Birds to count on Scott against WFT
The Eagles will be without Miles Sanders Sunday when they host the Washington Football Team. Not that there’s anything unusual about that.
Sanders had perfect attendance as an Eagles rookie in 2019, but missed four games last season and will be missing his fourth game this season on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. He has been diagnosed with a broken hand, according to Eagles coach Nick Sirianni.
Sanders left early from last Sunday’s win over the Giants, which didn’t deter the Birds’ running game from helping Jalen Hurts to put away a 34-10 road win, scoring 31 of those points in the second half. Sanders rushed seven times for 45 yards, and backup Boston Scott ran 12 times for 41 yards. With Sanders out and perhaps running back Jordan Howard (stinger) limited Sunday, Scott figures to be a busy back in D.C.
“Every time he’s called upon … he has come through,” Sirianni said of Scott. “We have no doubt that he’ll be able to do the same thing this week when called upon. … It’s great to be able to have that type of depth. I think when you really look at it, we got a good group of backs. We’ve got four backs that I think a lot of teams would like to have.”
Siranni added that Sanders “did break his hand and, obviously, he’ll be out this week and then we will re-evaluate after a week. … We are hopeful we can get him back at some point this season, so he will not be going to IR.”
There was likely a little more that went into that decision, as NFL rules stipulate that since Sanders was on IR earlier this season (three-plus weeks from late October to mid-November), a second IR trip would mean his season would be over.
With five wins in their last six games, the Eagles sit at 8-7 and very hopeful of capturing a wild card spot. They play a Washington team still undergoing some quarterback chaos, though No. 2 QB Taylor Heinicke should be ready for the game. Then again,
Heinicke played last Sunday night in … a 56-14 loss to the NFC East champ Dallas Cowboys.
In a season in which the Eagles’ ground game soared to the front of the league rankings, Sanders led the way with 754 yards rushing (but no touchdowns) on 137 carries over 12 games. That included a pair of 100-plus rushing yard games before leaving the game against the Giants early.
• ••
Due to the omicron surge, Sirianni said “we definitely did some different things that weren’t mandated a couple weeks ago and we’re going to continue with that.
“I talked to a couple other head coaches and tried to figure out what they’re doing because we all know — to win this game this week, we’re going to need all hands-on deck,” Sirianni said. “And so, what is the best course of action? Obviously, we’re talking to our doctors and our trainers to figure out the best course of attack.”
Sirianni added the Eagles are “going to make some adjustments. I’m not there 100 percent yet, because I don’t have to be with the players not being back yet, but we’re going to definitely make even more adjustments than what we need to just to keep everybody safe.”
Among the “adjustments,” Sirianni admitted, would be separating quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Gardner Minshew into separate QB rooms during the week of preparation.
• • •
Sirianni said offensive lineman Nate Herbig has a knee sprain but could play Sunday. Also on the line, Sirianni had no updates on Brandon Brooks. “No timetable,” Sirianni said of Brooks, still listed as having a pec strain. “We’re playing each week, week by week and trying to figure it out.”