Joe Milton has never started an NFL game. The closest he came was in Week 18 of the 2024 season when Patriots starter Drake Maye played only three snaps before giving way to Milton, who played the final 61 snaps.
Milton looked like a starting NFL quarterback in that game, completing 22 of 29 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown.
Less than two years later, Milton is on his third team and has played only 51 snaps in four appearances with Dallas since.
He will make his first career start on Sunday when the Eagles play the Giants.
“I was just pretty much going through the plays, going through the week like I was a starter, or like I was playing, and just being ready,” Milton said Thursday, via Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “And that’s what the NFL is about: Just being ready when your name is called, and just preparing for those moments.”
The Eagles signed Milton off the Cowboys’ practice squad on Oct. 16 after they placed Jalen Hurts on injured reserve due to blood clots. Tanner McKee started the past three games, but went 0-3 as the Eagles ran their losing streak to six games.
Milton has had a crash course in learning the playbook and the terminology, which he said reminds him of the West Coast scheme he had in New England his rookie season.
Milton was asked how much of the Eagles’ playbook he knows.
“Shoot, whatever’s in this week,” he said with a laugh.
Giants Clips
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley returned to limited work Thursday after missing Wednesday’s practice with hamstring and back injuries.
Barkley practiced only once last week, getting limited work Friday, before playing 22 snaps on Sunday against the Commanders. He played 10 snaps the week before against the Cowboys.
The rest of the team’s report remained the same.
Wide receivers DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) were out of practice again, with both on track to miss a third consecutive game.
Linebacker Jihaad Campbell (hamstring/quad), defensive back Michael Carter (abdomen), wide receiver Britain Covey (knee) and cornerback Jonathan Jones (hamstring) also didn’t practice Wednesday.
Kicker Jake Elliott (right ankle), outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard (ankle) and outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt (knee/ankle) were limited.
Linebacker Zack Baun (shoulder), offensive tackle Markel Bell (finger), defensive tackle Jordan Davis (thumb), offensive guard Landon Dickerson (hip), tight end Dallas Goedert (knee), quarterback Tanner McKee (chest), defensive back Kenny Moore (glute) and defensive tackle Moro Ojomo (neck) were full participants.
Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers was named the NFC offensive player of the month for October on Thursday, but he didn’t take part in practice with the team.
Nabers sat out the workout because of his knee. He was not on the injury report at all on Wednesday and told reporters that he would be good to go for Sunday’s game against the Eagles.
The Giants will issue an official designation for Nabers on Friday. They’ll do the same for running back Cam Skattebo, but the outlook seems less bright for him after he missed his second straight day with a hamstring injury.
Right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (calf), wide receiver Charlie Jones (hand), left tackle Andrew Thomas (groin), and defensive lineman Darius Alexander (foot) were all limited participants. Linebacker Abdul Carter (illness), linebacker Malik Harrison (groin), cornerback Colton Hood (illness), tight end Theo Johnson (neck), offensive lineman Marcus Mbow (knee), defensive lineman DJ Reader (knee), tight end Thomas Fidone (thumb), linebacker Trace Ford (knee), and linebacker Micah McFadden (foot) were all full participants.
Bill Belichick fell short of the necessary votes to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2026, but he may have another chance in 2027.
The Hall of Fame announced the five coaches who have advanced to the next round of consideration in the current selection process. One of those coaches will be selected for consideration by the full selection committee ahead of the Super Bowl.
Belichick is joined by Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Dan Reeves, and Mike Shanahan. All five coaches also advanced to this point in the selection process last year. This is the fourth time that Holmgren has advanced to this point.
Don Coryell was the last coach selected for the Hall of Fame. He was part of the Class of 2023.
Giants receiver Malik Nabers had a strong October and now has been recognized for it.
The NFL named Nabers NFC offensive player of the month.
He had 36 catches for a league-high 509 yards with two touchdowns in October.
As noted by the league, Nabers was No. 2 with 36 receptions last month and was the only player to record at least 100 receiving yards in four games.
This is Nabers’ first career player of the month award.
In seven games this year, Nabers has caught 48 passes for 605 yards with two touchdowns.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley missed practice Wednesday with his hamstring and back injuries.
Barkley practiced only once last week, getting limited work Friday, before playing 22 snaps on Sunday against the Commanders. He played 10 snaps the week before against the Cowboys.
Wide receivers DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) remained out of practice, with both on track to miss a third consecutive game.
Linebacker Jihaad Campbell (hamstring/quad), defensive back Michael Carter (abdomen), wide receiver Britain Covey (knee) and cornerback Jonathan Jones (hamstring) also didn’t practice Wednesday.
Kicker Jake Elliott (right ankle), outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard (ankle) and outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt (knee/ankle) were limited.
Linebacker Zack Baun (shoulder), offensive tackle Markel Bell (finger), defensive tackle Jordan Davis (thumb), offensive guard Landon Dickerson (hip), tight end Dallas Goedert (knee), quarterback Tanner McKee (chest), defensive back Kenny Moore (glute) and defensive tackle Moro Ojomo (neck) were full participants.
Barkley was able to play through his injuries on Sunday night but played just 22 snaps after playing just 10 against the Cowboys the week before. Barkley missed the first two days of practice last week before playing, so that could be the plan again this week.
Giants running back Cam Skattebo said he felt something in his hamstring near the end of the team’s Week 7 win over the Texans and it’s still an issue coming out of the team’s bye week.
Skattebo was not spotted taking part in the team’s bonus practice earlier this week and he was officially listed as out of practice on Wednesday. Head coach John Harbaugh said “we’ll see” when he was asked if Skattebo’s availability for Sunday’s game against the Eagles could be impacted by the injury.
Linebacker Abdul Carter (illness) also missed practice, but Harbaugh indicated there was no concern about his status for the game.
Right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (calf), linebacker Malik Harrison (groin), cornerback Colton Hood (illness), wide receiver Charlie Jones (hand), and left tackle Andrew Thomas (groin) were limited participants. Tight end Theo Johnson (neck), offensive tackle Marcus Mbow (knee), and defensive lineman DJ Reader (knee) were all full participants for the Giants.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said on Monday that the team would not be making a quarterback change for their Week 9 game against the Giants, but it appears he has changed his mind.
ESPN reports that Joe Milton will get the start this week. Tanner McKee has started all three games since Jalen Hurts was placed on injured reserve and the Eagles have lost all three of those contests.
Milton was signed off the Cowboys’ practice squad when Hurts was placed on injured reserve. He has not appeared in a game for the Eagles, but made five appearances for the Patriots and Cowboys over the last two seasons. He was 37-of-53 for 424 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions while also running 15 times for 66 yards and a score.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio called the trade that landed this week’s opposing quarterback J.J. McCarthy a “steal” for the Giants and the Eagles will look for a similar offensive jolt from Milton when the NFC East teams face off this week.
Appearing Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Cowboys owner and G.M. Jerry Jones made a clunky case for the absence of a correlation between coaching pay and wins.
When he makes his second weekly visit of the team’s flagship station, he should be asked this question: Would you want Andy Reid, Sean Payton, John Harbaugh, Sean McVay, or Kyle Shanahan to be the Cowboys’ head coach?
They’re the five highest-paid coaches in the league. And any team that doesn’t have an objectively great coach would absolutely want one of those five.
Because they win. In 2026, their combined record is 25-11-1. They have six Super Bowl trophies, and 11 Super Bowl appearances.
They’re highly compensated because they win. Which makes them worthy of high compensation.
It’s obvious. And it’s insulting to the intelligence of anyone with reasonable cognitive skills (which barely qualifies me to be insulted) for Jerry to insist that there’s “zero correlation” between coaching pay and wins.
So what’s really going on here? At one level, he’s being cheap when it comes to a budgetary line item that has no salary cap, or salary floor. At another level, he likely doesn’t want to have a true alpha whose W-2 would allow him to take over the team, and to minimize the outsized influence of anyone named Jones.
Whatever the case, Jones’s strategy to treat a coaching search like an exercise in wildcatting ignores the fact that he can afford to pay for a high-functioning oil well. But he doesn’t want to spend the money — and he doesn’t want to give the coach the power that comes from being highly paid.
Through it all, the Cowboys haven’t been to the NFC Championship since 1995. And there’s definitely a correlation between Jerry’s approach to hiring coaches and the continuation of “this ‘drought’ that people say we’re in.”
In late September, the Vikings sent quarterback J.J. McCarthy — the tenth overall pick in the 2024 draft — to the Giants for only a fifth-round pick. And the Eagles, who are trying to end a six-game losing streak, have to deal with McCarthy on Sunday.
On Tuesday, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio addressed the various changes the Giants have made since last season, capped by his take on the Giants landing McCarthy to replace Jaxson Dart, who’s out for the year with a knee injury suffered in Week 2.
“They’ve got a really good offense,” Fangio told reporters. “They’ve got skill at the receiving position. They did a nice job raiding the Ravens, not only for John [Harbaugh], but for [tight end Isaiah] Likely and [fullback Patrick] Ricard. They’ve got a lot of the Ravens type offense that they had when [New York Giants senior offensive assistant] Greg [Roman] was there, and they’ve intermixed Kansas City type passing in there with [offensive coordinator] Matt [Nagy]. They’ve got it going right now. They’ve got good wideouts, good tight ends, two good backs. The quarterback has come in, in a short period of time and really done a nice job, for them to get him for a sixth-round pick is a steal.”
It was a fifth-round pick, not a sixth-round. But it was still a steal.
The Giants were desperate for help at quarterback. The Vikings were, apparently, desperate to unload McCarthy. Desperate enough to take a fifth-round pick, even though the Vikings possibly would have needed him to play at some point this season.
The end result is that the tables have quickly turned, and that the Giants are now the top dogs while the Eagles are currently all alone in one of the weakest divisions in football. And the idea that the Eagles beating the Giants in Philadelphia would be viewed as an upset says it all.
