciting to see him continue to get better. He was outstanding down the stretch last year. It would have been easy for him to be frustrated with the drafting of Jalen Carter, but Williams seems to be focusing on beating OL. Everything else will take care of itself. The burst he showed on the final pass rush in the clip was great. Watching live, I thought that was one of the edge rushers. Crazy to think it was a 280-pound DT. It is fair to point out that New England had some backup OL in the game. Still, that was a very impressive perfomance by the DL. The edge rushers didn’t have a huge day, but that was due more to the Pats quick passing attack than anything else.

NFL offensive line rankings ahead of Week 2 - PFF
The Eagles’ offensive line allowed 15 pressures to the Patriots — more than they gave up in any game last year. Philadelphia keeps the top spot on this list on the basis of going up against a strong defense in Week 1, but it is a situation worth monitoring. Similarly to the unit’s evaluation, Lane Johnson being the top player on the line is more about last season. He allowed the most pressures in this game (six).

How the Vikings might be able to scheme up advantages against the Eagles in Week 2 - The Athletic
Last year, the Eagles played Cover 0 against the Vikings on six snaps, which was more than they ran it in any other game. The blitzes were effective, too: Cousins went 0-for-6 with an interception against it. On Tuesday, Jefferson mentioned that counteracting Cover 0 has been a point of emphasis for the Vikings this week. If the offense can prevent these blitzes from generating negative plays — or even turn an overaggressive Philadelphia blitz into an explosive play of its own — the Vikings could handle this game better than last year.

The monumental challenge facing Christian Elliss - NBCSP
He was undrafted out of Idaho. He’s been released five times by three different teams. He spent most of the last two years on the Eagles’ practice squad. Now he’s a starter. Christian Elliss will make his first NFL start Thursday night when the Eagles face the Vikings at the Linc, and it will be quite a challenge for the 24-year-old undrafted linebacker from Idaho. He’s replacing Nakobe Dean – who made his first NFL start on Sunday – and he’ll be wearing the green-dot helmet to communicate plays from the coaches to the defense. And he’ll be doing it all against an explosive offense, a four-time Pro Bowl quarterback, a two-time Pro Bowl tight end and a head coach who won a Super Bowl two year ago as the Rams’ offensive coordinator. On national TV. “Wherever the coaches have me, wherever they put me, I’m excited to play,” Elliss said Tuesday. “I’m excited to improve from last week. I think there’s a lot of things that we can work on, especially in the LB room. Me in particular.

All-22 Review: Patriots | Week 1 - PE.com
Fran Duffy puts a spotlight on the performance by the Eagles’ defense from the Week 1 win over the New England Patriots. Check out the All-22 breakdown of the best plays.

Seahawks sign Jason Peters to practice squad as Charles Cross deals with toe injury - Field Gulls
The 41-year-old left tackle is signing with the Seattle Seahawks as emergency depth (and potentially emergency starter?) following the toe injury suffered to starter Charles Cross. Peters’ agent announced the news on Tuesday. Peters last played for the Dallas Cowboys after Tyron Smith tore his hamstring in the 2022 preseason. His best years were with the Buffalo Bills and the Philadelphia Eagles, including a Super Bowl win in 2017.

Patriots reportedly add third quarterback, sign Ian Book to practice squad - Pats Pulpit
The Saints eventually ended up releasing Book the following summer but he found his way to the Philadelphia Eagles, who claimed him off waivers. He spent the entire season as the team’s third quarterback behind Jalen Hurts and Gardner Minshew II and did not appear in any games. Book was let go by Eagles this summer and had remained on the open market ever since. Now, he is joining a Patriots team that is actively looking to improve its quarterback depth behind starter Mac Jones.

Cowboys big win either sets the tone, or sets us up for disappointment - Blogging The Boys
The tough Week 4-6 stretch against the Patriots, 49ers, and Chargers isn’t far away. We’ll know so much more about who the Cowboys really are going into the bye week following Zeke’s return, Kellen Moore’s attempt at revenge, and the showdown with our recent postseason nemesis. Hopefully, those teams will be nervous about facing a 3-0 juggernaut. Dallas did the job in Week 1, crushing a division rival and making a big statement. But how they perform in the coming weeks will decide if that statement was just a wild shout or a true herald for the Cowboys’ arrival and ascension as a championship contender. Was what we saw on Sunday night just the beginning, or was it just an aberration? Only they can answer that question in the games ahead.

Andrew Thomas injury update: Giants dodge a bullet - Big Blue View
For all the negative storylines coming out of the New York Giants’ blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys, one of the most concerning was the health of Andrew Thomas. The left tackle hurt his hamstring on the blocked field goal return and did not look comfortable for the rest of the game. Fortunately, an MRI reportedly showed nothing serious, and Thomas’ hamstring is simply sore.

What on earth is wrong with Camaron Cheeseman? - Hogs Haven
At some point over the course of this offseason, we were told, cryptically, that Cheeseman was “working on a new snapping technique.” That seemed innocuous enough. Perhaps there had been a sports physics breakthrough in how to snap the ball farther and faster in the post-COVID period that Washington’s long snapper was adopting, and that would benefit both Joey Slye and Tress Way. But instead of it being an improvement, it’s pretty much been an unmitigated disaster. And the car wreck has been very slowly developing.

NFL to expand practice squads for all 32 teams to include one international player starting in 2024 - NFL.com
Beginning in 2024, the practice squad will expand to 17 players for all 32 clubs, if one player is a qualifying international player. For the purpose of the initiative, a qualifying international player is a person whose citizenship and principal place of residence are outside the United States and Canada, and who have a maximum of two years of United States high school experience. In addition, an international player must (i) satisfy all NFL player eligibility rules and (ii) have been eligible for a prior NFL Draft. Clubs may choose to sign players identified through the NFL’s International Player Pathway program or can choose to independently scout for international talent.

A bar offered Packers fans free drinks if the Jets lost, and it all went horribly wrong - SB Nation
A Wisconsin bar was the site for one of the greatest stories to come out of Week 1 in the NFL. Hundreds of Packers fans packed Jack’s American Pub in Milwaukee for a promotion that offered free drinks if the Jets lost. It was supposed to be a good riddance to Aaron Rodgers — then things wen’t horribly wrong. Cheers erupted at the bar when Rodgers was injured in the first quarter, not so much out of spite but the realization their bar tabs were all but free. People began to run up their tabs to the max, binging in the assumed Jets’ mediocrity, a reality which never came. Local news was in the bar when the Jets came back, and captured the emotion when everyone realized their overblown bar tabs were due.

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