Zach Ertz has played 181 career regular season NFL games and another 11 in the playoffs. He has made three Pro Bowl teams and has 57 career touchdowns. He is 35 years old and 13 years removed from being a rookie second-round pick with the Eagles.
But he experienced something a little bit different on Thursday.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been more nervous for a walkthrough than today,” Ertz said after his first practice back with the Eagles, who signed him to their practice squad earlier this week. “Obviously the past nine-and-a-half months have been tough. A lot of emotions going through today, a lot of prayers going through today, just to try to center myself.”
The knee injury that ended his 2025 season could have ended his career. There were times he thought it would. Call Thursday, then, the first day of what could be the last stage of his NFL career.
There was a full-circle feel to it. Ertz said it was “special” to be back on a practice field with Lane Johnson, whom the Eagles selected a round earlier than Ertz in 2013. He’s probably a little envious of Johnson, who still is with the Eagles without any detours to Arizona and Washington. Ertz reiterated Thursday that he never wanted to leave.
“This is a place that I’ve always called home,” he said. “This is a place that when everyone asks where my favorite place to play is, everyone knows it’s here. There are so many memories when you’re in a place for nine years so it’s special to be back.”
Eagles tight end Zach Ertz holds up the Lombardi Trophy during the Eagles’ Super Bowl celebration on Feb. 8, 2018.DAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
He reconnected with Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman. He liked the expanded locker room and the bigger training room. He also caught up with cafeteria staff and others in the building.
Ertz and his wife, Julie, left here five years ago childless. He returns now as the father of three boys and armed with new perspective. His football future was up unknown after his injury, but he told himself he wanted to give himself every chance he could to play football again, in part because he wanted to show his sons a tangible example of overcoming adversity.
“I couldn’t live with the fact that I just gave up and there was a what-if hanging over my life for the rest of my life,” Ertz said.
The Eagles need all of this to be more than ceremonial, as Inquirer columnist David Murphy wrote earlier this week. More than about him reeling in 11 more catches to become the franchise leader in receptions. The team will be without top tight end Dallas Goedert likely for a few weeks with a sprained MCL. Behind Ertz are a few blocking specialists. Ertz, for now, is on the practice squad, but he could be elevated or signed to the active roster and make his debut Monday.
“It’s up to the coaches,” Ertz said. “I’m not even on the active roster right now. For me it’s about going out there and proving that I can make a difference in the game. If I can’t make a difference in the game then I shouldn’t be out there.”
His knee, he said, “feels great,” but he will see how it feels Friday morning. He’s been “cramming,” he said, trying to learn a new offense that he’s never played in. Ertz said there were two or three pass plays left over from when Nick Sirianni installed his first offense in 2021. Routes are routes, but there is a lot of new terminology to learn.
“We’ll see where he is,” Sirianni said Thursday before practice. “It’s too early to say in my mind where he is, but we will quiz him and figure out where he is on different things.”
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni (pictured in 2021) reunited with tight end Zach Ertz on the practice field for the first time since the two parted ways five years ago. HEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Ertz was having another productive season before he suffered his injury in December. He had 11 touchdowns in 30 games over his last two seasons in Washington, where he fell “back in love with the game again” and helped a young quarterback, Jayden Daniels, find his way.
Ertz admitted Thursday that he wasn’t always good with young players earlier in his career, but now he sees working with them as part of his duties. His locker stall at the Jefferson Health Training Complex tells a story. When he first got here a few days ago, it was in a different spot, but as the practice week got underway, Ertz’s stall was next to that of rookie second-round pick Eli Stowers, who is on injured reserve with a hamstring injury after a training camp where he didn’t really stand out.
“I don’t think it’s an accident that they put me here,” Ertz said. “I’m excited to work with him. We have the same agent so I’ve heard a lot about his story, a lot about the talent that he has. Not many tight ends can jump 44 inches and run a 4.5. Everyone has a superpower in this league and he’s got to play to his superpower. I’m looking forward to helping him kind of unlock that mentally, physically, to be at his best.
“I really embrace that role in my later stages of life … football life I should say.”
It was a good correction. As of Thursday, Zach Ertz’s football life was officially revived.
The Eagles are 2-0, though maybe not in the manner you envisioned.
Their third game of the season is a Monday Night Football showdown on the road at the Chicago Bears, a game that may lose some of its luster should Caleb Williams miss the game for the Bears with a hamstring injury.
Williams’ status is a major storyline, but there are other factors and trends at play.
Here are some numbers worth paying attention to.
Sean Mannion’s offense has struggled on first down but has thrived on third down.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
32nd
That’s where the Eagles rank in success rate on first and second downs, according to Sportradar. As a reminder, there are 32 NFL teams.
The Eagles average a league-worst 2.6 yards per play on first down. The Dolphins rank 31st at 3.2 yards. The Eagles have survived, however, because they have been one of the best teams in the NFL on third and fourth downs.
In fact, according to SumerSports, the Eagles have the largest difference in success rates between early downs and late downs to start a season since 2022.
“We’re really close on a lot of our things on first and second down,” offensive coordinator Sean Mannion said on Wednesday.
Mannion has called a running play on 65% of first downs through two games. The Eagles currently rank 28th in yards per carry. Saquon Barkley’s status is uncertain after the running back suffered a stinger Sunday in Nashville. It won’t matter who is running if the Eagles don’t block better.
Another sluggish performance from the offense could allow a team starting a backup quarterback to stay in the game.
Zach Ertz scored all 11 of his Commanders touchdowns over the last two seasons on plays that started inside the 20-yard line.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
71%
Zach Ertz caught 71% of his targets over the last two seasons with the Washington Commanders, a number that is higher than his career catch rate of 67%.
He may soon be 36, but that’s not the sign of a declining player. What might be? Ertz’s average separation per target was 2.7 yards in his 13 games last season, his lowest since 2019.
It’s hard to imagine Ertz being a much better separator after recovering from a major knee injury, but he has been a reliable target over the middle of the field in recent years. That’s what the Eagles need out of him if he indeed makes his return to the field Monday night as the team deals with Dallas Goedert’s absence.
Ertz, who is 11 catches from becoming the team’s all-time receptions leader, has done a lot of his damage in the red zone — all 11 of his Commanders touchdowns over the last two seasons came on plays that started inside the 20-yard line — and the Eagles will need that type of big-body target with Goedert sidelined.
The Eagles missed 12 tackles in Sunday’s win over the Titans.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
12
The Eagles missed a whopping 12 tackles against the Titans.
Well, here comes the team that ran all over the Eagles in 2025. The Bears rushed for 281 yards in a Black Friday drubbing of the Eagles last November. And if Williams is out, the running game will be even more critical to Chicago’s success.
The two-headed running game for the Bears has already caused some damage through two games. According to Next Gen Stats, the Bears have rushed outside the tackles 28 times for 279 yards and six touchdowns.
They are the only team since at least 2018 with more than nine yards per carry or more than four touchdowns on outside runs over the first two weeks of a season. Kyle Monangai has racked up 119 yards on eight outside carries and has forced seven missed tackles on those runs.
The Eagles will need to clean up their tackling in a major way, especially if Monangai and D’Andre Swift make their way to the back line of the defense. The safeties, Andrew Mukuba and Marcus Epps, were charged with three missed tackles apiece vs. Tennessee, according to Pro Football Focus.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was not happy with the missed tackles last week.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
5
Perhaps the Eagles are trying too hard to create a turnover and are missing tackles because of it.
“We have to tackle and not miss tackles because we’re trying to go for the ball,” Fangio said. “That bugs me.”
The Eagles haven’t created a turnover yet. It’s only been two games, but they’ve done something pretty rare.
A tip of the hat to NBC Sports’ Reuben Frank for this stat: The Eagles are only the fifth team in NFL history to start a season 2-0 despite not creating a turnover. Two other teams haven’t created a turnover yet this season: Houston and Washington. They are both winless.
“We’re due,” Fangio said.
Ben Johnson (right) has never had a backup quarterback play for him as an offensive coordinator or head coach.Eric Hartline, Imagn Images
0
That’s how many games Ben Johnson has had to start a backup quarterback in his time as a head coach and offensive coordinator in the NFL, according to Next Gen. Jared Goff started all 51 games under Johnson when the coach was the coordinator in Detroit. Williams hasn’t missed a start since Johnson took over as Bears head coach last season.
Johnson has said that he wants to have the highest-scoring offense in NFL history. That goal becomes a little more difficult to attain if Johnson is forced to turn to either Tyson Bagent or Case Keenum — neither of whom has started a game since 2023 — on Monday night or beyond.
Olivia Reiner and Jeff Neiburg break down the Eagles’ Week 3 Monday Night Football matchup against the Chicago Bears, discussing key storylines, matchups, injury updates, and what Philadelphia needs to do to stay undefeated.
The Eagles are reuniting with Zach Ertz, NFL sources said, confirming an initial ESPN report.
On the day tests revealed Dallas Goedert sprained the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his knee in Sunday’s win over the Titans and will miss multiple weeks, the Eagles are signing Ertz, 35, to their practice squad. He is expected to be ready to play Monday night in Chicago — and could outright be signed to the open 53-man roster spot the Eagles currently have open — just over nine months removed from the gruesome knee injury that ended his 2025 season.
Ertz tore both the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in his right knee, as well as his hamstring in December but did not want the last moment of his NFL career to be him being carted off the field with tears streaming down his face.
The tight end was cleared for football activity in July, seven months removed from his injury. He passed the pivotal nine-month post-operation milestone a few weeks ago.
Zach Ertz (right) has spent the last two years with the Commanders.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
He joins an Eagles team in need of pass-catching talent at tight end with Goedert sidelined. Before agreeing to sign Ertz, the Eagles were left with two blocking specialists — Johnny Mundt and EJ Jenkins — on the depth chart. There may not have been a need for Ertz if rookie second-round pick Eli Stowers was ready to play. Stowers had a slow start to training camp and is on injured reserve while he recovers from a hamstring injury. Grant Calcaterra (back) also is on injured reserve.
It remains to be seen how impactful Ertz will be after a major surgery and recovery, but he was still an effective and dangerous receiver in recent seasons, especially in the red zone, where all 11 of his touchdowns with the Commanders happened over the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Ertz caught 71% (116) of his 163 targets with Washington over the last two seasons, a rate that is higher than his career average of 67%. One game before suffering his injury last season, Ertz caught 10 of 13 targets for 106 yards in an overtime loss to the Denver Broncos.
Ertz, a 2013 second-round pick by the Eagles, was last with the team in 2021. The Eagles traded him in Week 7 that season to the Arizona Cardinals for cornerback Tay Gowan and a 2022 fifth-round draft pick. He spent parts of three seasons in Arizona before joining Washington in free agency in 2024, a decision he called “an opportunity for me to just fall back in love with the game again.”
Earlier this year, Ertz told The Inquirer that any bitter feelings he had about the divorce with the Eagles have subsided and he looked back on his tenure with affection. But his stint in Washington did feature a postgame dustup with Eagles coach Nick Sirianni following a 2024 game.
“That was two competitive guys that hate losing,” Ertz said in April. “We have a great relationship still.”
Even though Nick Sirianni (left) and Zach Ertz had a dust up after a 2024 matchup between the Eagles and Commanders, the tight end says the pair “have a great relationship still.”David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Ertz has played in 181 career regular season games and has 825 catches for 8,592 yards and 57 touchdowns. Only four tight ends in NFL history have more receptions.
He needs just 11 more catches with the Eagles to break Harold Carmichael’s franchise record of 589 to become the club’s all-time receptions leader.
Asked in April about Ertz getting that chance in Philadelphia, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said: “I would love him to get it, but not at the expense of what we need to do.”
Circumstances have changed. The Eagles are hoping Ertz can still be a chain-moving target in the passing game and a reliable over-the-middle and red zone option for Jalen Hurts.
Ertz never ruled out a return to the city where his family’s foundation still does much of its community service.
“I think everyone knows how I feel about that place, that city, in particular,” Ertz said earlier this year. “I loved it, loved it. And I wouldn’t close that door either by any means.
“I still want to play. And I think the time to reflect is when it’s officially done. But I don’t think that is right now.”
The Eagles’ top tight end appeared to suffer his injury while run blocking in the second quarter. He did not return to the game.
Goedert’s absence left the Eagles in an interesting situation at the position, and general manager Howie Roseman responded quickly by signing longtime Eagle Zach Ertz.
The healthy tight ends behind Goedert on the depth chart prior to signing Ertz were blocking specialists in Johnny Mundt and EJ Jenkins. Goedert starred in Week 1 with four catches for 77 yards and two scores. Mundt, meanwhile, has been targeted three times on 69 snaps through two games. The Eagles have been in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) on 22.4% of their offensive plays this season, according to Sumer Sports. Without Goedert on the field, the Eagles don’t have a real pass-catching threat in those sets.
They aimed to fill their pass-catching depth issue behind Goedert when they drafted Eli Stowers in the second round, but the rookie had a slow start to training camp and is on injured reserve while he recovers from a hamstring injury. Grant Calcaterra (back) also is on injured reserve. The Eagles have one tight end on the practice squad, veteran Josiah Deguara, who has 14 catches over the last three seasons.
Dallas Goedert was Jalen Hurts’ favorite target in Week 1.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Ertz, 35, needs just 11 more receptions to break Harold Carmichael’s franchise record of 589 to become the Eagles’ all-time receptions leader. He is only nine months removed from a major knee injury, but he gives the Eagles a veteran pass-catching option.
“I know [Roseman] will do everything he can do if we are without Dallas,” Nick Sirianni said when asked about the position group on Monday. “We’ll see where we are.”
Goedert wasn’t the only key offensive player getting further testing after Sunday.
Saquon Barkley left Sunday’s game after suffering a stinger and was set to get an MRI on Monday. He was injured on the Eagles’ first offensive play. He returned in the second half but only briefly before being forced to miss the rest of the game.
If Barkley misses game action, it would be a big blow to a running game that hasn’t really gotten off the ground through two games.
The Eagles have capable backups behind Barkley in Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley, and an experienced running back on the practice squad in Dameon Pierce — as well as preseason darling Carson Steele.
With or without Barkley, the Eagles need to start running the ball with more efficiency and consistency.
It is the key to their offense, considering the new scheme under coordinator Sean Mannion relies on marrying the run and pass games and utilizing under-center play action. Those things aren’t possible when you’re not moving the ball on the ground. Four Eagles — including Barkley, not including Jalen Hurts, and not counting a behind-the-line swing pass to Makai Lemon — combined for 78 yards on 27 carries Sunday. They had better per-carry success in Week 1, but take Barkley’s 42-yard burst out of the equation and the stat line from the running backs was 48 yards on 17 carries.
Saquon Barkley rushed for just 9 yards on four carries vs. the Titans.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
The new-look offense has the Eagles running more wide zone blocking schemes, and so far the execution up front hasn’t been consistent enough.
Sirianni called it a “full-team effort” that includes coaching better.
“We have to be better as a whole there, and we’re going to continue to work like crazy to get to that portion,” Sirianni said. “We’ve found ways to win the first two games, but we know we’re capable of being better in the run game. And I think there’s elements of it being close, too.
“They’re going to junk it up enough that when you get the looks that are really good looks, you got to make them pay when they’re in that, and we’re close. We are close.”
‘That’s my guy!’ Jason Kelce reacts to Zach Ertz news
Jason Kelce celebrates with Zach Ertz during Super Bowl LII in 2018. TIM TAI / Staff Photographer
Former Eagles star Jason Kelce played a little over eight seasons with Zach Ertz in Philly. Naturally, he’s excited his former teammate is returning to the Birds.
“You don’t got to talk me into Zach Ertz. That’s my guy!” Kelce said on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown. “He’s entrenched in Philadelphia still… He’s close to some type of receiving record. I wouldn’t mind seeing that broken by No. 86 right there.”
"He's entrenched in Philadelphia still."@JasonKelce reacts to the news of Zach Ertz's return to the Philadelphia Eagles 🏈 pic.twitter.com/W3JQTa3BvG
As for franchise records, Ertz is second all-time in receptions (579) close behind Harold Carmichael (589), fifth in receiving yards (6,267) and seventh in receiving touchdowns (38).
Tight end Zach Ertz is heading back to the Eagles.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
With Dallas Goedert expected to miss multiple weeks after he sustained a sprained MCL in the Eagles’ win over the Titans, the Eagles are planning to sign Zach Ertz to the practice squad, sources said.
Ertz spent nine seasons in Philadelphia and was a key part to the Eagles winning their first Super Bowl in 2018.
The three-time Pro Bowler suffered a season-ending ACL tear in December 2025 with the Commanders and did not sign a contract in offseason.
Ertz was cleared for football activity in July — seven months from when he tore his ACL. He passed the pivotal nine-month post operation milestone a few weeks ago.
The Eagles are signing him to the practice squad as he continues his recovery with the expectation that he will eventually be signed to the 53-man roster, per sources.
Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert is expected to miss a few weeks.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
The Eagles will be without Dallas Goedert for the time being.
A league source confirmed an NFL Network/ESPN report that Goedert suffered a sprained MCL in Sunday’s 24-20 win over the Tennessee Titans. Goedert is expected to miss a few weeks with the injury.
Goedert appeared to suffer his injury while run blocking in the second quarter. He did not return to the game.
Goedert’s absence leaves the Eagles in an interesting situation at the position, and Howie Roseman may need to make a roster move.
DeVonta Smith hauls in a pass against the Titans on Sunday.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
A number of reasons factor into DeVonta Smith’s lower frequency of high targets since 2021. Among them was the presence of receiver A.J. Brown from 2022-25, the presence of high-volume running back Saquon Barkley from 2024-26, and the presence of Jalen Hurts, a reluctant and limited passer.
However, the Eagles must feed Smith the way the Bengals feed Ja’Marr Chase, the way the Vikings feed Justin Jefferson, and the way the Cowboys feed CeeDee Lamb.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni celebrates as time runs out against the Tennessee on Sunday.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
The last time the Eagles and Bears met was in November 2025, when the Bears defeated the Eagles, 24-15, at Lincoln Financial Field on Black Friday.
The Bears would be the Birds’ toughest challenge as they prepare to compete on Monday Night Football. However, Caleb Williams suffered a hamstring injury and his status is uncertain.
As of now, the Eagles open as early road favorites on two of the biggest sportsbooks.
Marcus Mariota expected to start for Commanders; Jayden Daniels seeks options
Commanders QB Marcus Mariota is expected to start Sunday vs. Seattle as Washington continues to gather more information about Jayden Daniels’ dislocated left elbow. https://t.co/k6VS278fi2
Sirianni: No news on Saquon Barkley, Dallas Goedert injuries
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley left Sunday’s game with a stinger. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni didn’t offer any updates on running back Saquon Barkley or tight end Dallas Goedert, both of whom left Sunday’s game with injuries.
“It’s still early in the day,” Sirianni told reporters Monday. “I’ll get with those guys later today… They were off today, everything got started a little bit later, so we’ll see as the week progresses.”
Barkley suffered a stinger during the Eagles’ first drive and missed the first half. He returned in the second half but ended the game with just four carries for nine yards.
Goedert left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury while run blocking and did not return.
Cam Jurgens’ debut at left guard showed plenty to build on
Cam Jurgens played left guard for the first time in his career Sunday. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
The Eagles decided early in the practice week last week, after placing Landon Dickerson on injured reserve, that getting their best five linemen on the field in their best five spots meant moving Cam Jurgens from center to left guard and inserting Drew Kendall at center.
“Drew is naturally a center,” Nick Sirianni said after Sunday’s victory. “He can do both, but we felt like that’s his best natural position.”
The arrangement meant that Jurgens would play left guard for the first time in his career. He was a high school tight end turned college center who spent his first year as a starter in the NFL at right guard before replacing Jason Kelce at center. The Eagles didn’t practice with him at left guard once in training camp. Left tackle Jordan Mailata recalled one brief walkthrough session during camp with Jurgens to his right.
“Everything is different,” Jurgens said. “Your hands are different. Your feet are different. You’re kicking different. It’s weird.
“I’m going to learn a lot from this game. I’m going to get a lot better.”
The offensive line had an up-and-down Sunday, just like it did a week ago in the opener. But Jurgens’ first 76 snaps at left guard didn’t look all that bad on film. I counted about six, maybe seven, bad reps from that 76-snap workload. That’s a pretty high success rate for a player at a new position. A few of those bad reps came against Jeffery Simmons, one of the top interior defensive linemen in the NFL.
Jalen Hurts was pressured on 17 dropbacks Sunday, and Jurgens was responsible for three of them, according to Pro Football Focus. Mailata also was charged with three, while Kendall and Tyler Steen surrendered two apiece. Lane Johnson was dinged with one pressure allowed.
The offensive line struggled to create enough creases for Eagles running backs, but Jurgens wasn’t a major part of those issues, film review showed.
Mailata after the game said he was looking forward to having continuity up front and growing as a unit. It’s unclear how long Dickerson will be out for, though he will remain ineligible to come off IR until at least Week 5. The new-look front could look this way until at least that point, which means Jurgens, a two-time Pro Bowl center, has a lot to learn and pick up.
“I’m so excited to watch film and get better from this,” he said.
Caleb Williams ‘week-to-week,’ appears likely to miss Eagles-Bears
Caleb Williams is “week-to-week” with a right hamstring injury.Nam Y. Huh
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is “week-to-week” with a right hamstring injury and “will likely miss some time,” head coach Ben Johnson said Monday morning in an interview on ESPN 1000 Chicago.
“I’ve got to still talk with our trainer. We’ll do that here shortly and I’ll have the lowdown from him. But it sounds like it’s week-to-week but will likely miss some time,” Johnson said.
The Eagles travel to Chicago to face the Bears on Monday Night Football in Week 3.
Williams underwent an MRI Monday morning and appears to have avoided seriously injuring his knee or Achilles, which could have cost the young quarterback the season. He suffered a non-contact injury during the fourth quarter of the Bears’ 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings Sunday.
Stepping in for Williams would be Tyson Bagent, who started four games his rookie year in 2023 but has just six pass attempts in two seasons since.
“I think ball-placement wise, it’s the best I’ve seen Jalen throw the ball in two years. That last drive was sensational,” Orlovsky said on First Take Monday. “I’m very confident in the way that the offense, pass game-wise, is looking under Sean Mannion.”
That’s not to say Orlovsky didn’t see issues, pointing out the offensive line might be the worst the Birds have seen in a decade. But he’s confident the Eagles coaching staff, even without offensive line guru Jeff Stoutland, can plug the holes and overcome Landon Dickerson’s injury.
Former Inquirer columnist Stephen A. Smith was surprised by Orlovsky’s confidence, saying on First Take, “I don’t like what I’m seeing with the Eagles’ offense.”
Smith pointed out the Eagles led the league in three-and-outs last season and had two Sunday in the third quarter, which helped the Titans remain in the game. In Week 1, the Eagles had three three-and-outs in the third quarter and punted seven times.
“I’m not sitting here saying they’re going to miss the playoffs. I’m not sitting here saying they’re scrubs,” Smith said. “I’m saying the championship team we saw from a couple years ago, there has been a precipitous drop off” compared to other NFC teams.
The Eagles schedule will also toughen up over the next few weeks, with matchups against the Chicago Bears, the Los Angeles Rams, the Carolina Panthers (who had a surprising 56-point turnaround in Week 2’s win against the Atlanta Falcons), and the hated Dallas Cowboys.
“They can absolutely win every one of those games,” Orlovsky said.
Hall of Famer Michael Irvin agreed with Orlovsky, though he differed on one point.
“Except the Cowboys game, I’m with you on that,” Irvin said.
The Eagles just keep winning under head coach Nick Sirianni. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Nick Sirianni high-stepped his way toward the tunnel after his team’s game-winning touchdown drive Sunday and celebrated with the throngs of Eagles fans who turned Nissan Stadium into an atmosphere that could have passed at times for an Eagles home game.
It wasn’t pretty, again, but the Eagles won, again. And Sirianni seems to just keep on winning.
The sixth-year Eagles coach joined an exclusive club on Sunday when his record climbed to 61-26 to raise his career winning percentage to .701. Sirianni is now the fifth coach in NFL history — with a minimum of 50 games coached — to hold a career winning percentage of .700 or higher, joining Guy Chamberlin (.784, 1922-27), John Madden (.759, 1969-78), Vince Lombardi (.738, 1959-67 and ‘69), and George Allen (.712, 1966-77).
The other four coaches are in the Hall of Fame.
Here are some other notable numbers from Sunday’s victory:
Sirianni isn’t the only one standing with Hall of Famers after Sunday. According to Elias Sports, Jalen Hurts and Hall of Famer Roger Staubach are the only quarterbacks to start their careers with six consecutive wins in road openers. Hurts is now the fifth quarterback to win six consecutive road openers, joining Hall of Famers Dan Fouts, Bart Starr, Fran Tarkenton, and Staubach.
The Eagles held the Titans to fewer than 300 yards (291). According to the Eagles, it’s the first time since 1995 they’ve held their opponents under 300 total yards in each of the first two games.
The offensive line had some issues again on Sunday, but they also allowed Hurts to have an average time to throw of 3.5 seconds, according to Next Gen Stats, the fourth-longest of his NFL career.
Dontayvion Wicks was clutch. He was targeted on five of his 12 routes on third and fourth downs, according to Next Gen, catching all five targets for 74 yards and five first downs. Those late-down plays generated +11.8 expected points added (EPA), according to Next Gen, the fifth-most by any receiver over the last two seasons.
Jake Elliott’s 58-yard kick tied the fourth-longest kick of his career and was his longest since also connecting on a 58-yarder last September in Kansas City.
Nick Sirianni celebrates after the Eagles last-second win against the Titans.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
It may sound like a back-handed compliment, but former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith praised the Eagles and Jalen Hurts for overcoming some bad turnovers and rallying to defeat the Tennessee Titans Sunday in a hot Nissan Stadium.
“You had no Saquon, no Dallas Goedert, Jalen Hurts [threw] two terrible interceptions,” Smith said Monday morning on ESPN’s Get Up. “And then they put this final drive together where they looked unbelievable… To get a W on the road when you shouldn’t have, this goes a long way from an energy standpoint.”
His ESPN colleague Domonique Foxworth wasn’t as convinced, citing the Eagles’ disappointing defense and work-in-progress offense.
“Four weeks from now we’ll look back at this game and say either it’s nice they were able to pull off this win in a game they didn’t deserve to win,” Foxworth said. “Or, we should’ve seen the alarm bells.”
The Eagles need Jalen Hurts 2.0 now more than ever
Saquon Barkley celebrates with Jalen Hurts after his game-winning touchdown pass Sunday. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Jalen Hurts tossed two costly interceptions. The first was returned 92 yards and was converted into a touchdown, while the second came late in the fourth quarter and allowed the Titans to take a 20-17 lead.
And yet, Hurts wasn’t asked a single question about the picks afterward. His performance in rallying the Eagles past Tennessee, 24-20, in nearly every other moment, including a masterful two-minute drive, far overshadowed his two throwing errors.
But there was something unique about Hurts carrying the offense at the scorching Nissan Stadium on Sunday. He’s strapped the Eagles on his back before. He’s had better games against better opponents when the stakes were much higher. He’s been clutch on many previous occasions.
No, this was a different Hurts. This was the 2.0 version. This was Hurts evolving as a quarterback in a new scheme that gives him more freedom as a passer. We saw glimpses of it in Week 1 vs. the Commanders. He took another step in Week 2.
If the narrative entering this season was that the 28-year-old faced a make-it-or-break-it tipping point, after another offensive coordinator change and a seemingly unresolved contract situation, Hurts has shown through two weeks that he’s making it.
Eagles injury report: Updates on Dallas Goedert, Saquon Barkley
Saquon Barkley talks to Tank Bigsby during the second quarter.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Dallas Goedert, tight end: Goedert left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury while run blocking and did not return. The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Goedert was scheduled to have an MRI Monday to assess the severity of the injury.
Saquon Barkley, running back: Barkley suffered a stinger during the Eagles’ first drive and missed the first half. He returned in the second half but ended the game with just four carries for nine yards. Barkley declined an interview request after the game, but he said he was “all right” and that the team would know more about his injury later in the week.
Jalen Carter, defensive tackle: Carter scared some fans after he was helped off the field with an apparent leg injury late in the game following a Titans field goal. After the game, he told reporters it was just a cramp in his calf and he was fine.
Tom Brady speaks to Eagles players prior to their Week 1 win against the Commanders.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
During the Cowboys’ win against the Commanders, Jayden Daniels was forced to leave the game after injuring his elbow. The footage was so gruesome it caused Tom Brady to go blue.
Brady wasn’t done. Later in the game, he used colorful language to describe a pass Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott threw to CeeDee Lamb; it was a clip Fox Sports was happy to share.
“There was no margin of error on that throw,” Brady said.
It’s possible Brady and Kevin Burkhardt could call the Eagles’ Week 4 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. Either way the Birds will hear the future Hall of Famer on Thanksgiving day calling Eagles-Cowboys.
Eagles face the Bears in Week 3; Caleb Williams status uncertain
Bears QB Caleb Williams was knocked out of Sunday’s loss against the Vikings.Nam Y. Huh
The Eagles will take their 2-0 record north next week to face the Chicago Bears (1-1) under the lights on Monday Night Football.
The Bears could be without quarterback Caleb Williams, who was injured during a fourth-quarter run and was knocked out of the game during a 9-3 loss Sunday to the Minnesota Vikings.
While it was initially feared Williams might have hurt his knee or Achilles, the Bears announced late Sunday he hurt his right hamstring. Not ideal, but likely not a season-ending injury coaches and fans initially feared.
“I’m actually happy it’s nothing with the knee,” Bears coach Ben Johnson told reporters after the game. “That was my first inclination, but yeah, that hamstring could be pretty damaging as well. So we’ll see how bad it is, and we’ll go from there.”
Williams is scheduled to have an MRI Monday. If he can’t go, the Bears will turn to Tyson Bagent, who started four games his rookie year in 2023 but has just six pass attempts in two seasons since.
The Bears beat the Eagles 24-15 on Black Friday last season, but the Birds won their previous six games against Chicago. That include the 2018 playoff win where Bears kicker Cody Parkey’s field goal bounced off the upright as time expired.
Jalen Hurts led his 8th fourth-quarter comeback since 2023, second-most in the NFL.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
During his postgame interview with Fox sideline reporter Kristina Pink, Jalen Hurts had some choice words for Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, who seemed to take a shot at Hurts earlier this week.
On Wednesday, when asked a question about the Eagles quarterback, Simmons told ESPN, “We just need to make Jalen Hurts be a QB. Stop his runs, make sure Hurts doesn’t get out of the pocket and make plays.”
The internet ran rampant with the quote, but the Eagles locker room did not seem to pay it much attention. After Sunday’s game, Simmons embraced Hurts during his interview with Pink.
“You started that s—; I had to finish it,” Hurts said to Simmons with a smile.
Drew Kendall (left) and the Eagles offensive line had its struggles on Sunday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
To some surprise, the Eagles made changes at two spots when they only needed to replace Landon Dickerson. They moved Cam Jurgens to left guard and started Drew Kendall at center. It was often ugly. But it was another shaky outing from new O-line coach Chris Kuper’s entire group. The run blocking just wasn’t sound. The pass protection was only a little better.
There was the matter of containing Jeffery Simmons. The All pro defensive tackle owned Kendall on the Eagles’ opening drive and forced Hurts to burn a throw into the ground. Kendall appeared to miss a block. The second-year O-lineman had a tough assignment, but it was a grind.
Jurgens struggled vs. Simmons and others. He got spun around by the defensive tackle on a run play in which Bigsby was stretched out for no gain. Jurgens also got knocked off balance by Titans D-tackle John Franklin-Myers in the second quarter. He was a turnstile on edge Jacob Martin’s third-down sack of Hurts in the third quarter.
Right guardTyler Steendidn’t hold up either. He got beat by D-tackle Nazir Stackhouse and later by Simmons on late second quarter runs that resulted in losses. He committed a holding penalty to open the second half. Steen got beat again on a third-down rush in the third quarter in which Hurts had to escape.
Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata were decent in pass protection, but they had breakdowns, too. Johnson struggled with his block on the play in which Barkley got hurt. He also lined up illegally early in the second half. Mailata got surprised by an outside twist by Simmons, and landed on his rear on Hurts’ touchdown throw to Smith.
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni (left) and assistant to the head coach Cole Peterson (right) dance off the field after beating the Tennessee Titans 24-20 in Nashville, Tenn. on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerEagles head coach Nick Sirianni celebrates after the Eagles beat the Tennessee Titans.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerEagles quarterback Jalen Hurts celebrates with running back Saquon Barkley after throwing the game-winning touchdown against the Tennessee Titans.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerEagles wide receiver Darius Cooper catches the game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver Darius Cooper catches a touchdown with 9 seconds left in the fourth quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni celebrates after they beat the Tennessee Titans.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerHappy Philadelphia Eagles fans after the Eagles scored a touchdown with seconds left in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles center Cam Jurgens lifts up Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Darius Cooper after Cooper makes the winning touchdown with seconds left in the fourth quarter. David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles fan holds up a Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith jersey with seconds left in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts throws the football late in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter gets help coming off the field in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles fan is sweating it out with the Eagles trailing 20-17 in the fourth quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver Makai Lemon gets stopped by Tennessee Titans cornerback Marcus Harris.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith catches first down pass against Tennessee Titans cornerback Alontae Taylor.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles cornerback Riq Woolen defends Tennessee Titans wide receiver Carnell Tate with 12:50 left in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scrambles out of trouble and throws an incomplete pass with 8 seconds left in the third quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles tight end Johnny Mundt is brought down by Tennessee Titans linebacker Cody Barton in the third quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni while the Tennessee Titans are driving in the third quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles linebacker Jihaad Campbell and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun stop Tennessee Titans running back Nicholas Singleton in the third quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley pushed out of bounds by Tennessee Titans linebacker Cedric Gray in the third quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith hauls in a pass, but it was incomplete during the third quarter against the Tennessee Titans.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles kicker Jake Elliott watches his long field goal in the third quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley running with the ball in the third quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles defensive tackle Ty Robinson (left) and Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter (right) try to block a field goal as time runs out in the first half against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, Tenn.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun brings down Tennessee Titans wide receiver Elic Ayomanor after Titans’ drive to the end zone late in the second quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith celebrates a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles running back Will Shipley runs along the sideline with Tennessee Titans cornerback Alontae Taylor defending.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles fans cheer as the Eagles drive towards the end zone.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles head of security Big Dom DiSandro stops Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts as he is running out of bounds so he doesn’t hurt himself in the second quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles running back Tank Bigsby runs with the football during the second quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Philadelphia Eagles running back Tank Bigsby celebrate Bigsby’s touchdown in the second quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks gets a first-down catch passed Tennessee Titans linebacker Cody Barton and Tennessee Titans linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. in the first quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerTennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker intercepts the ball from Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in the first quarter and runs it just short of the end zone.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith gets a first down pass with Tennessee Titans cornerback Alontae Taylor defending in the first quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver Britain Covey returns the first punt of the game, defended by Tennessee Titans safety Erick Hallett, in the first quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles fans get ready for the game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
NASHVILLE — Continuity is king, Jordan Mailata thinks. It is what the Eagles’ left tackle was leaning on most after his team escaped disaster in its last-minute 24-20 win over the Tennessee Titans.
The offensive line wasn’t good enough during the team’s win over the Washington Commanders last week. And after losing Landon Dickerson to injured reserve with a hurt knee, the offensive front came to its second game with a new look.
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni (left) and assistant to the head coach Cole Peterson (right) dance off the field after beating the Tennessee Titans 24-20 in Nashville, Tenn. on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerEagles head coach Nick Sirianni celebrates after the Eagles beat the Tennessee Titans.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerEagles quarterback Jalen Hurts celebrates with running back Saquon Barkley after throwing the game-winning touchdown against the Tennessee Titans.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerEagles wide receiver Darius Cooper catches the game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver Darius Cooper catches a touchdown with 9 seconds left in the fourth quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni celebrates after they beat the Tennessee Titans.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerHappy Philadelphia Eagles fans after the Eagles scored a touchdown with seconds left in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles center Cam Jurgens lifts up Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Darius Cooper after Cooper makes the winning touchdown with seconds left in the fourth quarter. David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles fan holds up a Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith jersey with seconds left in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts throws the football late in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter gets help coming off the field in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles fan is sweating it out with the Eagles trailing 20-17 in the fourth quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver Makai Lemon gets stopped by Tennessee Titans cornerback Marcus Harris.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith catches first down pass against Tennessee Titans cornerback Alontae Taylor.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles cornerback Riq Woolen defends Tennessee Titans wide receiver Carnell Tate with 12:50 left in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scrambles out of trouble and throws an incomplete pass with 8 seconds left in the third quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles tight end Johnny Mundt is brought down by Tennessee Titans linebacker Cody Barton in the third quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni while the Tennessee Titans are driving in the third quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles linebacker Jihaad Campbell and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun stop Tennessee Titans running back Nicholas Singleton in the third quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley pushed out of bounds by Tennessee Titans linebacker Cedric Gray in the third quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith hauls in a pass, but it was incomplete during the third quarter against the Tennessee Titans.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles kicker Jake Elliott watches his long field goal in the third quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley running with the ball in the third quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles defensive tackle Ty Robinson (left) and Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter (right) try to block a field goal as time runs out in the first half against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, Tenn.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun brings down Tennessee Titans wide receiver Elic Ayomanor after Titans’ drive to the end zone late in the second quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith celebrates a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles running back Will Shipley runs along the sideline with Tennessee Titans cornerback Alontae Taylor defending.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles fans cheer as the Eagles drive towards the end zone.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles head of security Big Dom DiSandro stops Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts as he is running out of bounds so he doesn’t hurt himself in the second quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles running back Tank Bigsby runs with the football during the second quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Philadelphia Eagles running back Tank Bigsby celebrate Bigsby’s touchdown in the second quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks gets a first-down catch passed Tennessee Titans linebacker Cody Barton and Tennessee Titans linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. in the first quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerTennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker intercepts the ball from Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in the first quarter and runs it just short of the end zone.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith gets a first down pass with Tennessee Titans cornerback Alontae Taylor defending in the first quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver Britain Covey returns the first punt of the game, defended by Tennessee Titans safety Erick Hallett, in the first quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles fans get ready for the game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
The Eagles moved center Cam Jurgens to left guard to fill the hole left by Dickerson. They inserted Drew Kendall at center. It was Jurgens’ first game at left guard and Kendall’s first career start in a game with real stakes. They asked that duo to handle a defensive front that features one of the NFL’s best interior linemen in Jeffery Simmons.
How hard can it be to change from center to guard? Jurgens’ first season as a starter was at right guard before he moved over to center when Jason Kelce retired. Jurgens likened his week to a basketball player making a major change at the rim.
“Everything is different,” Jurgens said postgame. “Your hands are different. Your feet are different. You’re kicking different. It’s weird. It’s like if you’re a basketball player and you always dunk one-footed, then all of sudden you’ve got to be a two-foot dunker and change everything.
“It’s different. But at the same time, we’re all football players, and it’s still football.”
Video: Gameday Central: Initial reaction to the Eagles’ comeback win vs. Titans
The Eagles won Sunday, in a similar fashion to the way they won last week against an opponent that, on paper, is inferior: barely. Nick Sirianni and a few players have spoken about wanting to focus on the joy of winning and not worrying about style points, but the offensive line’s play through eight quarters has made the winning more difficult than it should be.
The Eagles, who are implementing a wide-zone run scheme, can’t run the ball the way they want to. Saquon Barkley suffered a stinger and ran just four times Sunday, but four Eagles — including Barkley and not including Jalen Hurts — combined for 78 yards on 27 carries.
“I don’t know if it’s landmarks,” right tackle Lane Johnson said. “I’ve got to go back and watch the film. It’s really tough to say right after a game. I don’t know if we created any big creases like last week. There’s a lot to clean up.”
Running backs Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby were among Eagles who combined for 78 yards on 26 carries.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Is some of this still growing pains with the new offense?
“Yeah,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot that’s different. There’s aiming points, there’s different names for plays here that we’ve had in for a long time.
“We need to keep getting better and hopefully see this ground game improve.”
It is the key to making the offense go. The Eagles want to use more under-center play action and marry their run and passing games, but they can’t effectively do that unless they can run the ball, and they can’t effectively run the ball unless they block better.
The passing game had issues, too. Simmons had a whopping seven pressures and was credited with hitting Hurts three times, including one that led to Hurts underthrowing DeVonta Smith on a sideline route in the fourth quarter for his second interception of the game. Hurts was pressured often and hit six times, including three sacks.
The offensive line also was flagged three times: Jurgens and right guard Tyler Steen for holding and Lane Johnson for illegal formation.
“I’m going to learn a lot from this game,” Jurgens said. “I’m going to get a lot better. I’m excited to get better from this. Jeffery Simmons is a damn good player.”
It was a lot to ask of Jurgens and Kendall, who said the Eagles “all handled it well” and “have to learn from it.”
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni celebrates as time runs out Sunday vs. the Titans.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
This is the unit the Eagles will be working with moving forward, which gets back to Mailata leaning on the continuity to give him confidence things will be corrected.
The Eagles decided early in the practice week that Kendall would play center and Jurgens would play guard. They practiced all week with that in mind, though Mailata decided to play a joke on reporters by having Fred Johnson line up at left guard for drills in an act of subterfuge during the period open to media.
Video: Jalen Hurts lauds the Eagles’ perseverance after win over Titans
Dickerson, who struggled mightily last week as he dealt with a knee injury, is out for at least the next three games, and it remains to be seen if he’ll be ready to return when he is eligible.
“You’ve got to build continuity, and this is the first time all five of us have been together,” Mailata said. “I am confident in those five. I am confident in us being able to see how we can correct and pass off games.
“I don’t want anyone to panic. The best thing about offensive line play is if you can get continuity. Now we have our starting five moving on. Now we have film on how we’re getting beat, how we’re not getting beat, and things to work on.”
In the end, the offensive line kept Hurts clean enough on the final drive when it mattered. The quarterback did have to make a heady play to get rid of the ball before being sacked, but he was afforded a clean enough pocket on a few key throws.
“That was so damn exciting to go down there, in the two-minute drill, and win the game,” Jurgens said. “We shouldn’t have been in that [situation]. But a win is a win.”
Johnson’s thoughts were similar.
“There’s a lot to clean up,” he said. “But a win is a win, and it’s hard to get in this league.”
NASHVILLE — Saquon Barkley suffered a stinger on the opening offensive play for the Eagles and missed the rest of the first half before returning for the first series of the second half.
Barkley only played a few snaps before again leaving. He did not return.
Barkley was stuffed by Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons on a running play that went up the middle for no gain. The running back was slow to get up and appeared to be favoring his left arm.
After spending several minutes in the medical tent, Barkley then jogged off the field and later returned to the sideline after the first quarter. He appeared to be wearing a neck roll.
The Eagles’ first drive ended with a Jalen Hurts interception in the end zone on the 15th play. Amani Hooker returned the ball 92 yards, setting up a short field for Tennessee, which took advantage and grabbed an early 7-0 lead.
With Barkley sidelined, the Eagles had Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley at running back. Bigsby’s 2-yard touchdown knotted the score at 7-7 early in the second quarter.
Barkley declined to be interviewed after the game but said “I’m all right. We’ll know more later in the week.”
One play before Bigsby’s touchdown, Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert was banged up. He had a brief stay in the medical tent before returning to the bench. The Eagles said he was questionable to return with a knee injury, and he was without a helmet on the sideline as the second half began.
Jordan Davis didn’t think for very long before offering an answer to the hottest football game he has ever played in.
“It has to be Tampa two years ago,” Davis said Friday.
The Eagles, in their last game before an early Week 5 bye that changed the trajectory of their Super Bowl season, were dominated by the Bucs, 33-16, in a game that wasn’t even that close. The real feel on the field reached triple digits.
Davis, who is from North Carolina and played his college football at Georgia and all across the American South, knew he was in for a long day long before the game started.
“It’s when you’re walking out, the warmup before the warmup, and you’re already sweating in like two minutes,” he said. “You didn’t even finish stretching yet, and you’re dripping.
“I don’t like that feeling.”
He won’t be able to avoid it Sunday. The Eagles and Titans play in Nashville at noon local time, and the city is under a heat advisory. Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-90s, and the feel on the field could reach triple digits, just like it did in Tampa, Fla., each of the last two years.
Sunday will be the Eagles’ seventh game against the Buccaneers (including playoffs) — and their sixth in Tampa — in Nick Sirianni’s six seasons. They are 2-4 in the previous six.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Nick Sirianni studies everything his team does, down to travel times and all that goes into a trip. The Eagles had another early-season game in Tampa last year, and they took their data from 2024 and left a day earlier to try to acclimate. Sirianni doesn’t like to be entirely results-oriented, but the Eagles left Florida with a 31-25 victory.
That’s in part why they left for Tennessee on Friday evening.
“It benefited us,” Sirianni said of leaving early last year, “and that’s why we decided to do that again.”
What are some of the worst parts about playing in extreme heat?
“It kind of slows your cognitive ability,” Davis said. “You can’t think as fast. You’re just kind of fighting for survival and also playing a football game at the same time if you really feel it.
“You really have a second opponent if you’re not careful.”
Mind over matter, right?
“It’s mind over matter until your body is cramping up and locking up,” center Cam Jurgens said. “Then you’re like, ‘Well it’s a little bit of matter now.’”
The Eagles and Titans kick off at 1 p.m. Philadelphia time on Sunday (noon central time). The game will be broadcast on Fox with Adam Amin (play-by-play), Drew Brees (analyst), and Kristina Pink (reporter) on the call.
As always, 94 WIP is where you can hear longtime Eagles play-by-play voice Merrill Reese call the game on the radio with Mike Quick.
Eagles assistant coach Jeremiah Washburn (left) speaks with linebacker Jonathan Greenard, who didn’t play last week and is out again Sunday.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
The Eagles again will be without top edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, who continues to practice in a limited capacity but is not ready to play as he recovers from a pectoral injury.
“I feel like they’ve done a great job here with the rehab process,” Greenard said Thursday. “I’m feeling better. I’m getting more and more confident in it and just only going to stack days to where I can eventually get out there.”
Eagles
Out
OLB Jonathan Greenard, pectoral
Questionable
S Andrew Mukuba, knee
Titans
Questionable
CB Cor’Dale Flott, quad
LB Cedric Gray, concussion
LB James Williams, elbow
Storylines to watch
Jalen Hurts was sacked three times last week as Landon Dickerson tried to play through an injury.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
The biggest takeaway from last week’s 24-22 win over Washington probably was the offensive line’s inability to consistently protect Jalen Hurts from pressure and create lanes for Saquon Barkley.
The line will look different Sunday in Nashville. The Eagles have been keeping Landon Dickerson’s replacement close to the vest, but it’s expected to be Drew Kendall. Could this be addition by subtraction for the Eagles? We’ll find out Sunday.
Elsewhere on offense, Makai Lemon’s first real NFL game went about as well as his first preseason game. It’s way too early to be alarmed by Lemon’s usage and production, but the Eagles are going to need more from their first-round pick if the offense wants to be more dynamic. Lemon knows he has “lots to improve on” moving forward.
Could Hollywood Brown get more involved this week? The receiver Howie Roseman signed to a deal worth $5 million in guaranteed money didn’t see the field in Week 1 and was surprised by it.
Jalen Carter and Cooper DeJean sat out on Wednesday, the first practice day of the week, before returning Thursday. Both are set to go Sunday, but Carter was sporting a cast on his right wrist.
DeJean, meanwhile, is looking to bounce back from a Week 1 performance he said “wasn’t good enough.”
Our Eagles Week 2 preview show
Landon Dickerson’s health was a major topic on this week’s Gameday Central preview show.Staff Illustration
I said that and more on this week’s Gameday Central preview show with my beat partner Olivia Reiner. Watch our full Week 2 show here.
Want instant reaction after Sunday’s game? Ryan Novozinsky will be live from Nissan Stadium after the final whistle to recap what he saw.
Jalen Hurts found success throwing the ball downfield in Week 1, and could have more opportunities against the Titans.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
176
Jalen Hurts threw for 203 yards in Week 1, and 176 of them came on throws that traveled at least 10 air yards, according to Next Gen Stats, which counts any throw of 10 or more air yards as a “downfield” pass.
Hurts completed six of his nine downfield attempts and the Eagles scored all three of their touchdowns that way.
The Titans were susceptible to the deep ball last year and that carried over into Week 1.
Nick Sirianni (right) flew his team down to Nashville a day early due to the heat.Monica Herndon / Staff Photo
Here’s what our columnists are saying this week, starting with David Murphy, who ponders if “expecting a 40-spot is really too much to ask?”
David Murphy: “Every week, Nick Sirianni reminds us that winning is hard in the National Football League. Every victory is like a delicate child, something to nurture and cherish. … But, please, convince us. Forget all of that mumbo jumbo about a win being a win on any given Sunday. Wins are great. They’re much better when you feel good about them.” Read more.
Mike Sielski: “You ask why Landon Dickerson played against the Commanders, why in doing so he basically dared coach Nick Sirianni to make the difficult decision to bench him, why he was willing to damage the cohesion and performance of the Eagles’ offensive line, and the question answers itself. Next man up is a convenient cliche. Too many people forget or don’t give a damn about its corollary: First man, out. Sometimes for good.” Read more.
Murphy: “Two plays from Sunday illustrate the blurry line between results and reality. Both involve Makai Lemon, the rookie wide receiver who is currently threatening the integrity of the space-time continuum with a career average of minus-1.7 yards per reception on three catches.” Read more.
What the Titans are saying
Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons had social media buzzing after his comments about Jalen Hurts.Stew Milne
Titans star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons certainly provided some bulletin board material earlier in the week when he said the Titans “just need to make Jalen Hurts be a QB.”
Perhaps he didn’t mean it as a slight, but the reaction to Simmons’ comments took it as one.
Eagles left tackle and captain Jordan Mailata, though, didn’t take the bait.
“I don’t see them,” Mailata said when asked about Simmons’ comments. “I don’t pay attention to that stuff. That’s clickbait stuff. That’s what you guys get paid for, you guys that promote that stuff.
“He can say it. You guys don’t need to say it to me. That’s all I know. I don’t listen to that stuff. I only care about everybody in this locker room. This locker room is the only thing I give a damn about. I don’t care what you guys say about this locker room, and I don’t care what any other locker room says about this locker room.”
Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll on playing the Eagles: “Coach Sirianni is an excellent head coach. 42-4 when he wins the turnover ratio, which is a pretty impressive stat. So that’s going to be paramount. Coach Fangio has done this for about 40 years in the NFL, plus whatever he did in college. Tremendous scheme, very sound. … And then, you add the players, a collection of players that Howie [Roseman] assembles each and every year. It’s a tough challenge.”
“I cannot remember a team that looked less functional on offense in Week 1 than the Titans in Sunday’s loss to the Jets. I went back and looked at the past few seasons of Week 1 travesties — Russell Wilson’s Giants had six points in 2025; Daniel Jones’ Giants had six points in 2024; Jones’ Giants also had zero points in 2023; oh my goodness, are all of these just Giants games? — and I still don’t remember seeing something I found this particularly problematic.
“The Titans looked as if they had never played together before.”
Yikes.
Jason Kelce on Dallas Goedert: “This offense I think will fit [Goedert] pretty well,” Kelce said. “All this misdirection and stuff, they scheme things up, and it stresses those linebackers.”
Thanks for reading. The weekly Eagles newsletter will arrive in your inbox on Sunday next week, a day ahead of the team’s Monday Night Football game in Chicago.
The Eagles and their coaches are well aware of when and how long reporters and cameras are permitted to document practice, which means the early part of individual drills Thursday at the Jefferson Health Training Complex needed to be taken with a grain of salt.
There was Fred Johnson, not Drew Kendall, lining up at left guard with the first-team offensive line as they started their work for the day as a unit. But Kendall, the expected replacement for injured left guard Landon Dickerson, wasn’t with the backups. He lined up to the left of Jordan Mailata as the unit went through its first drill.
The Eagles are playing coy, and it’s possible — perhaps even likely — that the arrangement of the group was just a diversion tactic to try to hide from the Tennessee Titans as long as possible who will replace Dickerson for the first of at least four games the Eagles will be without him.
There are a few combinations the Eagles could go with, but we probably can write off one where Kendall lines up left of Mailata as a tight end.
Perhaps this is a mystery that can only be solved by Benoit Blanc or Ben Gates. Reporters have tried to crack the code this week, but the Eagles are holding their cards close.
“We’re going to keep that in-house in terms of what our plan is for this week, just for competitive reasons,” offensive coordinator Sean Mannion said Tuesday when asked about one possible combination that would involve moving center Cam Jurgens to left guard.
The Eagles will be without Landon Dickerson (knee) for at least the next four games.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
A day later, Nick Sirianni was asked if Kendall, who played center at Boston College but has been cross-training at guard, was a better fit at center or guard.
“That’s a tricky way you’re asking that question,” Sirianni said with a smile. “I think he’s able to do both.”
That is why the Eagles do indeed have a few options. They have multiple players who can play in more than one spot. Kendall is one of them, and Johnson — who may have been used as a pawn Thursday afternoon — and Willie Lampkin are others.
Johnson has exclusively been a backup tackle with the Eagles, but he did play some right guard when he was with Cincinnati. Of his 1,871 career snaps, 144 of them were at right guard. He has never played left guard in the NFL. Lampkin, meanwhile, can play center or guard but his only NFL snaps to date are on kickoff return, which he did in his NFL debut Sunday.
That’s why Kendall, who had a strong camp, seems like the most logical — and likely — choice. He replaced Dickerson during some practice reps with the starters in training camp. He was the backup left guard when the Eagles went through their pregame warmups in Week 1.
But Kendall didn’t bite when asked Wednesday after practice what his role was in practice earlier that day.
“A little bit of everything,” said Kendall, who already is well-trained in the art of public relations in his second NFL season. “We’re trying to keep everything in-house. Not trying to give out too much.
“I’m just excited for any opportunity ahead. We have a lot of good guys in our room. Everyone has been cross-training at different positions throughout the summer. So whatever the five is, I’m just excited to try to contribute to this team and we’ll get our best five out there.”
Drew Kendall (left) is Landon Dickerson’s likely replacement at left guard on Sunday.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Kendall even kept his guard up when asked a hypothetical about the challenge, should his number be called Sunday, of starting a game with Titans interior lineman Jeffery Simmons lined up on the other side.
“He’s a great player,” Kendall said. “Whatever happens between the five that’s out there, we have a lot of respect for him, he’s been doing it at a high level for a very long time. We’re excited for it.”
Mailata didn’t reveal anything Wednesday, but he did exude confidence.
“We’re pretty lucky to have the depth that we do because I’d go to war with any one of these guys that are behind Landon, that are behind anybody,” he said.
Cooper DeJean (calf/abdomen) and Jalen Carter (wrist) returned to the practice field on Thursday after both were nonparticipants on Wednesday. Both players as limited participants on the team’s injury report, along with edge rusher Jonathan Greenard (pectoral).
Carter appeared to be sporting a sizable cast on his right arm. He finished the game Sunday but did not talk to reporters after the game as he left with a member of the team’s training staff.
While those key defensive starters returned Thursday, starting safety Andrew Mukuba was not on the field during the brief portion of practice open to reporters. The Eagles listed the safety as a nonparticipant with a knee injury after not appearing on Wednesday’s injury report.
