The Philadelphia Eagles won’t be playing a staggering number of players in their regular-season finale against the Washington Football Team.
This Sunday, the NFC East title will be on the line. The New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys will face off in the early afternoon, with the winner remaining in the hunt for the division. For the winner to subsequently take home the crown, they would need the Philadelphia Eagles to defeat the Washington Football Team later that night. They’re not going to get much help from the Eagles.
On Friday, the Eagles released their injury report, which featured nine players being ruled out for the Washington game. Those players include Miles Sanders (knee), Fletcher Cox (neck), Derek Barnett (calf), Dallas Goedert (calf), DeSean Jackson (ankle), Jordan Mailata (concussion), Duke Riley (biceps), Richard Rodgers (ankle) and Shaun Bradley (neck).
Eagles will be extremely shorthanded in Week 17
No, head coach Doug Pederson isn’t intentionally resting his players for better draft position. He just doesn’t want to risk his banged up players picking up more serious injuries heading into the offseason. Pederson is a firm believer in the next man up mentality, and he let the local media know that the Eagles are playing to win on Sunday night.
There will be one constant in the Eagles lineup on Sunday, and that’s Jalen Hurts starting at quarterback. The rookie has impressed through his first three starts this season and has proven to be a significant upgrade over Carson Wentz, who has struggled mightily this season. Even though he won’t have Sanders or Goedert available to them, he’ll still have Boston Scott and Zach Ertz to pick up the slack. Not exactly a bad problem to have.
Even with the Eagles lengthy injury report, the Washington Football Team do have some notable names on theirs. Quarterback Alex Smith (calf), running back Antonio Gibson (toe) and wide receiver Terry McLaurin (ankle) are all listed as questionable heading into the big game this weekend. If either are unable to go, that’s only going to hurt Washington and their-already lackluster offense.
The Eagles are looking to play spoiler against the Football Team, but it’s unknown if those nine player inactives will be too much for them to overcome. The Cowboys and Giants will certainly be rooting for Philadelphia come Sunday night.