The injury bug has hit the Philadelphia Eagles receiving corps as both Alshon Jeffrey and Desean Jackson will both be out of action.
Injury Bug Comes at A Bad Time
Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons was very costly as the injury bug has hit the Philadelphia Eagles hard. It seems that Alshon Jeffrey and Desean Jackson among others will probably miss time with various ailments. This is especially bad timing given the fact that the Eagles play the Packers next Thursday in Green Bay. Before that, they will have to face the Eagles on Sunday without a few key pieces.
Alshon Jeffrey Has a Strained Calf
Alshon Jeffrey suffered a calf injury in Sunday’s game. There is no timetable for his return which isn’t good news. There is a strong possibility that he could miss both games against the Lions and the Packers considering they happen over the course of the next nine days. There’s no sense in risking long term injury to one of their key wide receivers.
They team will struggle in third down situations with Jeffrey who is one of the most physical receivers in the NFL. It looks the Eagles will have to lean on some of their young guys like Mack Hollins and JJ Arcega-Whiteside. While Arcega-Whiteside has struggled a bit, Hollins looked good against the Falcons.
Desean Jackson Might Only Miss a Game
It seems like Desean Jackson has a better chance of returning to action than Jeffrey. He suffered an abdominal strain against the Falcons in warmups. Those types of injuries can be tricky and he may miss one game or several. The Eagles did not give a timetable Jackson’s return either.
Dallas Goedert suffered a reoccurrence of an old calf injury. He’s been dealing with this week 1 of preseason and it caused him to miss several weeks. As is the case with Jackson and Jeffrey, the Eagles are not sure when Goedert will be ready to go. The injury bug has completely decimated the Eagles receiving corp. At the moment, they only have three healthy receivers on the roster.
The last injury bug victim is Timmy Jernigan. He broke his foot against the Falcons and the injury appeared severe. It was originally reported that he could be out for the rest of the season. It appears now that after being re-evaluated, he might only be out 6-8 weeks.
What Do the Eagles Do Now?
This Eagles team will be relying heavily on franchise QB Carson Wentz and this defensive front seven. Even with the injury to Jernigan, this is still the best front seven in the NFL. If they can hold things down until some of their skill position guys can get healthy this team might be ok. The way the Dallas Cowboys have started the season, the Eagles can’t afford to lose ground to their division rivals.
One thing that needs to happen for this Eagles team is improvement in the run game. That is usually a strength of their offense but it has been sub par so far this season to say the least. If they want to stay afloat in the ultra competitive NFC, they will need to turn their running game around.
