Injuries, Upcoming Short Week Prompts Eagles To Cancel Full Practice For Walkthrough
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As the Eagles gear up for a Sunday showdown with the Lions, coach Doug Pederson isn't taking any chances with some of his injured players. The time to watch and learn has come and gone.
It's now time to step up and contribute.
Opportunity is everything in the NFL and there will be plenty of it to go around Sunday for the Eagles. The Birds are injured.
"We understand we could miss a player or two," Pederson said.
Three of the Birds' top five offensive weapons are grounded. That, in part, led to a walkthrough Wednesday.
Pederson said DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery are day-to-day, which opens the door for guys like rookie J.J. Arcega-Whiteside.
"They fully expect us to step in and there be no dropoff. That's the mentality we have. Those are great players in that room but they believe in us," Arcega-Whiteside said.
Carson Wentz says the Eagles will adjust the gameplan to the strengths of whoever is on the field.
"DeSean's a different guy, Alshon's a different guy. We won't ask them to be those guys. We have a lot of confidence in them and having a full week to prepare with those guys will help us this week," Wentz said.
After his performance in Atlanta, Nelson Agholor may be WR1 this week.
"We saw Nelson the other night he able to stretch the D. He can do that. If that's the case, we have to get creative and find some ways to get the guys down the field," Pederson said.
Whatever happens, you can bet the Birds will be throwing the ball. Wentz has had a minimum of 30 pass attempts in every start but one dating back to November of 2017.
The Eagles host the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field at 1 p.m. and then have a short week and head to Green Bay to play the Packers on Thursday.
