The Linc

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

MIKE GARAFOLO: “I don’t have any great concern. I think Jalen Hurts is going to play in this game.”

From The Insiders on @nflnetwork: Don’t expect Nick Sirianni to shed much light on Jalen Hurts’ status this week, certainly as long as Hurts remains in the concussion protocol. That’s how the #Eagles coach rolls with most injuries. But Hurts should be good to go. pic.twitter.com/KdgglCE7pL

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 7, 2025

In Roob’s Eagles Stats: Completely bonkers Tanner McKee numbers – NBCSP
1. Another ridiculous batch of Tanner McKee stats. 1A. Two games into his NFL career, McKee has four touchdown passes, no interceptions and a passer rating of 117.2. His passer rating is 3rd-highest in NFL history by any quarterback two games into his career with a minimum of 40 pass attempts. Marcus Mariota – another one-time Jalen Hurts backup – had a 132.4 rating in his first two games with the Titans in 2015 and Case Keenum had a 118.0 in his first two games with the Texans in 2013.

Where does the 2024 regular season rank among all-time Eagles seasons? – BGN
Most of this week will be spent discussing the Packers and whether their young quarterback Jordan Love will play after banging his funny bone during Green Bay’s loss to the Bears on Sunday, and whether Jalen Hurts will clear the concussion protocol in time to practice this week and play on Sunday. We’ll have a multitude of storylines to chew on, but before we do that, I wanted to put the 2024 regular season into perspective. It was, quite possibly, the best Eagles regular season we’ve ever seen, and who’d have thought we’d be saying that so quickly after the incredible ‘22 season? In fact, there have been seven seasons in which the Eagles have won at least 12 games: 1980, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2017, 2022 and ‘24.

NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Wild Card Round edition – PhillyVoice
4) Packers (11-6): The 2023 Packers were 9-8, and ranked 13th in DVOA. They got hot at the end of the regular season, winning three straight and eking their way into the playoffs, where they then blew out the Cowboys on the road and gave the Niners a huge scare in the divisional round. The 2024 Packers were notably better throughout the regular season, going 11-6 (with 5 of those 6 losses coming to 14-win teams), with a 3rd ranked finish in DVOA. But this team limped to the finish line. They were mostly dominated by the Vikings Week 17, and they had an alarming Week 18 loss to a terrible Bears team that had previously lost 10 straight.

A New Season – Iggles Blitz
The Eagles won that first game 34-29. Both teams have come a long way since then. The Eagles defense went from being a mystery to being dominant. The Packers finished 5th in yards on offense and defense. You don’t find many wild card games where both teams have Top 10 offenses and defenses. I’m excited to see what this team can do. The Eagles have passed just about every test this year. They can run, they can throw. They play great defense. They have depth and a lot of different playmakers. This team is built for the postseason. You do have to remember that there aren’t any guarantees. We’ve seen great teams go down early. That’s what makes the NFL playoffs so special. You only need to be the better team for one day. Most pro sports require you to win a best of seven series. The NFL squeezes all of that drama and pressure into three hours. I think this team is hungry. They aren’t worried about 2022 or 2023. They genuinely enjoy playing together and certainly winning together. They want to keep this thing going as long as they can. Hopefully we get another month out of them.

NFL playoff mythbusters: Why you’re wrong about all 14 teams – ESPN+
Why it’s a myth: The real difference is not on offense. The 2023 Eagles ranked seventh in offensive efficiency and eighth in offensive EPA, and the 2024 Eagles ranked fourth in offensive efficiency and sixth in offensive EPA. Instead, the big change is on defense, where new coordinator Vic Fangio has been maybe the highest-impact coordinator hire of the 2024 offseason. Last season’s Eagles ranked 29th in the NFL in defensive efficiency and 30th in defensive EPA. Absolutely atrocious. This season? They were first in defensive efficiency and second in defensive EPA. It’s the result of Fangio, an excellent draft that produced rookie-year contributors at cornerback in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, and the maturation of young players such as defensive tackle Jalen Carter. As brilliant as Barkley has been, the point here is it’s the defense that puts the Eagles in a much better position entering the playoffs than they were last season.

NFL Week 18 Recap: Philadelphia Eagles 20, New York Giants 13 – PFF
Few players were true standouts in this game, although several defenders earned strong PFF grades after initial reviews. Chief among them is Sydney Brown, who clinched the Eagles’ win with an interception and allowed just 3 yards in coverage during the game. Brown’s preliminary 91.0 PFF overall game grade would be his best mark in an NFL game.

Final 2024 DVOA Ratings – FTN Fantasy
[BLG Note: The Eagles rank 5th in DVOA. The Packers rank 3rd.]

Packers WR Christian Watson believed to have torn ACL – Acme Packing Company
Watson finished the 2024 season as one of the NFL’s most explosive receivers. His 21.4 yards per reception average ranked third in the NFL among players with at least 40 receiving targets on the season and his 620 yards was third on the team, despite ranking just fifth in targets and sixth in receptions. Often limited by injuries in his early NFL career, Watson also suited up in a career-high 15 games in 2024, missing only the week five contest against the Rams and the week 17 loss to the Vikings.

Dan Quinn Presser: “I’m not concerned” with Jayden Daniels’ leg soreness affecting him in the playoffs – Hogs Haven
Quinn gave positive updates on several players who have missed time, and also said he’s not concerned with Jayden Daniels’ leg soreness that was cited as the reason for Marcus Mariota playing in the second half in the season finale. He said he’s feeling good about the team’s health at this point in the season, and he’s hoping to get several players back for the playoffs.

The McCarthy Chronicles: The case for the Cowboys keeping their coach – Blogging The Boys
Prior to the game being played on Sunday, there were also reports that the Cowboys were leaning in the direction of bringing McCarthy back. These reports suggested that Jones is on board with keeping his head coach, but that others in the organization might not feel the same way. While many fans want to see McCarthy gone, the reality is that he’s the best the team will do at head coach. Simply put, there is no clear upgrade over McCarthy right now. This is the typical nature of the coaching carousel, of course. Good coaches don’t get fired, so teams are left to hire a bunch of inexperienced coaches or retreads who have head coaching experience but are available for a reason.

Bears request to interview Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy for vacant HC position – NFL.com
Mike McCarthy ended his team’s disappointing 2024 season by confidently explaining himself as “a winner.” At least one team outside of the Dallas Cowboys building was listening. The Chicago Bears have requested permission from the Cowboys to interview McCarthy for their vacant head coaching position, NFL Network’s Jane Slater reported on Monday.

New York Giants will keep Brian Daboll, Joe Schoen – Big Blue View
The Giants went 6-11 after a 2-8 start in 2023. They followed that by going 3-14. In three seasons as head coach, Daboll has gone 18-32-1 (.363) in the regular season, and 1-1 in the playoffs. Only Bill Arnsparger (7-28, .200), Pat Shurmur (9-23, .281) and Judge (10-23, .303) have lower winning percentages with the franchise. Schoen and Daboll have presided over some cataclysmic decisions for the Giants’ franchise. Among them: Signing Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million contract after 2022, then ultimately benching and waiving Jones at 2-8 this season. Failing to sign Saquon Barkley to a long-term contract, resulting in Barkley signing with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency. Schoen and Daboll will get a chance to clean up the mess.

2025 Saints head coach hiring process rumors, news, interviews tracker – Canal Street Chronicles
Saints request to interview Philadelphia Eagles OC Kellen Moore.

Mike Vrabel is quickly becoming the hottest coaching commodity in the NFL – SB Nation
When the Patriots kicked off firing season by axing Jerod Mayo the assumption was that room was being made for Mike Vrabel. The former franchise legend’s name was already circulating in coaching rumors, and it felt like New England wanted to get a jump on the process. Now, just a few days later, Vrabel is quickly becoming one of the hottest coaching candidates of the 2025 cycle — and it’s now unclear where he’ll land. Three teams currently have plans to interview the former Titans head coach. On Tuesday, he’s in New York to meet with the Jets about their vacancy. Vrabel then heads to Chicago to discuss the Bears’ opening, before rounding out his week with the New Orleans Saints. Vrabel certainly has a resume worthy of getting interviews for these jobs, but the reason he’s popping up so much right now comes down to three key factors.