Eagles news: Injury updates; NFL announces teams playing in Europe; how Birds' defense can get back on track

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.
• There have been no injury updates on Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, or DeVonta Smith, but cornerback Darius Slay said he’ll play on Monday.
• Offensive coordinator Brian Johnson reportedly landed a job interview with the Carolina Panthers — and says Nick Sirianni supports him.
• 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,

// Timestamp 01/11 10:15am

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

// Timestamp 01/11 8:00am

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

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.

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

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

// Timestamp 01/11 7:54am

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.

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

– Rob Tornoe

// Timestamp 01/11 7:30am

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

// Timestamp 01/11 7:30am

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

// Timestamp 01/11 7:00am

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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