Limping Home: Panthers vs. Eagles Week 6 Preview

Eight seconds. That is all that stood between the Eagles and a come-from-behind win in England.

Instead, a last-second field goal gave the Jacksonville Jaguars a 19-17 victory, the Eagles’ third straight defeat, and the bad news was only getting started.

Jalen Hurts is out with a blood clot in his calf, and Tanner McKee takes over at quarterback. The Eagles had 24 players on Wednesday’s initial injury report; Saquon Barkley is nursing a hamstring, on top of a patchwork offensive line that played pretty well in England but has only one starter playing. The new-look offense has had one week to shake off a devastating loss, cobble together a game plan with the remaining players and get the second-string quarterback first-team reps, all while fighting jet lag.

The Carolina Panthers arrive in Philly rested at 2-2, coming off a bye. They’re averaging 30.3 points per game behind one of the NFL’s most productive passers. One team is rested and scoring 30 a game, while the other is limping home with its backup under center.

The Eagles’ Injuries at a Catastrophic Level

The Eagles won’t look at all like the team they started the season with, after ruling out Jalen Hurts on Thursday with a blood clot in his calf. The team announced he hurt the calf in the loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 4, and an ultrasound after the trip to London found the clot. Hurts played against the Jaguars last Sunday, but will not play against Carolina, and Tanner McKee will start.

Hurts is the biggest name on a long list of injured birds this week. The Eagles put 24 players on Wednesday’s initial injury report, and the roster resembles a preseason game roster more than the team they opened the season with. Lane Johnson retired, Cam Jurgens was traded, Landon Dickerson went on injured reserve after Week 1, Barkley played four snaps against the Rams before his hamstring ended his day, and he missed the London game. DeVonta Smith has missed the last two games, but will return on Sunday. The entire shape of the offense is fundamentally changed.

The Eagles’ injury report heading into Sunday reads as follows:

OUT

RB Saquon Barkley (hamstring)
S Michael Carter II (abdomen)
EDGE Jalyx Hunt (knee/ankle)
QB Jalen Hurts (calf)
RB Will Shipley (foot)

DOUBTFUL

EDGE A.J. Epenesa (back)

QUESTIONABLE

CB Jakorian Bennett (knee)
TE Grant Calcaterra (back)
OG Landon Dickerson (knee)
OL Drew Kendall (knee)
TE Eli Stowers (quad)

RESERVE/INJURED

CB Jakorian Bennett (practice window open)
RB Tank Bigsby
TE Grant Calcaterra (practice window open)
OG Landon Dickerson (practice window open)
S Andre’ Sam
RB Will Shipley
TE Eli Stowers (practice window open)
WR Johnny Wilson

Dickerson had his practice window opened Wednesday and could return, though the Eagles have not committed to activating him. Hunt, Shipley and Carter all got hurt in London, and Tyler Steen hurt his shoulder there. The offensive line absorbed the heaviest turnover, and Jordan Mailata summed up the week after the Jaguars game.

“This week has been a week from hell,” Mailata said.

Eagles Need to Find Offensive Rhythm With a Whole New Offense

One thing that has truly punctuated the Eagles’ season thus far is the second-half performance of the offense. When they come out from halftime, they have only scored 23 points all season. This is concerning enough, but in the last three games, the team has only scored three points. Now with Hurts, Barkley, and Wicks all not playing, reversing this trend looks to be an uphill battle at best.

The Eagles haven’t gained 100 yards in a second half since the Week 2 win over the Tennessee Titans, and most of that was on the last drive. Third-down play is abysmal this season; they went 0-for-20 on third down across 18 drives. That streak of failed third-down conversions ended early in London, and the run game produced 22 yards. With the top three running backs sidelined, there is little hope that the results will be different in this game. With a second-string, fourth-year quarterback and limited weapons, expectations have to be tempered, though he has the confidence of his teammates, including Darius Cooper.

“Full confidence in Tanner. He knows the offense and we’ve connected before,” Cooper said on Thursday. “I know he’s going to go out there and do a great job. It’s not just him. We all have jobs to do. We need to get this win.”

The Panthers and the Bryce Young Puzzle

Bryce Young is ninth in the NFL with 1,268 passing yards, even after his bye, with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. He threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns in a 32-26 win over the Detroit Lions on Oct. 4, and Tetairoa McMillan caught 14 passes for 192 yards in that game. Chuba Hubbard ran for 122 yards and two scores. The Panthers offense is one of the most explosive in all of the NFL, averaging 30.3 points per game. The Eagles defense has been very good thus far this season, and if Jalen Carter can have a game as he did in London, the defense can contain Hubbard and keep Young off balance a bit, but slowing down this offense has not been something that has happened much this season.

The defense is where Carolina can be hurt, and with essentially a second unit on the field, this is good news for the Eagles. Starting cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson are on injured reserve and expected to miss eight weeks, so the passing lanes will be a little more open for McKee, and if Smith can play for the Eagles, he should have a pretty good game against second-team corners.

Rookie Will Lee III and Akayleb Evans are filling in, and neither has found their footing against more explosive NFL wide receivers. McKee will need to find the soft spots in that secondary early and establish a rhythm to keep up in the track meet against the Young-led Panthers offense.

Kickoff is 1 p.m. Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

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