Getty Jason Kelce wore a Batman mask on the sideline during a 35-13 win over Pittsburgh.
The Philadelphia Eagles watched Jordan Davis get carted off the sideline late in the second quarter with an ankle sprain. It looked bad. It could have been a lot worse in what was the only blemish on a perfect day. The team is 7-0 for the second time in franchise history.
The rookie defensive tackle wore a boot on his right leg following the team’s 35-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was using crutches and walking gingerly in the locker room. The injury was the result of a tackle on Steelers running back Najee Harris, something that looked season-threatening at the time. It’s not.
According to The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, Davis will be out four to six weeks due to a high ankle sprain. The news seemed to be a best-case scenario for the 6-foot-6, 340-pounder who gobbles people up (two defenders at a time) along the interior of the defensive line.
Source confirms it is believed Jordan Davis suffered a high ankle sprain. I’m told x-rays revealed no fracture in the ankle but Jordan will have MRI tomorrow to see how serious the ankle sprain is
Now the question is, how do the Eagles replace him? The in-house options are promising. Javon Hargrave – 2 sacks, 8 tackles versus Pittsburgh – will see an uptick in snaps with Davis out. Ditto for Marlon Tuipulota (1 sack, 2 tackles) and Milton Williams (1 sack).
And don’t be surprised if Howie Roseman is working the phones to see if any spare parts could be had for a mid-round pick. They did just a few days ago when they acquired Robert Quinn for a fourth-rounder.
Two DT are inside the top 20 in pressures/outside the top 30 in sacks (per @PFF):
Javon Hargrave, PHI (snaps have only dipped below 60% twice this year)
Matt Ioannidis, CAR (was playing 70-80% of snaps before his concussion – LP today)
Both have only played 6 games!
The Carolina Panthers may be looking to move Matthew Ioannidis ahead of the deadline on November 1. And Deron Payne’s days with the Washington Commanders may be running out, although they probably wouldn’t trade inside the NFC East.
Eagles Play Their First ‘Complete Game’
There were a bunch of Eagles players – namely A.J. Brown and Jalen Hurts – who didn’t feel like the team took advantage of enough opportunities on Sunday. It’s hard to nit-pick when everything’s perfect.
Head coach Nick Sirianni took his starters out with 9:24 showing in the fourth quarter. Jason Kelce put on the Batman mask. Everyone had seen enough in the first “complete” game of the 2022 season.
“I thought we had a good first and second half today. I do. I think that’s a good football team,” Sirianni said. “I know that’s an extremely well-coached football team. I can’t say enough good things about Coach [Mike] Tomlin. His resume speaks for itself. That’s a really good team, and I think we played a pretty complete game, and we needed to today to be able to close that out. We really wanted to emphasize how we start the second half.”
Miles Sanders’ turn! @Eagles
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Philadelphia took their first drive of the second half right down the field: 5 plays for 75 yards, punctuated with a 34-yard touchdown toss to Zach Pascal. They did it in 2 minutes and 7 seconds. They would add another one when Miles Sanders took an 11-yard touchdown in to start the fourth quarter. The defense surrendered just one field goal in the second half, 13 points total.
“You go up three scores and you’re at the end, of course you’re going to take some air out of that,” Sirianni said, “and not be quite as aggressive and run the clock. I thought today was one of our most complete games we’ve had all year.”
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A.J. Brown: ‘It’s My Ball or Nobody’s Ball’
It’s not the first time A.J. Brown has dropped the “it’s my ball or nobody’s ball” line. The Pro Bowl receiver pulled it out during training camp to illustrate how confident he was in himself, that no one can stop him in single coverage.
He was right on Sunday. Brown hauled in three touchdowns, including two in double coverage. After the game, he was thinking about two more catches he should have made.
Brown had six catches for a career-high 156 yards and three scores, but he was fixated on those two misses. He dropped a wide-open pass over the middle – he blamed it on the sun getting in his eyes – that had the potential to turn into a 54-yard scoring strike. Later, Brown secured a 43-yard catch that fell 11 yards shy of a touchdown after a nifty ankle tackle by Minkah Fitzpatrick. There was also a third opportunity referenced by Brown.
“It’s my ball or nobody’s ball. I’m kind of upset at myself because I know the opportunity late in the game, even though it was a flag, I know I could have caught that ball,” Brown said. “Another opportunity there was a ball I had dropped, but I let the sun dictate my whole – everything. I couldn’t see the ball. I’m really kind of upset right now because I know – I had a big day, but I could have had an even bigger day if I made the most of those opportunities so there’s definitely room for improvement.”
AJ Brown let Minkah Fitzpatrick think he was getting an INT just long enough to break his heart