Extended rests have offensive line healthy going into tough matchup
At least for the time being, Jason Kelce is grateful for the last month.
The Eagles have played just two games since Oct. 16 thanks to an odd confluence of scheduling events.
They came off their bye week for a Sunday game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, played the Houston Texans the following Thursday, and now await a Monday night game against the Washington Commanders after having last weekend off for a “mini bye.”
Whether the rest will help the team continue to limit injuries or lead to rust remains to be seen. What is apparent, though, is how much the extended rest time helped the Eagles offensive line going into the second half of the season.
All five of the Eagles’ starting offensive linemen went into the bye week nursing an injury of some sort.
Kelce, Landon Dickerson, and Isaac Seumalo were limited in practice in the days leading into the Week 6 game against the Dallas Cowboys with ankle injuries.
Jordan Mailata was nursing a shoulder injury that sidelined him for a week, and Lane Johnson suffered a concussion against the Cowboys.
Coming out of the bye, the group is feeling much better.
“It came at a good time for the O-line,” Kelce said Friday. “We had a lot of injuries. Ankles, shoulders, all that stuff. So I think it was good for us, but ask me in six or seven weeks how I feel about the bye week coming that early. It might be a different story. We’ll see.”
Mailata previously said that time off to improve the range of motion in his hurt shoulder has been important to being able to play. He spent part of the time off the last few weeks at the NovaCare Complex getting treatment alongside Dickerson.
“It helped a lot mentally as well as physically,” Mailata said Thursday. “You have to take a break. Mentally, it’s a lot. Playing in the NFL is really hard; to be consistent is harder. You have to take a break from that mental aspect from just focusing on the process every day. It’s tiring. On the physical side? [Bleep] yeah, it was amazing. Not getting dinged every freaking play? And then just getting in here and doing treatment.”
Come Monday night, the rest will come to a screeching halt.
Washington has one of the most talented defensive fronts in the league and could welcome back 2020 No. 2 overall pick Chase Young back into the fold for the game. Young, one of the NFL’s most physically gifted edge rushers, has a chance to return against the Eagles after missing the last year with a torn ACL.
“He’s a great player,” Johnson said. “Him and Montez [Sweat], it will be a tough matchup. I think their D-lines will probably be one of the better ones we’ll play. You look at their interior guys and the edge rushers and linebacking corps, it’ll be a tough challenge for us.”
Washington ranks 11th in sacks so far this season, but the group’s 52 quarterback knockdowns lead the league by a wide margin. The New York Jets are second with 42 knockdowns and are the only other team above 40.
The sack production mostly has come from interior-rushing tandem of Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen, who have 5½ and 4½ sacks, respectively, but Sweat also is a respected speed rusher off the edge.
Washington got to Jalen Hurts three times in the team’s first matchup in Week 3, a 24-8 Eagles win, including two sacks from linebacker Jamin Davis.
“They’re very powerful inside,” Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen said. “You have good play strength up front. They’re good against the run, and they can rush the passer. I think with any football team, it starts up front with offensive and defensive lines, and that’s how they set the tone defensively with their defensive line. And the good thing is we have a great offensive line to counter that that we feel good about, too.”