PHILADELPHIA — From an historical perspective, the Eagles were in trouble before they hit the field Sunday, as right tackle Lane Johnson was scratched from the lineup with soreness in his groin.
Since taking Johnson off the board in the first round of the 2013 draft, the Eagles were only 13-22 (.371) when he’s not in the starting lineup. When he starts the Eagles are 88-48-1 (.645).
Make that 14-22 (.388) when Johnson is absent after a wild 37-34 overtime victory over the Bills Sunday at rainy Lincoln Financial Field.
Plan B versus the Bills was journeyman Jack Driscoll, who made his 11th career start for the Eagles. Versatile as Driscoll is, pairing him with right guard Cam Jurgens, who is more suited to the center position, was an interesting experience. Bills defender Leonard Floyd shot the gap between the two on the first Eagles play, forcing Jalen Hurts to throw incomplete. The Birds wound up with a three-and-out from their own 18-yard line.
Johnson practiced all week but woke up Sunday with soreness in his groin. The Eagles gave him treatment and sent him out for an MRI, which showed inflammation.
Johnson tested the injury during a brief pre-game warmup that was painful to watch. Sources said the Eagles took a conservative approach in deactivating Johnson, factoring in the pain and the wet field. Teammates described Johnson’s issue as “a tweak.”
The Eagles are going to need him next Sunday to block Nick Bosa when the 49ers come to the Linc. The angry 49ers, who despite sustaining a 31-7 loss to the Birds in the NFC title game this past January, felt they were the better team.
The Eagles average 26.4 points with Johnson in the lineup and 22.3 without him.
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Jalen Hurts threw touchdown passes to DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown and Olamide Zaccheaus and ran for a couple of scores, giving the QB 37 rushing TDs in ihis career.
That ties him with Brian Westbrook, who rushed for 37 touchdowns from 2002-09. Next on the list is LeSean McCoy, who ran for 44 scores from 2009-14.
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Brandon Graham’s club record 189th game played for the Eagles included a huge sack of Josh Allen to stop a fourth-quarter drive by the Bills.
“I’m very thankful to still be here,” Graham said. “That win was exhausting but it was worth it. I just try to lead these boys so that they can carry the torch when I’m gone but we’ve got to win this thing before I leave.”
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Nick Sirianni is just the third NFL head coach to start 10-1 or better in consecutive seasons.
“Yeah, our guys know how to win,” Sirianni said. “Why do our guys know how to win? Part of that’s a product of what we’ve done here the last couple years. Part of that is a product of we’ve got some guys that are still here from the 2017 Super Bowl team. Part of that is we’ve got a lot of guys from Georgia that have won a lot. We have a lot of guys from Alabama that have won a lot.”
The other coaches to start 10-1 or more in consecutive seasons are Tony Dungy (2005-06) and Don Shula (1972-73).
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Jalen Hurts is the second NFL QB since 1950 to start 10-1 or better through 11 games in back-to-back years, joining Peyton Manning in 2005-06.
“You know, I kind of had a little reflection moment in which I was thinking what do you guys (the media) want me to say?” Hurts said after the game. “We just continue to find ways to win. We play together and we have shown our resiliency day in and day out. Game in and game out we have been challenged in a number of different ways. We always find a way, and that’s something that you can’t really take for granted. It’s hard to quantify. Obviously, I have had a ton to clean up and I have not executed to the level of my standard. As a team, enough is never enough. So, you just want to continue to strive for more and play to that standard. But in those moments, you just truly never want to get too high or get too low. But we found a way in the end and made it happen.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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