Eagles news: Injury updates on Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith; Brian Johnson lands another coaching interview

Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham (center) with teammates defensive end Josh Sweat (right) and safety Reed Blankenship.

• What you should know
• The Eagles (11-6) will hit the road to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-8) in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs on Monday at 8 p.m. on ESPN and ABC.
• Head coach Nick Sirianni didn’t provide and concrete injury updates, but Jalen Hurts (finger) said he’s “progressing” but hasn’t thrown since Sunday.
• DeVonta Smith (ankle) and Darius Slay (knee) both said they plan to play on Monday night. Still no word on A.J. Brown (knee).
• Offensive coordinator Brian Johnson reportedly landed a second job interview, this one with the Tennessee Titans, after a report on Wednesday said he’ll also interview with the Carolina Panthers.
• Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield and linebacker Lavonte David are ready for a rematch with the “physical” Eagles. Here are five matchups to watch on Monday.
• Who’s on the Eagles’ 2024 schedule? A look at their opponents next season.

Wide receiver DeVonta Smith missed Sunday’s loss to the Giants with an ankle sprain.

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Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots are parting ways after 24 seasons

Jalen Hurts injury update: Eagles QB says he’s ‘progressing in the right way’

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DeVonta Smith says he’ll be ready to play Monday night

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Nick Sirianni says ‘we’ll see’ when asked if injured Eagles will practice

Thursday was originally scheduled to be a walkthrough for the Eagles, but with an extra day off, head coach Nick Sirianni opted for a regular practice. But prior to his team taking the practice field, he wasn’t ready to say whether or not injured Eagles Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith would be out there taking part.

“We’ll see. We’ll obviously give you a report here in a little bit and we’ll see how they — we’ll go through everything,” Sirianni said. “I kind of got a feeling of what they’re going to do. Some guys, we’re expecting guys to be able to go during the game and we’ll see how their bodies feel and how much they do out there today.”

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni speaks to media at the NovaCare Complex last week.

As for his starting quarterback specifically, Sirianni remained optimistic that Hurts will be able to play through the finger injury he suffered to his throwing hand during the Eagles’ loss to the Giants, even if it’s painful.

“I know that he’s tough and that he’ll do everything he can to play through it,” Sirianni said. “He went back in the game on Sunday after he had [injured] it, and so I imagine it hurt pretty good. He’s not going to tell me that though. Jalen’s tough and he’s not going to tell me how bad he’s hurting. But I just know how tough he is and how much he can fight through and how much pain he can withstand.

Jalen Hurts status for Monday’s wild-card playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers remains unclear, but he’s expected to play.

“Obviously it will be a challenge, and I know that he can overcome because he’s overcome so many things, different things throughout his football journey and that’s what makes him special.”

The team will release their first official injury report of the week later this afternoon.

— Matt Mullin

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Watch: Nick Sirianni meets the media ahead of Eagles-Bucs

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is set to speak with reporters at the NovaCare Complex starting around 12:50 p.m.

— Matt Mullin

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Nick Sirianni’s record speaks for itself

Nick Sirianni has the best regular season winning percentage (.667) among NFL coaches hired since 2021.

Eight of the 22 coaches have already been fired.

The Eagles coach is the only one among the seven hired in 2021 to make the postseason in each year. Mike McDaniel and DeMeco Ryans have qualified for the playoffs in each of their respective season(s) at the helm.

Here’s the list of coaches, with records, win percentage, and playoff appearances in parentheses:

2021

• Nick Sirianni, Eagles 34-17, .667 (3)
• Brandon Staley, Chargers 24-24 .500, fired
• Dan Campbell, Lions 24-26-1 .480 (1)
• Arthur Smith, Falcons 21-30 .412, fired
• Robert Salah, Jets 18-33 .353
• David Culley, Texans, 4-13 .235, fired
• Urban Meyer, Jaguars 2-11 .154, fired

2022

• Mike McDaniel, Dolphins 20-14 .588 (2)
• Kevin O’Connell, Vikings 20-14 .588 (1)
• Doug Pederson, Jaguars 18-16 .529 (1)
• Todd Bowles, Bucs 17-17 .500 (1)
• Dennis Allen, Saints 16-18 .471
• Brian Daboll, Giants 15-18-1 .456 (1)
• Josh McDaniels, Raiders 9-16 .360, fired
• Matt Eberflus, Bears 10-24 .294
• Nathaniel Hackett, Broncos 4-11 .267, fired
• Lovie Smith, Texans 3-13-1 .206, fired

2023

• DeMeco Ryans, Texans 10-7 .588 (1)
• Shane Steichen, Colts 9-8 .529
• Sean Payton, Broncos 8-9 .471
• Jonathan Gannon, Cardinals 4-13 .235
• Frank Reich, Panthers 1-10 .091, fired

— Jeff McLane

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Brian Johnson reportedly lands another head coaching interview with Titans

According to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson has landed a second head coaching interview, this one with the Tennessee Titans.

On Wednesday, it was reported that the Carolina Panthers had requested to interview Johnson, but he declined to confirm that during his weekly press conference saying that his focused remains solely on Monday’s wild-card game against the Bucs.

What he did say is that head coach Nick Sirianni is supportive of all his coaches as they go through this process at the end of the year, even if it may lead to the them taking a job elsewhere.

“Nick’s been a great resource in terms of development, and just being able to be somebody to get ideas from and to bounce ideas off of,” Johnson said. “I can’t say enough good things about the relationship I have with Nick, especially considering prior to me getting here, we didn’t know each other. I can’t say enough good things about just the type of person he is, how much he cares, and how much he wants to see everybody do really, really well. So he’s somebody that in a short three-year period has become somebody who’s real close.”

With eight head coaching vacancies following Bill Belichick leaving the Patriots, it will be interesting to see if Johnson draws interest from any other teams.

— Matt Mullin

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Know your enemy: 25 things about the Bucs

Let’s take a break from the Eagles and check out 25 things to know about the Buccaneers, who are are 3-2 against the Birds in the postseason, including wins in the last two when Ronde Barber (Jan. 19, 2003) and Tom Brady (Jan. 16, 2022) were giving the Philadelphia region agita.

1. The Buccaneers led the NFL in most snaps played by rookies (5,660). Right guard Cody Mauch, a rook out of North Dakota State, was one of three offensive linemen to play every snap this season. Right tackle Luke Goedeke, in his second season out of Central Michigan, and center Robert Hainsey (third season, Notre Dame) were the other two who didn’t miss a play.

…

3. Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles played at Temple from 1982-85 and won a Super Bowl with Washington after breaking into the NFL as an undrafted safety. He spent one season (2012) as an Eagles assistant coach under Andy Reid and was tabbed to be the defensive coordinator after the Juan Castillo disaster. You think the Sean Desai/Matt Patricia drama is a disaster? Imagine offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland getting promoted to defensive coordinator.

…

5. The Buccaneers defense blitzed on 40.1% of opponents’ dropbacks, the third-highest total in the league. Only the Vikings (51.5%) and the Giants (45.4%) blitzed more frequently. The Eagles blitzed 22.0% of the time, which was 24th most frequent.

25 things to know about the well-traveled Baker Mayfield and Buccaneers

— Ed Barkowitz

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Eight head coaching vacancies after Bill Belichick’s departure from the Patriots

Make it eight.

Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots are expected to part ways after 24 seasons, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Belichick’s departure leaves eight head coaching vacancies in the NFL, a quarter of the league’s teams. They are:

• New England Patriots
• Seattle Seahawks
• Tennessee Titans
• Atlanta Falcons
• Carolina Panthers
• Las Vegas Raiders
• Los Angeles Chargers
• Washington Commanders

– Rob Tornoe

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Eagles injury report

So far, there haven’t been many updates on the injury status of several key Eagles players ahead of Monday’s wild-card playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Here is a rundown of what we know:

• Jalen Hurts: The Eagles quarterback injured the middle finger on his throwing hand during the loss to the New York Giants. The finger isn’t broken, and head coach Nick Sirianni has said he expects Hurts to be on the field Monday.
• A.J. Brown: The Eagles’ star receiver suffered a knee injury during the Giants’ game and didn’t return. According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, an initial exam revealed that Brown’s ACL is intact.
• DeVonta Smith: The Eagles wide receiver missed Sunday’s loss to the Giants with a mild angle sprain. Sirianni told reporters earlier this week he’s “hopeful” Smith will be able to play on Monday.
• Darius Slay: The Eagles cornerback said on his podcast Wednesday he’ll play Monday after missing the final four games of the season after getting knee surgery on Dec. 16. 
• Sydney Brown: The Eagles rookie cornerback’s season is over after suffering what is suspected to be a torn right ACL during the Giants’ loss.
• Cam Jurgens: The Eagles offensive lineman left Sunday’s loss with an eye injury and didn’t return. Sirianni also said he’s optimistic Jurgens will be able to take the field against the Buccaneers.

– Rob Tornoe

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Eagles won’t be playing in Europe in 2024

The NFL announced the four teams that will play home games in Europe next season, and the Eagles won’t be facing any of them on the road.

The four teams that will play games in England and Germany are:

• Chicago Bears (London)
• Minnesota Vikings (London)
• Jacksonville Jaguars (London)
• Carolina Panthers (Munich)

The Birds will face the Jaguars at 2024, but that game will take place at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Eagles still have a chance of playing a game next season in São Paulo, Brazil at Corinthians Arena, which will be the first ever NFL game held in South America.

The full 2024 schedule is expected to be announced in May.

The NFL won’t be holding any games in Mexico in 2024 due to renovations at Estadio Azteca, but the NFL said future NFL games will be played there once work is complete.

– Rob Tornoe

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How the Eagles defense can get back on track

When the Eagles last faced the Buccaneers in Week 3, they pulled off a resounding 25-11 victory and limited their opponent to a lone field goal through the first three quarters and essentially a garbage-time touchdown plus a two-point conversion in the fourth.

Alas, that victory came more than three months ago. The Eagles defense has conceded 26.75 points per game while going 1-3 in their last four contests under defensive play-caller Matt Patricia. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers have rebounded from a four-game midseason skid and went 5-1 in their last six games of the regular season.

Both teams have evolved since Week 3, but Patricia on Wednesday emphasized the importance of the defense rediscovering the energy that gave them success back in September.

“I think we just want to make sure this week we’re going back to playing fast and aggressive, and I’ve got to do a good job of making sure that the defense is in a position to do that, I think, from that aspect of it, to make sure we’re ready to go,” Patricia said. “It’s interesting, any year you watch the season and football and you’re 18 weeks later than where you were, when you look at a tape earlier in the year, it tends to look different, whether it’s offense, defense, or special teams.

“There is a factor there that goes on of the season. And we’ve just got to make sure we give our best effort to that this week, too, so that we look as close to that as possible.”

Matt Patricia: Eagles defense must get back to playing ‘fast and aggressive’ in wild-card round vs. Buccaneers

– Olivia Reiner

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NFL playoffs wild-card schedule

The first round of the NFL playoffs begins this weekend.

Fox, CBS, and ESPN will each broadcast one game during wild-card weekend, while NBC will broadcast three, including one game that will stream exclusively on Peacock, NBC’s subscription streaming service.

The Eagles will travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers Monday night at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN and ABC (and yes, there will be a Manningcast on ESPN2).

Saturday, Jan. 13

• 4:30 p.m.: No. 5 Cleveland Browns at No. 4 Houston Texans (NBC)
• 8:15 p.m.: No. 6 Miami Dolphins at No. 3 Kansas City Chiefs (Peacock)

Sunday, Jan. 14

• 1 p.m.: No. 7 Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 2 Buffalo Bills (CBS)
• 4:30 p.m.: No. 7 Green Bay Packers at No. 2 Dallas Cowboys (Fox)
• 8:15 p.m.: No. 6 Los Angeles Rams at No. 3 Detroit Lions (NBC)

Monday, Jan. 15

• 8:15 p.m.: No. 5 Philadelphia Eagles at No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (ESPN/ABC)

The No. 1 San Francisco 49ers will face the lowest-remaining NFC seed in the divisional round. Same goes for the No. 1 Baltimore Ravens in the AFC.

Full 2023-24 NFL playoff schedule

• Wild-card round: Jan. 13 to 15
• Divisional round: Jan. 20 to 21
• AFC and NFC championship games: Jan. 28
• Super Bowl LVIII: Feb. 11, 6:30 p.m.

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