Eagles Clips
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley played with a hamstring injury on Monday night. He had nine touches on only 10 snaps as he tweaked his back.
The Eagles estimated Barkley as a non-participant, listing both injuries.
“The hamstring came out great,” Barkley said after the 38-21 loss to the Cowboys. “The back just locked up on me.”
The Eagles, who did not practice Wednesday, also listed linebacker Jihaad Campbell (hamstring/quad), wide receiver Britain Covey (knee), cornerback Jonathan Jones (hamstring), wide receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) as non-participants.
Defensive back Michael Carter (abdomen), outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard (ankle), outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt (knee/ankle), linebacker Smael Mondon (knee), defensive tackle Moro Ojomo (neck) and outside linebacker Nolan Smith (concussion) were limited on Wednesday’s report.
The Eagles listed linebacker Zack Baun (shoulder), cornerback Jakorian Bennett (knee), offensive guard Landon Dickerson (pectoral), outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie (shoulder), tight end Dallas Goedert (knee), center Drew Kendall (knee) and offensive guard Tyler Steen (shoulder) as full participants.
Even with the teams entering the game at a combined 4-8, an NFC East battle between the Cowboys and Eagles delivered.
Per ESPN, 18.8 million viewers watched the Week 7 Monday night game between Dallas and Philadelphia.
Keeping with a recent trend, ESPN announced that more than one million watched alt casts on ESPN2 and NFL Network, without specifying the audiences for the ManningCast and the Next Gen Stats production.
The NFL event had competition in the form of Game 3 of the World Series, on Fox. Fox has yet to announce the viewership for Game 3. (Usually, silence from a network means there’s nothing special about the numbers.)
On Friday and Saturday, Game 1 and Game 2 drew 12.259 million viewers and 10.854 million viewers, respectively.
Once upon a time, the NFL avoided head-to-head competition with the World Series. In the late ‘70s, the NFL moved the Monday night game that conflicted with the World Series to the prior Thursday night. Through 2009, the NFL avoided the first Sunday night of the World Series.
In 2010, the NFL decided to take over; the World Series now plays Game 1 and Game 2 on Friday and Saturday. The smartest move for baseball would be to avoid Sunday, Monday, and Thursday when scheduling the World Series.
The Eagles placed running back Dameon Pierce on injured reserve Wednesday, the team announced.
Pierce left in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game with an undisclosed injury. He will miss at least the next four games before returning.
He is the fourth running back the Eagles have placed on injured reserve this season.
In three games, Pierce had 37 carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns.
In a corresponding move, the Eagles signed running back Jaydon Blue from the practice squad to the active roster.
This is Blue’s second stint on the active roster this season. He signed with the Eagles’ practice squad before the season and was signed to the active roster ahead of the Week 6 game against the Panthers. The Eagles waived him from the active roster the following week, and he rejoined the practice squad.
Blue, a fifth-round pick of the Cowboys in 2025, had 34 rushes for 129 yards and a touchdown in five games for Dallas.
The Eagles also announced they signed offensive guard Evan Beerntsen, wide receiver Quentin Skinner and defensive back Shaun Wade to the practice squad.
When it comes to the gold rush of sports betting and prediction markets, player investment continues to be the forbidden fruit.
Via Front Office Sports, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley said he was forced to sell his stake in Polymarket, one of the leading prediction-market brands.
“I am not in that right now,” Barkley told FOS. “I am not allowed to be in that.”
Barkley previously held equity in the company.
“I kinda had to get out of that,” Barkley said. “I was in it before, but no bueno.”
The NFL has previously explained to PFT that team owners are permitted to own up to five percent of any company that operates a sportsbook, as long as the owner isn’t involved in managing the wagering operation. The NFL, however, won’t disclose which owners own how much of which company.
We’ve asked about the rules applicable to owners holding an ownership stake in prediction markets. If permitted, it’s another example of the league’s “do as we say, not as we profit from” attitude when it comes to speculation on sports.
On Monday night, the Cowboys ran the ball for 204 yards, while passing it for 212.
That was part of the plan.
“Our whole thing here is to establish the run,” owner and G.M. Jerry Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, quoting his in-game comments to Stephen A. Smith of ESPN. “We’ve got to stick with this run.”
Later in the segment, Jones confirmed his belief that the Cowboys need to be a run-first team.
That approach doesn’t mesh with the whole “GOTI” vibe, but it’s a formula for winning. It keeps the defense off the field, and the defense continues to be a weakness.
On Monday night, for instance, the Cowboys gave up 321 yards to an offense led by a quarterback who entered the season as No. 3 on the depth chart.
The other question, as raised by Smith on First Take, is whether the Cowboys have lost some confidence in quarterback Dak Prescott. Smith, who spent part of the game sitting next to Jones in his suite, explained that it’s his own interpretation of the situation and nothing Jones said to him.
Still, unless the vast majority of those who witnessed last night’s game, Smith had the perspective of hearing directly from Jones while the game was being played. Which makes it very interesting to see how the offense performs for the rest of the season.
That doesn’t mean they’re down on Dak. He played very well last night. But it’s easier to play well when the running game is softening up the defense, and drawing a safety or two closer to the line of scrimmage.
It hasn’t been working with the Cowboys operating as a pass-first offense. As a run-first offense, it worked on Monday night.
On his first carry of the Week 4 game against the Rams, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley suffered a hamstring injury. After missing two games, he aggravated it on his first carry of the Week 7 game against the Cowboys.
It raises an obvious question. Was Barkley ready to go? At a deeper level, it’s fair to wonder whether the mutual desire for Barkley to play was driven by the opportunity to find a trade partner for Barkley before the deadline, which arrives in two weeks.
After the loss to Dallas, coach Nick Sirianni was asked about the decision to play Barkley, 22 days after he strained his hamstring.
“Obviously, you saw that he was on a pitch count out there today,” Sirianni told reporters. “There was constant communication to see how he was feeling, see where he was, and obviously, he came out early in the second half. Again, when you go into something like that, you make sure that the player’s health is first and foremost. Is he ready to go? Do they feel ready to go? Do the doctors and trainers feel like they’re ready to go? We felt like that was the case today, but obviously wanted to keep a close eye on him, and he’s tough as heck. He wanted to be out there for his teammates, probably had to slow him [down] as far as -- he’d be out there every play because of the person he is and the teammate he is and the player he is and the toughness that he has.
“So, we tried to be smart with him there, but it was good to have him back out there. He obviously had a nice game and was very productive when he touched the football.”
Things changed after that first carry. He throttled back on the temptation to reach top speed.
“He obviously got out of there on that and did a good job of protecting himself,” Sirianni said regarding Barkley’s first carry. “I think that’s a play that, normally with Saquon, you see him break out of that and it’s hard to catch him in those situations. I mean, you change as you go. Obviously, I think he probably played a little less than what we initially thought. He definitely played a little less than what we initially thought. But like I said, he’s tough as heck and it’s good to have him back out there, just to have his presence out there and then his playmaking ability.”
Eventually, Barkley left the game with what was called a back injury. And that complicates any possibility of finding a contender that will give real value to the Eagles. With Colts running back Jonathan Taylor potentially available, a team looking for a running back will be looking for a player who is as close to healthy as possible.
Last week, a report emerged that three coaches — Mike Vrabel of the Patriots, Aaron Glenn of the Jets, and Nick Sirianni of the Eagles — were fined $250,000 for interactions with officials. Many questions remain, including whether there was a specific incident, whether it was triggered by an accumulation of events, and whether the fines are being enforced.
The coaches involved haven’t said much about the situation. After Thursday night’s loss to the Bears, Vrabel made passing reference to it when asked about a questionable call: “I’m not in very good favor with the officiating department, so I probably shouldn’t say anything.”
Vrabel was asked specifically about the fine on Monday.
“I don’t have any comment,” Vrabel said. “Those things were supposed to be held in strict confidence — confidentiality, so I’m not gonna comment.”
As another question was being asked on the subject, Vrabel interrupted. “Again, I’m not gonna comment. I can’t. Not supposed to.”
Asked whether he’s under the impression that the fine can be rescinded with “good behavior,” Vrabel said, “I can’t comment. I think it’s best is to talk to league. They seem to have plenty to say already about it.”
The league hasn’t announced the fines. Vrabel’s final comment implies that he believes the league leaked the information.
Absent more information, the fines seem to be more performative than substantive. It’s an apparent effort both to placate the NFL Referees Association after the recent suspension of two officials. And to get all coaches to play nice moving forward.
With all the focus on the injury issues for the Eagles’ offense, the team’s defense got manhandled last night by the Cowboys. After the game, two key players declined to speak to reporters.
Both defensive tackle Jalen Carter and cornerback Riq Woolen passed on the league-imposed requirement to talk after each game.
Said Carter, via EJ Smith of PHLY Sports, “Nah, y’all have a good night. You get home safe.”
Said Woolen, also per Smith, “Appreciate you all, as always. Y’all have a good night, get home safely as well.”
It’s not uncommon for players to refuse to speak after games. Sometimes, it morphs into a confrontation with the league, which has fined players in the past. More often than not, it gets resolved with a conversation or a warning.
The reluctance to speak is not surprising. The Eagles gave up 204 rushing yards to the Cowboys. Woolen slipped and fell on what would have been a long touchdown catch by receiver CeeDee Lamb, if the throw had been more accurate.
Beyond that, the Eagles are 2-5. The season is slipping away. Frustrations may have emerged, if either or both had spoken.
Still, the league mandates it. Last night, they both failed to satisfy the obligation.
The Eagles got left guard Landon Dickerson back in the lineup for Monday night’s game against the Cowboys, but his return wasn’t enough to snap the team’s losing streak.
That streak reached five games as the Cowboys outscored the home team 28-7 over the final 43 minutes of the game. The Eagles’ last real chance came when they got the ball down 10 with just over six minutes to play, but pass protection broke down on their first two snaps with Cowboys defensive tackle Quinnen Williams getting a sack on the second one. The Eagles wound up turning it over on downs and the Cowboys put the finishing touches on a 38-21 win.
Dickerson got beat on the Williams sack and he was hard on himself while speaking to reporters after the game. Dickerson said that the “two plays at the end there f—king lose us the game” and he said that it hurt to feel you “let your guys down.”
“I didn’t play good enough,” Dickerson said, via NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com. “These guys work their ass off to come in here and compete every day. I wasn’t good enough.”
Dickerson said he felt fine in his return from a knee injury and the Eagles ran behind him with success early in the game, but Saquon Barkley had to leave with an injury and the run game became less of an option once Dallas moved in front on the scoreboard. That had more to do with defensive breakdowns than anything Dickerson was doing, but that didn’t impact his negative assessment of his play in his first game back.
The Cowboys are not in first place in the NFC East, but they will be at the end of the season, if the betting odds are to be believed.
After Monday night’s win in Philadelphia, Dallas is a +115 favorite to win the NFC East. Just behind the Cowboys are the Giants at +125. The Commanders are long shots at +800 and the Eagles are the longest shots at +1500.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said after the game that the importance of winning on the road in the division wasn’t lost on him.
“I think it gets us right back into the hunt in the NFC East,” Schottenheimer said.
The 4-2-1 Giants have a 1.5-game lead over the 3-4 Cowboys, and the Giants beat the Cowboys in Week 1, so it might seem like the Giants should be favored. But the perception among bettors is that the Cowboys remain the better team, as they were expected to be before the season.
The Giants-Cowboys rematch is Week 17 in Dallas. The NFC East may be on the line when the two teams meet again.
