Eagles News: Jalen Hurts looked “sharp” in return to practice

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Eagles teammates saw “sharp” Jalen Hurts in return to practice - PFT

“I’ve been in this position before with a concussion, and when you miss time, you try and find ways to get back as fast as you can,” Mailata said, via Christian DeFranco of the Delaware County Daily Times. “I think he did a great job of dealing with that and coming back as sharp as he did today. I thought he had a phenomenal practice.”

Eagles sign former first-round pick, open Byron Young’s practice window - BGN

The Eagles signing a fifth safety wasn’t expected but they seem to value Cine’s long-term potential. He’s only 25. Perhaps the Birds will be able to get the best out of him while he’s surrounded by a number of his former Georgia Bulldog teammates in Philly. The Eagles had an open roster spot to fill after waiving Ian Book on Tuesday.

5 best potential Super Bowl matchups ranked from most to least fun - SB Nation

No. 3: Baltimore Ravens vs. Philadelphia Eagles. The big scheme storyline of 2024 was how teams returned to the run, and how running backs proved they’re not an endangered species in football. This matchup would have two absolute monster backs giving us hard-nosed football with Derrick Henry vs. Saquon Barkley being a spectacle for every old-school football fan. On top of that, you sprinkle in the new-school dual-threat quarterback sensibilities of Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts and we’re left with a really compelling game with a heaping helping of regional beef. Both of these teams have had past Super Bowl success, so we don’t quite get the level of drama a lot of us would be looking for — but this would still be a supremely fun game to watch, especially if you like great running backs.

Eagles-Packers preview: Five things to watch when the Packers have the ball - PhillyVoice

3) Capitalize on Jordan Love’s mistakes. Jordan Love is a very talented quarterback and he’s going to be a starter in the NFL for a long time. But in addition to the impressive plays that he makes, he also makes a lot of dumb throws. For example, this is how the Packers’ season ended last year in San Francisco. In Week 1, Love threw what should have been a gift pick-six to Nakobe Dean, but Dean dropped it. Count on Love to make a big mistake or two in this matchup. And if he does, the Eagles cannot waste those opportunities.

Looking Back at the Opener - Iggles Blitz

If you adjust for scrambles, the Eagles threw more than they ran in the opener. Boy has that changed. Saquon Barkley did have 24 carries so it wasn’t like they were pass happy. Kenny Gainwell only had one rush. Cam Jurgens mostly played well, but did have a couple of bad snaps. Mekhi Becton made his first start at RG and showed a lot of potential. Still, the OL wasn’t in the kind of groove that we saw by midseason. The Eagles were good enough to win the opener despite having some issues. That shows you how talented this team is. The coaches were able to develop players and their schemes in the ensuing weeks and months. The Eagles won 12 of their final 13 games, with the only loss coming in the final seconds. You can argue that the Lions, Chiefs and Bills are better, but you can also make a case that the Eagles are the best team in the league.

NFL playoff bracket predictions: Scores, Super Bowl LIX pick - ESPN+

The Packers thrive by doing one thing really well, and it’s something that would have me worried if I were an Eagles fan. In that Week 1 game, Hurts hit A.J. Brown for a 67-yard touchdown on a fade route past Jaire Alexander. Hafley’s defense apparently got so furious that it decided to stop allowing big plays. At all. That long Brown touchdown was the last time the Packers allowed a team to gain 40 yards or more — all season. Green Bay hasn’t allowed a gain of 40 yards or more on American soil. To put that in context, every other team has allowed at least six 40-plus yard gains this season. The Eagles, a great defense with a coordinator in Vic Fangio whose espoused goal is to avoid giving up plays over the top, have allowed seven. Only one other defense since 2000 has gone the season without giving up a 40-yard gain. The Eagles really need those to thrive on offense, where their 19 gains of 40 or more yards ranked second, behind the Ravens. As good as they are at their best, they ranked 16th in success rate on offense, which shows how they can be frustrating within stretches of games. Hurts takes too many sacks. Barkley, for all his brilliance, had 59 carries go for a loss or no gain. Those are issues offenses can mitigate when they’re producing huge plays on a weekly basis. If the Packers squeeze those big plays, Philly might struggle to adapt.

NFL Rookie Rankings: Jayden Daniels goes wire to wire as No. 1; Brian Thomas Jr. tops WR hierarchy - NFL.com

6) Quinyon Mitchell. The jump from college football to the pro game is particularly difficult at cornerback for one obvious reason: The NFL has far more stringent (and punitive) rules pertaining to contact in coverage. This helps explain the flagfest of a season from Detroit’s Terrion Arnold, the second cornerback selected last April. But Mitchell — the draft’s CB1, taken two slots before Arnold — has been strikingly immune to this common transitional issue, drawing just three penalties over 16 starts. By and large, he’s played like a seasoned vet in substance and style, routinely locking up opposing wideouts and then letting them hear about it.

Eagles’ rookie who calls teammate ‘weak’ has ‘contagious’ spirit that is key to Super Bowl - NJ.com

During the season, Mitchell asked wide receiver Britain Covey, who was placed on injured reserve a few weeks ago, to stay after practice and run routes that upcoming opposing wide receivers will use against him. Every time Mitchell lost a rep to Covey, he told the third-year wide receiver to line up against him one more time. After winning against Covey on the next play, Mitchell would tell Covey, “You’re weak” and too afraid to go again. “Stuff like that is contagious. Carries across the whole entire defense. That spark and fire, and competitive nature,” Covey said in December. Covey recalled specifically studying Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua before their Week 12 matchup and Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers prior to the Week 13 game. Then, Covey showed Mitchell what each wide receiver does to get open. Mitchell, who obsessed over those little details, played well in those wins, with Pro Football Focus giving him his second-highest coverage grade of the season against the Ravens.

Spadaro: How will the Eagles’ coaches gameplan for the rematch vs. Packers? - PE.com

Green Bay is going to be a tough assignment for the NFL’s No. 1-ranked defense, and Vic Fangio acknowledged as much when he and the Eagles’ coordinators met the media this week at the NovaCare Complex. “They are running the ball very, very well, and they have their play pass game off of that,” Fangio said. “They are a big-play team. They get a lot of explosives because of the quality of their running game. And it’s a really good offense. They do a good job calling it. They keep you off balance. Really good.” Philadelphia, of course, played Green Bay in Week 1 back in September in Brazil and prevailed, 34-29. Both teams have matured since then, said Fangio, so there are going to be plenty of differences in this NFC Wild Card Playoff matchup at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday (4:30 PM, FOX).

Mekhi Becton explains emotions of his 1st trip to the playoffs - NBCSP

The Eagles were still in the third quarter a couple weeks ago when Mekhi Becton told his O-line teammates that tears were coming. “Bro, I’m gonna cry,” Becton said. And he did. As the Eagles marched to a 41-7 win over the Cowboys, they clinched the NFC East with a week left to go in the regular season. For many Eagles, this level of success is nothing new. For Becton? This isn’t just the first division title in his five-year career. This is his first trip to the playoffs. Heck, his first winning season. “That meant a lot, man,” Becton said. “Just going through the trials and tribulations that I have gone through in my life and my career. I overcame a lot of things that people don’t know about but they think they know about. I overcame that and it was pretty dope.”

Jalen Hurts, Zack Baun, & the 10 most compelling Eagles as we enter the playoffs - PHLY

5. Jalen Carter. As much attention as the decision to rest Saquon Barkley in Week 18 soaked up, there’s a reasonable case to be made the player who most benefitted from the Eagles’ pseudo-bye was Carter. The second-year defensive tackle played 793 snaps over the season’s first 16 games, good for 79 percent of the defensive snaps, per TruMedia. That’s a far departure from the Eagles’ usual M.O., with no defensive linemen topping 70 percent of the defensive snaps in a season in recent years. Back in 2018, Fletcher Cox played 80 percent of the defensive snaps. For Carter, the week’s rest extends to his defensive line teammates. In Weeks 16 and 17, the four-man pass rush combined for only one sack and two other quarterback hits, tempting Fangio to up his blitz rate. If Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith can prove more effective after the time off, all the better for Carter. The Packers offensive line, meanwhile, ranked seventh in ESPN’s pass-block win rate and 23rd in run-block win rate. The story of their season was continuity, with their five starters combining to start all but one game during the regular season. Like Baun, Milton Williams is playing in what could be his last game as an Eagle as free agency looms, while Jordan Davis figures to be a player of importance against such a run-heavy opponent. But we all know Carter is the one liable to wreck a game. Let’s see if he can do it.

Team MVP? Favorite moments? The turning point? Five takeaways from Jeff McLane’s Eagles player survey - Inquirer

5. Personal growth. McLane’s final question asked players about the personal growth they’ve experienced through the 2024 season. A number of players shouted out A.J. Brown for playing an important role in keeping them motivated and helping during the low moments. “A.J. helped me a lot,” cornerback Isaiah Rodgers said. “A.J. keeps me grounded. A.J, we built a bond. He knows when I’m having one of those days, or when I’m down or anything. We talk a lot outside of the building too. He knows me a little bit better than most people.” Brown also guides the team through his own example.“Being able to watch him day to day, because I feel like he is a top, top receiver in this league, arguably the best,” Dotson said. “ … I’m not 100% at the peak of where I want to be, but I feel like coming here was a blessing for me, just to be able to be around someone like him and just see how he goes about it.”

Packers vs. Eagles Injury Report: Jordan Love, Jalen Hurts both limited - Acme Packing Company

The Packers were first to open their week of practice on Wednesday. Love was seen warming up with the rest of Green Bay’s roster for the portion of practice that the media was allowed to witness. Love didn’t throw a ball in front of the press, though, as the Packers saved their individual drills — which they usually perform in front of the media — for when the team was by themselves. After practice, Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur confirmed that Love did some throwing on Wednesday, but that both he and backup quarterback Malik Willis were limited today. Love noted that he was hopeful that he’ll be ready to play by Sunday and that he’s lost the numbness that he felt in his hand last week against the Bears.

“Cosmic Timing”: How Jayden Daniels and the Commanders Brought Football Joy Back to D.C. - The Ringer

After decades of losing, mismanagement, and toxicity under former owner Dan Snyder, the Washington franchise has undergone a sports exorcism. And its great hope at quarterback couldn’t have come along at a more perfect time.

Commanders vs Buccaneers Wednesday Injury Report: Jayden Daniels and Marshon Lattimore “full” practice - Hogs Haven

Marshon Lattimore was listed as a full participant today, and head coach Dan Quinn said again today that he has been hitting all the markers needed to return to the field. The Commanders traded for him at the trade deadline(November 5th), and he has only played in 2 of the 8 games played since then. Lattimore has played against the Buccaneers plenty of times during his time with the New Orleans Saints, and has a long history facing off against Bucs WR Mike Evans. Jayden Daniels was pulled from Sunday’s game against the Cowboys at halftime, which allowed backup Marcus Mariota to shine, and get a come from behind victory of his own. Dan Quinn said it was due to leg soreness, and he’s listed on today’s injury report with a quad injury. He was a “full” participant, and he said if the game was a win and in type of situation, they would have had to drag him off the field. We’ll have to wait to see how the next two practices go, but Daniels is expected to start against the Buccaneers for his first playoff game on Sunday night.

Micah Parsons says Cowboys will win the Super Bowl next season - Blogging The Boys

The Dallas Cowboys won’t be participating in the postseason for the first time since 2020. However, per usual, it doesn’t stop people from talking about the organization, and All-Pro Micah Parsons has made headlines this week. First, he made a pitch to Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill to join the Cowboys next season. Speaking of the 2025 campaign, Parsons made an extremely bold prediction for what next year will look like for Dallas. He stated that the Cowboys would win the Super Bowl.

PFF: The Giants should pursue QB Justin Fields - Big Blue View

There is no denying the 25-year-olds dynamic ability with the football in his hands. The man is 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, with exceptional agility and explosiveness, but his inability to consistently read the field, throw with anticipation, or keep an offense on schedule have been issues that his offenses had to coach around. These issues were evident in his 2020 tape at Ohio State, which is one reason why I was skeptical of Fields as a first-round pick (see vs. Alabama, Northwestern, and Indiana). Still, I am interested in taking a shot on Fields at a discount rate. Do I believe he is a perfect match for Brian Daboll? No, but I would like to give Daboll a chance to work with Fields. I would support the Giants signing Fields to a cheap contract as a second or possibly even third option. I want the Giants to foster an actual competitive environment at the quarterback position.

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