The Linc

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

Who is Jalen Hurts? Bucs offer a legit measuring stick game for the Eagles and their quarterback. – Inquirer
Last week, we saw someone else. The Eagles’ first drive ended when he was sacked on third-and-11. Their second drive ended with one of the most poorly conceived end zone interceptions you’ll see. Their third drive ended when Hurts fumbled during a sack in Saints territory. The Eagles improved to 2-1 because of two big plays: a 65-yard run by Saquon Barkley and a 61-yard catch-and-run by Dallas Goedert through a Saints defense that looked like it had been raptured. Week 4 is the end of the NFL’s first marking period. The Bucs are a fitting final exam. The numbers tell the tale. Not that you need them to. Over the last four seasons, the Eagles lost 18 games with Hurts under center. Three of those games have come to the Bucs. Two of them have been season-enders.

Hurts hopes to buck his trend of poor performance vs. Tampa – ESPN
THE KEY IMPROVEMENT on the field has been against the blitz. He threw a league-high eight interceptions against the blitz while posting a QBR of 68.7, which ranked in the bottom half. Through three games this season, he is sixth in QBR against the blitz (67%). Hurts appears to be equipped with better answers against the blitz under new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. He’s also assumed more control over setting protections at the line of scrimmage now that center Jason Kelce has retired — a shift that Hurts has been waiting on and one that has seemingly improved his command in those situations. The operation will be firmly tested this week against a Tampa team that ranks third in blitz percentage since 2023 (40%) and has routinely given Hurts fits since coming into the league. “I know Jalen has really played well against the blitz these last couple games, and he’s worked his butt off on it,” Sirianni said. “And just excited about the challenge, but we know there’s going to be challenges against a [Buccaneers head coach] Todd Bowles’ coached defense. Again, we have done a nice job so far, but you’re only as good as your next game.”

NFL QB Index, Week 4: Josh Allen new No. 1; Sam Darnold, Brock Purdy enter top 10 – NFL.com
13) Jalen Hurts. Hurts entered Week 3 without A.J. Brown and lost DeVonta Smith to a concussion during the game, forcing the QB to rely on the likes of Parris Campbell, Britain Covey, Dallas Goedert and Kenneth Gainwell to keep the offense moving through the air. In the end, Goedert proved to be the answer. Hurts and the trusty tight end connected 10 times for 170 yards, and their last completion — a 61-yarder sprung by a mesh concept that took out three Saints defenders and set up a go-ahead Saquon Barkley touchdown — proved to be the most crucial. As Nick Sirianni said afterward, Hurts showed he’s a winner, and while the turnovers (including an interception thrown into traffic and a fumble lost on a strip sack) weren’t pretty, they didn’t sink Hurts and the Eagles. After collapsing in Week 2, this is exactly what Philadelphia needed.

NFL Week 4 anytime touchdown bets – PFF
QB Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles. While the Eagles have been productive outside the red zone, this has lowered Jalen Hurts’ touchdown value in the betting market. Although the “tush-push” or “brotherly shove” play remains a key part of their short-yardage strategy, there simply haven’t been many chances to use it near the goal line this season. However, it’s only a matter of time before those opportunities arise again. At +130, the odds for a Hurts touchdown are too good to pass up.

Eagles-Buccaneers Final Injury Report: A.J. Brown and Lane Johnson questionable, DeVonta Smith OUT – BGN
The Eagles ruled two players QUESTIONABLE: A.J. Brown and Lane Johnson. Surprise development: Brown practiced on Friday for the first time since leading up to Week 2. He was listed as limited. Maybe he plays, after all? Even if he does, one can wonder if there’s a plan to keep him on a pitch count as he returns from a hamstring injury. The Eagles could aim to use him as a decoy. Or maybe he’s just going to tough it out and play since the team really needs him with Smith already unavailable. Johnson did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday but he was upgraded to limited on Friday. It seems like there’s a chance he’ll clear the concussion protocol in time to start at right tackle against the Bucs. That’d be huge. The Eagles will officially announce their Week 4 inactives at 11:30 AM Eastern on Sunday morning. We’ll see then if Brown and/or Johnson are active or not.

Davy Jones’ Locker: Buccaneers vs Eagles Q&A with Bleeding Green Nation – Bucs Nation
The Buccaneers are coming off of a disappointing loss at home to the Denver Broncos and now welcome in the Philadelphia Eagles. This is a rematch of last year’s Wild Card game which saw the Bucs dominate Philly, but the Birds have a much different looking roster this time around. To get a closer look at this Eagles team and this matchup on Sunday afternoon, we had a chat with Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation. Let’s get right into it.

Eagles-Buccaneers player matchups to watch in Week 4 – NBCSP
Avonte Maddox vs. Chris Godwin. The Eagles didn’t have to use their nickel package very much against the Saints’ bigger personnel groups on Sunday but when they did, Avonte Maddox was still their slot cornerback. That’s important to note in this game because Chris Godwin operates out of the slot a ton and he had a 23-yard touchdown catch on Maddox in the playoff game last year. Godwin this season leads the Bucs in receptions (21), yards (253) and touchdowns (3). And 65.2% of his snaps have come out of the slot, which sets up a super important matchup against Maddox. Godwin has been extremely efficient this season, averaging 3.0 yards per route run, which ranks 12th in the NFL. He also has 140 yards after the catch, which ranks fifth in the NFL, so if Baker Mayfield hits Godwin in stride, the Eagles have to make sure they’re able to tackle him.

NFL fines C.J. Gardner-Johnson for illegal hit on Alvin Kamara – PFT
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Gardner-Johnson was fined for throwing down Saints running back Alvin Kamara after he was out of bounds, after the third play of the game. Gardner-Johnson was not penalized for the maneuver. It’s the second straight game resulting in a fine for Gardner-Johnson. The Week 2 game against the Falcons resulted in a taunting fine.

Jayden Daniels is already playing like one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks – SB Nation
One could easily write a story highlighting Daniels setting the record for highest completion percentage in a game by a rookie quarterback, completing 21 of 23 pass attempts on Monday against the Bengals for 254 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to rushing for 39 yards and another score, and call that enough of a reason to make the No. 2 overall pick the player of the week. Daniels now leads the league in completion percentage through three games, going 61 of 76 (80.3%) with no interceptions and 8.7 yards per attempt. That is the second-highest completion percentage through a team’s first three games in the NFL history, almost a point higher than Tom Brady’s historic 2007 season.

Washington Commanders vs Arizona Cardinals Friday Injury Report: Three players ruled out – Hogs Haven
The Washington Commanders enter their Week 4 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals with a few players dealing with injuries. Three players have been ruled out for Sunday’s 4:05 pm game. Dan Quinn ruled out RB Austin Ekeler(concussion) and DE Clelin Ferrell(knee) before Wednesday’s practice. Neither player traveled with the team to Arizona. Ekeler was flown back to Virginia after suffering a concussion during the Bengals game. WR Jamison Crowder was added to the injury report late on Wednesday with a calf injury. He was at practice with his calf wrapped, and he has also been ruled out this week.

Dallas Cowboys pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence expected to miss ‘multiple weeks’ with foot injury – Blogging The Boys
From a timeline perspective Parsons suffered his injury on the penultimate Giants possession of the game where Lawrence was injured in the third quarter. Micah and DeMarcus are the two best pass rushers on the Cowboys roster and the group lost Sam Williams to a torn ACL back in the early days of training camp. To say that the team is down bad at this position right now would be the understatement of the year. As noted with Micah the “multiple weeks” here may cover (probably will) the team’s bye week. Dallas visits the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday night before hosting the Detroit Lions and then get the week off. Waiting for Dallas after their rest will be a trip to play the San Francisco 49ers, no big deal.

Somehow, the Giants are scoring fewer points than last year – Big Blue View
The New York Giants have an improved group of wide receivers from 2023, led by superstar rookie Malik Nabers. They have a better offensive line. Quarterback Daniel Jones is playing much better than a year ago. Head coach Brian Daboll, renowned for his prowess as a play-caller, has taken over that role. Yet, the Giants still cannot score points. The have have scored 20 or more just once, 21 Week 3 vs. the Cleveland Browns. They punted just once on Thursday night in their loss to the Dallas Cowboys, yet scored just 15 points on five Greg Joseph field goals. The Giants, in fact, are averaging an even 15.0 points per game through four games. That is worse than the 15.6 points per game they scored last season, and which they knew wasn’t good enough.

Why Has the NFL’s Explosive Passing Game Disappeared? – The Ringer
Teams scored a total of just 215 touchdowns in the first three weeks—you’d have to go back to 2006 to find lower-scoring production through that point in the season. Football fans and NFL media alike grew a bit too accustomed to gaudy numbers and high-scoring games during the big boom of passing offense over the last decade. All but two of the NFL’s 15 5,000-yard passing seasons (and 61 of the 80 4,500-yard seasons in league history) have come since 2010. It was an unquestionably fun time, and I don’t blame anyone for feeling nostalgic about the good old days of the 2010s after a dull start to this season. However, it feels clear to me that some poor assumptions were made, and worse conclusions were drawn, about the long-term future of the sport, particularly about defense—and that’s why we’ve seen such panicked discourse recently over the downward trend in the rate of explosive pass plays.