Finish off Week 2 here!

The final game of Week 2 will be a Monday Night Football NFC North matchup featuring the Detroit Lions (0-1) on the road against the Green Bay Packers (0-1).

The Packers lead the all-time series between these teams, 102-72-7, including having won the past four meetings, most recently in mid-December 2020 with a 31-24 victory. Aaron Rodgers and Co. looked rough in their season opener, losing to the Saints by a whopping 3-38. The Lions’ Week 1 loss to the 49ers was at least a respectable 33-41.

Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s game.

Detroit Lions vs Green Bay Packers

TV Schedule

Game time: 8:15 PM EST

Channel: ESPN

Date: Monday, September 20, 2021

Location: Lambeau Field | Green Bay, WI

Radio: SIRIUS: 81 (Det.), 83 (GB) | XM: 226 (Det.), 225 (GB) | SXM App: 810 (Det.), 811 (GB)

Online Streaming

ESPN+ | FuboTV

Odds

Detroit Lions: +12 (+475)

Green Bay Packers: -12 (-675)

Over/under: 48 points

SB Nation Blogs

Lions: www.PrideofDetroit.com

Packers: www.AcmePackingCo.com

Open thread: Discuss Monday night’s game in the comments below.

Philly’s tight end will be temporarily unavailable.

The Philadelphia Eagles placed veteran tight end Zach Ertz on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday afternoon, according to an official announcement from the team.

This news comes one day after Ertz played in the Eagles’ loss against the San Francisco 49ers.

It’s currently unclear if Ertz tested positive or was deemed a high-risk close contact with someone who did test positive. It’s also unclear if Ertz is vaccinated.

If Ertz did test positive and he’s vaccinated, he will need two negative tests at least 24 hours apart to return to the team. Again, it remains to be seen if that’s the case.

Ertz had a good training camp but it’s been a relatively slow start to the season for the 30-year-old. His 20.0 yards per game average is well below his 51.4 career mark. Then again, Jalen Hurts hasn’t exactly shown an affinity for throwing to tight ends. And Ertz has been dealing with a hamstring injury.

A potential silver lining is that the Eagles have more time before this week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys since it’s on Monday Night Football. It’s possible Ertz will be able to return to the roster before then but we’ll see.

In the meantime, Dallas Goedert and Jack Stoll are the only two tight ends on the 53-man roster. Nick Eubanks is the only tight end on the practice squad. Richard Rodgers is still on the market if the Eagles wanted to re-re-re-re-re-sign him.

Philadelphia isn’t necessarily losing their starting RG for the season.

The Eagles suffered two big Brandon injuries during their Week 2 loss to the San Francisco 49ers with both Brandon Graham and Brandon Brooks leaving the game early.

Speaking to reporters on Monday afternoon, Nick Sirianni confirmed what we had already heard about Graham. The Eagles’ veteran defensive end is out for the season with an Achilles tear.

As for Brooks, though, he’s not done for 2021. Philly’s head coach gave the following update on the team’s starting right guard:

“He strained his [pectoral muscle]. We’re thinking he’s probably going to go to IR but it’s not a season-ending injury.”

Good to know that Brooks will return at some point, although it’s not currently clear when that will be. The Eagles placing him on IR makes him ineligible to be activated until some point after their next three games (at Cowboys, vs. Chiefs, at Panthers).

As for who starts in place of Brooks, it would seem like Landon Dickerson is the man for that job. The Eagles turned to the 2021 second-round pick when Brooks left Sunday’s game early.

But Dickerson struggled. He allowed five pressures in just 20 pass blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Sirianni admitted the rookie has room for improvement.

“He played a solid game. He definitely— we all know we all have to do things to improve based off of yesterday’s game. But I thought he played solid for his first outing. Again, there’s some things with his pass pro that we’ve got to clean up. Assignments, and stuff like that. But encouraged by his first time to play significant snaps.”

In fairness to Dickerson, Sunday was his first game action since tearing his ACL in December 2020. Dickerson didn’t participate in a single training camp session and wasn’t a full participant in an Eagles regular season practice until early last week.

Still, given the nature of the position, teams aren’t always comfortable letting young offensive linemen play through severe growing pains. It’s a risky decision when they’re tasked with protecting the most important player in the sport. If the Eagles feel like Dickerson isn’t ready, they might look to turn to Nate Herbig.

At least, Sirianni didn’t rule out that possibility on Monday afternoon.

“Obviously, everything’s a discussion. We watched the tape this morning and now we’re in the early game-plan part — before the players come in tomorrow — on Dallas. Nothing final there. I don’t want to say ‘Hey, it’s going to be Landon’ or ‘Hey, it’s going to be Nate’ one way or the other right now. Because we’re not there yet, to be perfectly honest with you.”

The guess here is that Dickerson will be the guy to replace Brooks since the Eagles believe in his long-term potential. But there’s a non-zero chance it could be Herbig instead.

Observations from Sunday’s Week 2 loss.

The Philadelphia Eagles are 1-1 after wasting some key opportunities against the San Francisco 49ers. Time to hand out some winners, losers, and IDKs.

WINNERS

PERSPECTIVE POSSESSORS

The Eagles’ loss was certainly frustrating given that it was a winnable game. But it’s hardly time to press the panic button. It’s not like the Birds were thoroughly outplayed or anything. They hung around with a team that was perceived to be better than them, as indicated by Philly being 3.5-point home underdogs. This isn’t to suggest the Eagles earned a moral victory; we’re not Blogging The Boys raving about the Cowboys barely losing to the Buccaneers. No, this is to say the Eagles look about as many expected heading into this season: a flawed team not without its merits. A group that looks like they’ll be in the 7-10 or 8-9 range. Maybe a little bit better. This loss to the 49ers raised some concerns, sure, but it doesn’t mean it’s time to make definitive judgments on big picture items. There’s a level of patience to be had with a new play-caller and a second-year quarterback in his first season as a full-time starter.

QUEZ WATKINS

Watkins was targeted twice for two receptions and 117 yards. It’s disappointing he wasn’t able to score on his 91-yard reception but that wasn’t as much on him as it was a great effort by the 49ers defender who had a good angle on him. Between this long catch and his preseason touchdown against the Steelers, we’re seeing that Watkins is quite capable of being explosive. But, as we saw in training camp, he’s not only defined by his speed. Watkins ran a crisp route to get open for a 26-yard gain on 3rd-and-7 in the first half. Watkins only played 50% of the Eagles’ snaps in Week 2. He deserves more than that.

JAVON HARGRAVE

Hargrave helped set the tone early. He notched a tackle for a 4-yard loss on the first play from scrimmage. The Grave Digger then had another tackle for loss on the 49ers’ second drive, which was also a three-and-out. Hargrave didn’t log any sacks but he did have one quarterback hit. All signs continue to point to this being a career year for him.

JALEN HURTS THE RUNNER

10 runs for 82 yards and one touchdown (via a QB sneak). Hurts also sold a hit he took along the sideline to draw a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty that set up the Eagles’ sole touchdown. If Hurts was better with his arm, he may not have had to rely on running as much as he did. But it’s always nice to know that’s a tool that he has in his toolbox if/when a play breaks down.

ARRYN SIPOSS

Siposs had a great punt that bounced off the ground and should’ve been downed within the 5-yard line had Zech McPhearson not unwisely knocked it into the end zone for a touchback. Regardless, Siposs has four total punts for a 51.0 average with a long of 68. He’s Pro Football Focus’s third-highest graded punter through two weeks.

THE EAGLES’ 2022 FIRST-ROUND PICK FROM THE DOLPHINS

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami’s starting quarterback, was carted off with a rib injury during the Dolphins’ 35-0 loss to the Bills. While unfortunate for him, the Eagles benefit from Miami’s misfortune.

EAGLES FANS BACK AT THE LINC

It was truly great to see Eagles fans back in full force at Lincoln Financial Field. I legitimately got emotional hearing the crowd roar during the Eagles’ player intros. Didn’t actually break out into tears but it felt closer than I would have expected to be. I’m detached from fandom to some extent in that I try to cover the team with some level of objectivity. But, even when I might have a lot to criticize, there’s always a visceral part of me that really cares about them. The Eagles make me feel. And to feel like that is to be alive. Kudos to all the fans who showed up and brought great energy. Just too bad the Birds couldn’t send you home with a win.

LOSERS

THE EAGLES

This could be a loss that ends up haunting them later this season since it felt like it was within reach. The Birds feasibly could’ve been up 17 to 0 going into halftime. The reality was they were down 7 to 3. Now they’re 1-1 and second in the division instead of sitting pretty atop the NFC East at 2-0. One game could be the difference in this division.

NICK SIRIANNI

Mistakes made by the Eagles’ head coach largely contributed to the Eagles’ Week 2 loss.

Sirianni favored the run too much early on, especially against a 49ers secondary that was hampered by injury. I mean, San Fran was starting a washed up Josh Norman after he only joined the team less than two weeks ago. A run on 3rd-and-6 on Philly’s first drive made no sense. Perhaps Hurts checked into that call but, if so, should he really be allowed the freedom in that situation?

The biggest problem, though, was his role in the Eagles failing to score from 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line. There was no real need to overthink it when trying a quarterback sneak or two could’ve done the trick. Hurts is a powerful player and all we hear (from Eagles coaches to players to fans) is how good the offensive line is. Instead, Sirianni tried to get too cute. Especially when he took pandering to a new level (?) and ran a modified version of the Philly Special, which clearly didn’t trick the 49ers.

The Eagles aren’t good enough where they can get away with leaving seven points on the board like this. To his credit, Sirianni took accountability for the poor play-calling after the game. One can hope it’s a learning experience for him.

Beyond this disappointing sequence, one can question the Eagles’ decision to pivot from a very conservative Week 1 strategy to an uber aggressive Week 2 approach. After finishing dead last in average intended air yards in Atlanta, Hurts led the league in that category against the 49ers. It was acknowledged here that the Eagles weren’t necessarily always going to be able to successfully replicate their Falcons game plan. But there’s some middle ground between the two extremes of the first two games. Perhaps Sirianni could’ve done more to get Hurts in a rhythm.

JALEN HURTS THE THROWER

We all know it wasn’t all bad for Hurts. He hit Watkins on the money for the aforementioned 91-yard completion. He fit a ball in a very tight window to Dallas Goedert on the play right before he executed a QB sneak for Philly’s sole touchdown. He had an absolute dime to Jalen Reagor for a touchdown unfortunately wiped out by the receiver stepping out (more on that to come).

But Hurts finished the day completing just 52.2% of his passes for zero touchdowns and a 80.0 passer rating. Outside the Watkins play, he logged just 4.5 yards per attempt.

Hurts left a number of plays on the field. He was unable to connect with DeVonta Smith on a couple of deep shots. The first of those came on a play where Hurts rolled right and had an entirely clean pocket but ultimately threw short of the receiver, who had had a step on the defense.

Hurts also missed an open Dallas Goedert on more than one occasion, including this play:

Speaking of the Eagles’ tight ends, that’s an area to continue to monitor moving forward. Heading into training camp, we pointed out how Goedert’s and Zach Ertz’s production fell off after Hurts replaced Carson Wentz last season. We questioned if Hurts would be able to successfully work the middle of the field and execute an intermediate passing game. In an admittedly small sample size this season, that hasn’t really been the case. Hurts isn’t throwing over the middle as much as he’s mostly working the right side:

Hurts’ Week 2 performance shouldn’t disqualify him as the Eagles’ long-term quarterback. But it didn’t help towards clearing what’s expected to be a very high bar for Philly not to pivot from him.

JALEN REAGOR

I caught flak for including Reagor in the “IDK” section last week. (Not the Losers section, even. The IDK section.) I just didn’t buy anything we saw from Week 1 indicating he’s really turned the corner. I was getting ready to eat some crow after seeing Reagor burn the 49ers for a deep touchdown. But then the play got reviewed and it was clear that Reagor had stepped out before making the catch, thus nullifying his big play. Disappointing.

Also, just not very shocking. As often mentioned throughout camp, it’s been rare to see Reagor have a “clean” outing. A performance where he only makes good plays and doesn’t do anything obviously bad. It’s never been that simple.

Though some may chalk it up to misfortune or a should-be penalty on the 49ers, the reality is that Reagor is to blame for the very costly mistake. BGN alumnus Michael Kist astutely noticed this in the moment and Sirianni confirmed as much as the game.

This was a very costly mistake. Instead of going up 10 to 0, the Eagles settled for a field goal that got blocked and kept the game at 3 to 0.

Something I keep thinking about is: how many other touchdowns do you recall getting wiped out in this fashion? Are there any good examples from recent history?

Not totally unlike Nelson Agholor, Reagor can be a pretty frustrating player. He’s talented but he’s hardly reliable. If the Eagles are ever making a decision between playing either him or Watkins, they’re doing themselves a disservice by not going with the latter more often.

PEOPLE NAMED BRANDON

BRANDON LEE GRAHAM — Already ruled out for the season with a torn Achilles. Ugh. Stinks to see this happen to a fellow BLG. Graham is such a positive force of energy both on and off the field. Not to mention how the Eagles’ edge rush rotation takes a hit with his absence. Hopefully this all-time Eagle is able to heal up and get right for 2022.

BRANDON BROOKS — Really stinks to see Brooks dealing with yet another injury. He’s had to deal with a lot of issues since originally tearing his Achilles in January 2019. The Eagles seemingly have a replacement who boasts potential in Landon Dickerson but the obvious preference is to have Brooks playing at a high level at right guard.

BRANDON LEE GOWTON — I made a bet with my co-host Rob “Stats” Guerrera, who is a 49ers fan, on Sunday’s game. If the Eagles lost, I would sing “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” on The SB Nation NFL Show this week (The ODDcast, which drops on Tuesdays). If the 49ers lost, he’d have to sing the Eagles fight song. And due to the Eagles dropping a winnable game, I have to sing. (Of course, I have it way less worse than the two Brandons who get seriously injured.)

DEREK BARNETT

How many dumb penalties is Barnett going to take before he learns his lesson? Enough already.

ANTHONY HARRIS

The Eagles’ top free agent signing (in an offseason with limited spending) dropped a pick and later got called for defensive pass interference on a play that otherwise could’ve held the 49ers to a red zone field goal.

ERIC WILSON

Wilson saw a decrease in playing time from 85% to 69%. He hasn’t really done a ton to impress, which can also be said of Harris. Some pointed to the Eagles signing these former Vikings defenders as to why Howie Roseman had a good offseason. Eh.

LANDON DICKERSON

The rookie second-round pick allowed five pressures on just 20 pass block snaps in his NFL debut. He got pancaked into Hurts on his first play. Dickerson didn’t participate in training camp due to suffering an ACL injury in December 2020 so it’s only fair to cut him some slack. But he sure has a lot of improving to do and he’s going to get tested more soon with Brooks missing time.

THE EAGLES’ 2022 FIRST-ROUND PICK FROM THE COLTS

With Wentz getting hurt, the chances of the Eagles getting a first-round pick from Indy is in jeopardy.

VIBES

The vibes were really good heading into Week 1 and coming out of it. They were feeling good up until Reagor’s touchdown that got wiped out, honestly. Things started to snowball from there in a bad way. No TD, blocked FG, turnover on downs after having 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line, BLG and Brooks getting hurt ... a bad shift in energy.

I DON’T KNOWS

JONATHAN GANNON

On one hand, the defense isn’t why the Eagles lost to the 49ers. You should generally be able to win when your defense only surrenders 17 points.

But JG’s unit did allow a 97-yard touchdown drive before the end of the first half and then a 92-yard drive in the second half to go down 11 points.

Aside from allowing a chunk gain to Deebo Samuel, the Eagles’ defense has been good at limiting big plays (20+ yards). But they’re not making any thus far, either.

The Eagles have yet to log a takeaway. In fairness, Harris did drop a pick after Josh Sweat pressured Jimmy Garoppolo into a bad throw. And a Darius Slay fumble recovery got wiped out by that K’Von Wallace penalty. Still, really need a takeaway that actually counts.

The Eagles could also be afford to be better in the pass rush department. Philly has logged zero sacks outside of three they got when Atlanta was in desperation mode down late in the fourth quarter last week. The Eagles only hit Jimmy G twice on Sunday. It’s not like the 49ers have a bad offensive line but Philly’s defensive line still has to be better. And it’s not like we’ve seen much blitzing from Gannon to help make up for a lack of DL pressure.

I’m relatively optimistic about Gannon and perhaps I’m being a harsh grader in this spot. Would just like to see some more big plays from the defense. Perhaps they’ll come with time.

FLETCHER COX

This observation caused some to get worked up:

Allow me to expand in this space.

Cox is obviously in by no means a bad player. But the Eagles aren’t paying him top 7 interior DL money to merely be good or only draw extra attention. As the guy who’s carrying the top cap number on the team, the Eagles need Cox to be one of their very best players. A difference-maker. And there are questions if Cox is still that guy.

To contextualize Cox’s numbers, look at the rest of the top 10 interior defensive line contracts in terms of annual value (via Over The Cap) from the same sample size:

Aaron Donald - 3.5 sacks, 9 QB hits

DeForest Buckner - 6 sacks, 11 QB hits

Leonard Williams - 3 sacks, 8 QB hits

Chris Jones - 4 sacks, 10 QB hits

Jonathan Allen - 3 sacks, 11 QB hits

Kenny Clark - 1 sack, 3 QB hits

Fletcher Cox - 1 sack, 1 QB hit

Grady Jarrett - 1 sack, 3 QB hits

Cameron Heyward - 2 sacks, 5 QB hits

JJ Watt - 0 sacks, 7 QB hits

Are we to believe Cox is really the only player on this list that’s getting doubled teamed? Players aren’t paid elite money to only produce in perfect circumstances.

None of this is to say Cox is the main reason the Eagles lost to the 49ers. But going back to the defense lacking big plays, it would be nice if one of their top players created one. The Eagles need more out of Cox — who currently ranks 33rd out of 42 defensive tackles graded by PFF (minimum 50% snaps) — moving forward.

This is how it’s going to go with these two for a little while.

It’s often harder to know what’s worse; a humiliating loss against a good team that leaves you demoralized, knowing there are still miles to go before you can compete with them, or a loss like Sunday’s frustrating 17-11 defeat at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers that was filled with missed opportunities against a truly great opponent.

The Eagles blew a golden opportunity to go 2-0. They should have had a 17-7 lead at halftime but wasted a 91-yard reception to Quez Watkins when the offense couldn’t punch the ball into the end zone after starting with a first-and-goal from the 1. They also had a field goal blocked.

It was a maddening afternoon of football.

None of this should have been a surprise, because this is what happens when you are so very young at the two most important positions in the NFL: head coach and quarterback.

Yesterday was Nick Sirianni’s second career game as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and he was out-classed by Kyle Shanahan, widely regarded as one of the best coaching minds in the league. There is no shame in that, and growing pains by Sirianni should be expected in his first full season in charge.

His play calls along the goal line were highly suspect, to be sure.

It’s tough to watch the Eagles squander a golden opportunity, but none of it should be surprising. After a brilliant week of play calling against Atlanta, Sirianni’s inexperience was apparent during that sequence and throughout the rest of the game. Growing pains this season were inevitable.

The same holds true for Jalen Hurts, who started his sixth career game at quarterback on Sunday. As outstanding and confident as he was last week against the Falcons, he was that unsure of himself for the entirety of Sunday’s game against San Francisco and failed to get into any kind of rhythem throughout. To be sure, DeMeco Ryans’ defense is significantly better than Atlanta’s unit was a week ago, but Hurts’ inexperience will manifest itself with week-to-week fluctuations like this.

It’s still undetermined if Hurts can become the franchise quarterback, but as I wrote previously, Hurts’ career has started remarkably similar to Donovan McNabb’s. To wit:

One should expect Hurts to light it up one week and look ragged and hesitant the next. It’s how young QBs operate and, for the record, Hurts has done better than a few highly touted signal callers taken very early in the two most recent drafts.

The Eagles also have a trio of young wide receivers in Watkins, DeVonta Smith and Jalen Reagor. Reagor had a touchdown catch nullified when he allowed himself to be pushed out of bounds as he ran his route, and that simply can’t happen. That drive resulted in zero points when Jake Elliott’s field goal was blocked. Watkins had a couple splash plays, but Smith was nonexistent.

Expectations for Sirianni, Hurts and the wideouts should be tempered with the knowledge that this is a season for growth. The 2021 Eagles are not “Playoffs or Bust.” Week 1’s commanding win over the Falcons excited everyone, but the loss to the 49ers was a reminder that these Eagles aren’t built to win this year, and patience is required.

Next year, moral victories won’t mean anything, but this year, outplaying a Super Bowl contender for the first half and losing by less than a touchdown, even at home, is something on which the coaching staff can build. If the Eagles were expected to be a Super Bowl contender themselves, anger at yesterday’s missed opportunities would be well-founded.

Not this year. If mistakes don’t get corrected, if play calling doesn’t get better, if Hurts struggles repeatedly, hand-wringing will be warranted. For now, looking for improvement and expecting inconsistency should be the default setting.

Playing time tracker.

Frustrating one for the Eagles on Sunday given all the missed opportunities. Now it’s time to analyze Philadelphia’s snap counts from their Week 2 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

OFFENSE

• For the second straight week, DeVonta Smith led all Eagles skill players in snaps (49) and targets (7). Smith only had two receptions for 16 yards but Jalen Hurts underthrew him on multiple deep shots. Smith also drew two pass interference penalties.
• Jalen Reagor saw the second most targets with five. He logged two receptions for a mere five yards, dropping his early season yards per reception mark down to 6.8. Reagor obviously would’ve had better numbers if he didn’t step out of bounds to negate a deep touchdown. Some argued Reagor wasn’t at fault for getting pushed out but even Nick Sirianni admitted Reagor needed to do a better job on that play.

• 13 carries and 55 yards (4.2 average) for Miles Sanders. Also had one reception for four yards. He was fine.
• Whereas Dallas Goedert played 11 more snaps in Week 1, he saw nearly identical playing time to Zach Ertz in Week 2. Each tight end was only targeted twice. Goedert had two grabs for 24 yards while Ertz had one catch for six yards. It’s early but Goedert would probably like to up his volume as he’s playing in a contract year. As for Ertz, the veteran has the second-highest cap number on the team and he has 40 total yards through two games. Ample time for things to change but he’s currently not justifying the $8.5 million the Eagles could’ve otherwise saved by moving him.
• Landon Dickerson came in to replace Brandon Brooks at right guard after the veteran suffered a chest injury. Dickerson got pancaked into Hurts on his first snap and allowed five total pressures. For perspective, no other Eagles offensive lineman allowed more than two. It was Dickerson’s first game after having no training camp so it’s understandable he’d be rusty.
• Quez Watkins caught his only two targets for 117 yards. The 91-yard reception was obviously the highlight but he also ran a sharp route to get open for a 26-yard gain on 3rd-and-7. Watkins consistently outshined Reagor in training camp/preseason and he’s been the better player through the first two games. He should be seeing some more playing time. At the expense of Reagor, if necessary.
• PFF graded Brandon Brooks as the Eagles’ worst offensive player; the veteran allowed two pressures on just 13 pass blocking snaps. Brooks left the game early with a chest injury and was later ruled out.
• Greg Ward has yet to see a target through two games but he does have a pass attempt. Unfortunately for him and his teammates, the Philly Special recreation didn’t work. The incompletion dropped Ward’s career passer rating from 118.7 to 75.0.
• Kenny Gainwell wasn’t efficient as a runner with six carries for just 14 yards. In fairness, PFF noted he was contacted in the backfield on half of his rushing attempts. Gainwell caught two passes for 18 receiving yards.
• JJAW continues to contribute as a blocking WR and ST guy.
• A little interesting to see Jack Stoll has a role in the offense, albeit a small one. He came up big by recovering a Nick Bosa strip-sack on Hurts.
• Andre Dillard saw a couple snaps as an extra blocker in jumbo packages.

DEFENSE

• Anthony Harris was the only defender to play the entire game. His highlights were dropping a pick and committing pass interference in the end zone.
• Alex Singleton missed five tackles, according to PFF. Not great.
• After playing 57% of the snaps last Sunday, Fletcher Cox saw an uptick this week. He did not record a tackle for loss, quarterback hit, or sack, however. PFF actually had him graded 16th out of 21 Eagles defenders.
• Javon Hargrave continues to look good.
• Eric Wilson led all Eagles linebackers in playing time (85%) Week 1. He saw a nice decrease in Week 2 (69%).
• After ranking fourth out of four defensive ends in playing time last week, Derek Barnett led all Eagles edge rushers this week. It makes sense that he saw an increase with Brandon Graham getting hurt but the jumbled order is curious.
• K’Von Wallace got the start in place of Rodney McLeod. He split playing time with Marcus Epps. Neither player stood out in a great way.
• Genard Avery actually finished as PFF’s top graded Eagles defender, making seven tackles and missing none.
• Ryan Kerrigan oddly saw more playing time than Josh Sweat, who recently signed a contract extension. There was a key play where the 49ers were facing 3rd-and-7 from their own 41-yard line and Kerrigan was in instead of Sweat. Why? Fatigue doesn’t feel like a good excuse considering it was coming off a break as the first play of the fourth quarter. Kerrigan has failed to log a stat in 66 snaps this year.
• Weird that Sweat only played 28 snaps. His playing time decreased from 54% in Week 1 to 40% in Week 2. And in a game where Graham got hurt. Sweat did have a quarterback hit that could’ve forced a pick if Harris didn’t drop it.
• Not as much nickel defense in this game with Avonte Maddox seeing a decrease from 62% to 30%.
• The Eagles bumped up Patrick Johnson’s playing time from 10% to 19%. Perhaps a sign they’re liking what they’re seeing from the rookie.
• Tarron Jackson saw some snaps due to the Graham injury but he didn’t make an impact.
• Davion Taylor saw nine snaps in his first game of the season. He looked OK out there before leaving early with a calf injury. Seems like the same issue that’s been bothering him dating back to training camp.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Andre Chachere continues to flash as a gunner on punt coverage. He almost helped pin an Arryn Siposs down deep in 49ers territory before Zech McPhearson knocked the ball into the end zone for a touchback.
• No defensive snaps for Shaun Bradley after he played nine in Week 1. The return of Davion Taylor didn’t help him in that regard.
• Boston Scott has yet to play an offensive snap this season. I get he’s RB3 but it’s at least a little weird after he had a pretty good camp and preseason.

DID NOT PLAY

INACTIVE: Rodney McLeod, Gardner Minshew, Brett Toth, Marlon Tuipulotu, Mac McCain

ACTIVE: Joe Flacco

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 9/20/21.

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

A miserable day for the offense in Roob’s 10 observations - NBCSP
2. Other than two passes to Quez Watkins — one for 26 yards, one for 91 — Jalen Hurts had 73 passing yards. DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Zach Ertz, Jalen Reagor, Kenny Gainwell and Sanders combined for 77 yards. Other than the two Watkins catches, the Eagles’ next-longest pass play was a 14-yarder to Goedert. You’ve got all these weapons, get ‘em the ball. The Eagles took a bunch of deep shots, but there was literally no mid-range game. You can’t win like that. [...] 4. This was not a good day for Hurts. The 49ers did a nice job in coverage, and Hurts seemed to struggle when he had to start looking past his primary read. He was under more pressure than he should have been and just never got into a rhythm. He’s always going to be a weapon with his legs, but he should never have to run for 82 yards. All the things that came so easily in Atlanta for him weren’t there against the 49ers. We knew there would be days like this. This was still only his sixth NFL start. Let’s see how he deals with some adversity with a national TV game in Dallas coming up next.

Jalen Hurts-Nick Sirianni marriage off to an uneven start after listless Eagles’ loss to the 49ers - Inquirer
He did have positive moments with his arm. The 14-yard strike to Goedert that set up the Eagles’ lone touchdown — a Hurts 1-yard sneak — was a dart. But he made questionable decisions. He checked to a run on third-and-6 on the first drive that was stopped well short. He missed an open Reagor on his second read on a pivotal second down in the fourth. And on third-and-2 a play later, he failed to get the ball out of his hands and was sacked when the pocket collapsed. Did he have options after his first read was covered? A review of the film may tell. The lack of execution didn’t fall on one set of shoulders, just as it didn’t fall on two sets. But the Hurts-Sirianni marriage will decide the Eagles’ success, or lack thereof, this season. It failed to produce the desired results in Round 2. The bell has yet to ring.

Missed opportunities cost Eagles in loss to 49ers, 17 to 11 - BGN
The Philadelphia Eagles are 1-1 after losing to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon. Final score: 17 to 11. The Eagles didn’t get thoroughly outplayed by a superior opponent in this one as much as they failed to capitalize on some prime scoring opportunities. The Birds weren’t that far off from having 17 first half points alone. But the reality is they didn’t capitalize and that really cost them. The Eagles also weren’t helped by two major injuries to Brandon Graham and Brandon Brooks.

BGN Instant Reaction Show: Eagles fall short to 49ers in home opener - BGN Radio
Following the Eagles 17-11 loss to the 49ers, Eytan Shander and Jessica (Towne) Taylor discussed the good, bad and ugly from the Eagles performance, missed opportunities, who is responsible for this loss and Brandon Graham’s season ending Achilles injury.

Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-49ers game - PhillyVoice
Jalen Reagor made a nice play down the sideline on what was initially ruled a TD, but was called back because he stepped out of bounds prior to catching the pass. Asked whether there was something to be learned by Reagor on that play, Sirianni acknowledged that he should not have run his route that close to the sideline. Later in the game, on a 3rd and 10, Reagor ran an ugly looking out route, and seemingly was unaware that Hurts might throw his way. Reagor has talent, so when he puts up a stat line of 5 targets, 2 receptions, and 5 yards, it’s frustrating to watch.

Letdown at The Linc - Iggles Blitz
The biggest takeaway from this game is that the Eagles can play with the best teams in the NFC. We still don’t know if they are good enough to beat those teams. They weren’t today, but they can learn from this loss and be in better shape for the next game. Anyone who watched this game should be frustrated, but not discouraged. This is a new coach and a young QB. There are going to be ups and downs. There is no shame in losing to a tough, physical, veteran team like the Niners. If the Eagles embrace this loss and learn from their mistakes, this game can help them in the long run.

NFL Week 2 Game Recap: San Francisco 49ers 17, Philadelphia Eagles 11 - PFF
This week’s version of Jalen Hurts was more like his 2020 rookie self as opposed to the player who lit up Week 1. He was taking risks, holding onto the ball, willing to break the structure of the offense and making plays on scrambles. Hurts looked good when operating from a clean pocket, but he was far more rattled under pressure this week compared to Week 1. Fourteen of his 30 dropbacks were under pressure, and he completed only two passes. Hurts did produce a couple of explosive scrambles on such plays, but the Eagles’ were still overwhelmingly inefficient in that facet.

’It’s never positive when you lose, but it’s all correctable’ - PE.com
“They’re a good defense and I know we’ve got a lot to improve on across the board. Little mistakes here and there. It’s tough to narrow down one thing. I think that it was really, really close. We had some bright spots, but ultimately, it’s little mistakes, whether it’s penalties ... I think it’s across the board little things that we can do to get better, myself included. “It’s never positive when you lose, but it’s all correctable.” As much as the Eagles struggled offensively, the defense produced a mixed bag. San Francisco didn’t register a first down until the second quarter and managed only 3.1 yards per carry from its vaunted run game. But Garoppolo had an efficient day, completing 22 of 30 passes for 189 yards and the touchdown. He wasn’t sacked on the day. Most significantly, the 49ers put together two touchdown drives of 90-plus yards, the 97-yarder at the end of the first half and a 16-play, 92-yard drive that consumed 8:59 off the clock and ended with a touchdown run early in the fourth quarter that gave the 49ers a 14-3 advantage. “Obviously there’s disappointment. We didn’t win the game,” Sirianni said. “That’s the only goal and you don’t care how you ever win it. You just want to win the game, so it was, ‘Hey, learn from this, get up, pick yourself up, and get back to work for next week.’”

Fantasy football highs and lows from NFL Week 2: Cooper Kupp moving up the WR ranks - ESPN
Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles: Hurts wasn’t as efficient throwing the ball in the Week 2 loss to the 49ers (12-of-23 passing, 190 yards), but the rushing totals will keep him in the QB1 mix. Through two weeks, Hurts has 17 rushing attempts for 144 yards and a score, using both designed carries and second-reaction plays when he breaks the pocket.

Week 2: Crazy Wins for Ravens, Cardinals, and Titans - Football Outsiders
Add it all up, and the Eagles should have a significant lead—I’d say 17-0 or thereabouts. But tough defense on the 49ers’ side of the field and the botched Philly Special kept the Eagles out of the end zone all half. The Phailed Philly Special gave the 49ers the ball on their own 3-yard line with 4:20 left, and San Francisco managed to drain the rest of the half on a 12-play, 97-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by Yet Another Deebo Samuel YAC+ Special. Jimmy Garoppolo hits Jauan Jennings in the end zone to give the 49ers a rather shocking 7-3 lead at the end of the first half. The Eagles are going to be kicking themselves for missed opportunities; they should not be trailing at this point, and now they have to stage a comeback.

Week 2: No Way Oweh! Rookie Helps Ravens Burn Chiefs And More Moments That Defined NFL Sunday - FMIA
Special Teams Players of the Week: Javon Kinlaw, defensive tackle, San Francisco. The 49ers were stumbling around 16 minutes into a listless game at Philadelphia, and the Eagles lined up to kick a 47-yard field goal to go up 6-0. Kinlaw, last year’s first-round pick from Clemson drafted after the Niners dealt DT DeForest Buckner to Indianapolis, burst through the Philly protection, leaped and swatted back the Jake Elliott kick. Perfect rush, excellent timing on the block.

49ers win an ugly one over the Eagles 17-11 behind a great defensive performance - Niners Nation
The Eagles scored in 65 seconds after Hurts waltzed his way down the field — with an assist from the refs on a terrible personal foul call — to score, and after a two-point conversion, the score was 17-11. The 49ers converted after a Jimmy G sneak for a first down to win it. It was sloppy, even ugly at times, but it’s a win on the road.

Colts QB Carson Wentz Headed for an MRI on his Injured Ankle - Stampede Blue
Wentz was seen noticeably hobbling on the sideline, and with 2:23 left and the Colts down 27-24—and a chance to either win or tie, it was backup quarterback Jacob Eason, in relief, who threw the game-clinching interception just two plays later. Wentz never returned. On the afternoon, Wentz completed 20 of 31 passes (65.4%) for 247 passing yards, a touchdown, an interception, and a quarterback rating of 86.3.

Ten thoughts on the Cowboys 20-17 win over the Chargers - Blogging The Boys
2. A win doesn’t excuse the clock mismanagement on the final drive. With the game on the line and driving into field goal range, the Cowboys made a head-scratching decision to run a play within the hashes and then not use their final time out, or even hurry to the line and spike the football. Instead the Cowboys elected to take where they were as good enough and milked the clock down to four seconds left, setting up a game-winning field goal that Greg Zuerlein ultimately hit. The result doesn’t excuse the moments leading up to it. The Cowboys wasted upwards of 20 seconds of time with a timeout in their pocket to allow the kicker who was coming off a horrible game to attempt a 56-yard field goal as time expired. Hindsight is always 20/20, but in that moment the Cowboys had a few better, safer options they could’ve exhausted that would have made the situation much more manageable for the struggling kicker. The Cowboys won and what they chose to do worked out for them, but the execution and operation of late-game situations will need to improve if this team wants to take the next step.

For Joe Judge and the Giants, it’s time to start winning some games - Big Blue View
Eighteen games into the Judge era as Giants head coach, everyone wants to believe the Giants are in a better place. That they are pointed toward a better future 18-48 worst-in-the-NFL mark since 2017 past. Maybe they are. I still think Judge is an excellent coach who could have end up having a long, successful run with the Giants. What I know, though, is that all the talk of improvement has got to start leading to results. The only we anyone will know for sure that the Giants are in a better place is if they actually start winning games.

0-2 teams in 2021 and what it means for playoff chances - DraftKings Nation
The 0-2 record stat points to NFL history and how infrequently teams that start 0-2 make the playoffs the same year. It’s important to note that those stats lean on history that came before some huge rule changes. Last year, the NFL expanded from 12 playoff teams to 14 playoff teams. This year, the league has expanded from a 16-game regular season schedule for each team to a 17-game schedule. The addition of two more playoff teams last year didn’t help the 0-2 teams. 11 teams opened last season 0-2 and none of them made the playoffs. This year, the addition of the 17th game on top of the playoff expansion could make things a little easier for the 0-2 teams. Heading into MNF, here’s the list of teams that are 0-2 coming out of Week 2. Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants.

Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa sustains bruised ribs in loss to Bills, to undergo MRI - NFL.com
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained bruised ribs in the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported. He did not return to Miami’s 35-0 loss. While X-rays did not reveal a break, Pelissero added that the second-year QB is in a lot of pain and will have an MRI on Monday to see if there’s any cartilage damage. Dolphins coach Brian Flores told reporters that Tagovailoa will undergo tests on his ribs between Sunday night and Monday, but the team does not yet know the severity of the injury.

Sunday Late Night Wrap Up #2: Ravens shock Chiefs + Late games steal the show - The SB Nation NFL Show
Rob “Stats” Guerrera recaps every single game from Sunday with all the relevant facts, numbers, and storylines you need to know.

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Week 2 grades for Philly’s 2021 NFL Draft class.

The Eagles fell to 1-1 with a disappointing loss to the 49ers. In a game where it felt like the team needed a spark from somewhere, the rookies weren’t able to help.

Devonta Smith: C-

Everyone had high expectations for DeVonta Smith coming into this game, but Smith came up short. A lot of Smith’s targets came against tight coverage or in the form of less than perfect throws. However, there were plenty of times where Smith had his hands on the ball and failed to make a play.

The Niners got much more physical with Smith, and he will need to respond better in the future if he is to grow into the number one receiver the Eagles need him to be.

Landon Dickerson: C-

After months of being slowly brought back from injury, Landon Dickerson dressed for the Eagles today. With an unfortunate injury to Brandon Brooks, Landon Dickerson was thrust into action at right guard and responded with mixed results. Dickerson had bright moments as both a pass and run blocker, but also got overmatched at times. This is to be expected given the timeline of his return and the nature of him being put into the game against a high quality defense.

If Brandon Brooks is out for an extended period of time, hopefully Dickerson can settle into the guard position and play with more consistency.

Milton Williams: C

Milton Williams is clearly a big part of this defense already. The rookie defensive lineman saw snaps in three man fronts and four man fronts. He played nose tackle, five tech and three tech. Williams looked solid against the run, but has yet to really settle in as a consistent pass rusher. If Brandon Graham is out for long with an ankle injury, Williams role will grow, as will dependence on him to perform.

Zech McPhearson: C

Once again, Zech McPhearson only saw meaningful time on special teams. As a punt gunner, he almost assisted in pinning the 49ers deep but he rolled into the endzone.

With the play of the Eagles top three cornerbacks, it is unlikely the rookie defensive back sees defensive snaps in the near future.

Kenneth Gainwell: B

On a bad day, Kenneth Gainwell was a bright spot on the Eagles offense. The Eagles used deployed him in a variety of ways, both as a runner and a receiver.

Gainwell looked really solid running in between the tackles and looked even better catching the football. At one point, Gainwell lined up as a receiver where he ran a drag route on third down and caught a pass to convert for a first. Gainwell has already shown himself a valuable weapon on offense and it will be exciting to see his role grow as the season moves along.

Marlon Tuipulotu: N/A

Did not dress for the game. Given Brandon Graham’s injury, Tuipulotu might be active in coming games.

Tarron Jackson: C

With Brandon Graham hurt, Tarron Jackson got some snaps late in the game. He did not make a huge impact, but he also didn’t look terrible. It will be seen how Brandon Graham’s injury shakes out and how the team decides to address it, but Jackson could be an important piece going forward. At least in the short term.

JaCoby Stevens: N/A

JaCoby Stevens is on the practice squad. However, it is clear the Eagles need some more juice at linebacker and Stevens might warrant a look.

Patrick Johnson: C+

Patrick Johnson seemingly saw the field a bit more against San Fransisco than he did against Atlanta. The rookie defender looked solid coming up to play the run and was comfortable dropping back into coverage.

Johnson might be on the cusp of overtaking Genard Avery at outside linebacker in in five man fronts, but may also be called on to play more off ball if the Eagles decide to move away from Eric Wilson or TJ Edwards.

Jack Stoll: D

Jack Stoll had somewhat of a highlight when he recovered a Jalen Hurts strip-sack fumble deep in the Eagles territory. However, his only other notable moment was a whiffed block on a fourth and short that led to the play failing. Jack Stoll is going to be relied on to be a dependable blocker in those heavy packages. Failing to do that really hurts his chances of a long term role on this team.

Plus, Jalen Hurts talks missed opportunities and poor execution against the 49ers.

Several Eagles players spoke to reporters following the team’s Week 2 loss to the 49ers, and many shared their thoughts on losing veteran and captain Brandon Graham, as well as losing Brandon Brooks, and Jalen Hurts spoke about some of the offensive struggles.

Here’s what some of the players had to say:

Fletcher Cox

The DT said that the defense overall played pretty well on Sunday, but obviously not well enough to win. So, they’re going to learn from the bad, and the good, get out there and practice and correct things.

Cox was visibly upset when Brandon Graham went down with an injury, and he explained why it was a rough moment for him.

“It’s always tough, and it was a pretty emotional moment for me to see BG limp off the field because I know me and Brandons played so much ball together, and to see him limp off the field was pretty rough for me. But, we know Brandon, he’s in a good spot right now, and we’ll talk and once he figures out what’s going on — at the same time, we’ve got his back, and we’ll go from there and get ready for the next game.”

He acknowledged though that things happen in football, players get hurt — “your best friend gets hurt” —, but Graham is still his locker-mate, and has been since Cox got to Philly, so they’ll still get to talk and work, it just won’t be on the field on Sundays. Cox also is committed to making sure Graham stays in a good place mentally as he works his way back.

Cox was also asked about the flag thrown on K’Von Wallace that negated the fumble recovery was a turning point for the team, and it sucked the air out of him. He emphasized that he didn’t agree with the call, but noted it’s up to the coaches to handle. The DT went on to say that you don’t point fingers at any one player though, because penalties can happen to anybody, and they just have to be better as a team moving forward.

“There’s no panic in that locker room at all.”

Lane Johnson

On Brandon Graham’s injury:

“It’s terrible. One of the greatest humans I’ve had the pleasure of playing with, competing with, for eight years, going on nine years. He’s really the heartbeat of this team. The way he conducts himself, the way he leads, and the way he plays, so I’m not sure what the extent of the injury is, but I’m heartbroken for him.”

On Brandon Brooks injury:

“You can’t replace those type of players. Younger guys gotta step up and we gotta press on. It’s terrible, I mean, Brooks is one of my best friends, best guard in the league for a long time, and was doing well so far this season, and having him not be out there was a tremendous loss for us. Having him out there might have been the difference between us winning and losing.”

Johnson was asked how Landon Dickerson did in his debut, stepping into Brooks’ role, and he admitted that he has to go back and watch the film but he thought the rookie adjusted well in the second half. But, Dickerson is a “massive human being” and when he starts figuring it out, he’s so strong and big, he’ll be able to hold his own.

Jalen Hurts

“We had a lot of opportunities out there that we didn’t capitalize on, that’s plain and simple right there. We have to be consistent in our execution. I have to be consistent in my execution and my operation as the field general, so something to learn from, today. A lot to learn from. A lot of things out there — everything out there were things that we can control, so that’s what hurts the most.”

Hurts was asked about some of his deep pass attempts, and he talked about how they were called to give guys an opportunity and he failed to do that.

The quarterback was also asked what it meant to lose Brandon Graham and Brandon Brooks.

“It definitely hurts. It hurts me because those are OG guys. OG guys that have put a lot of time in to this team, made a lot of plays for this team, done a lot of great things with this team, and so for them to go out tonight — for us to come up short, I feel bad. I feel like I let them down.”

Alex Singleton

The linebacker gave a lot of credit to the Eagles’ defensive line that worked hard to set the line of scrimmage against a really tough running 49ers offense. Singleton was also asked about losing Brandon Graham and what that means to the defense.

“That’s obviously one of our captains, that’s huge. He’s that emotional leader. You guys all know him, he’s always got a smile on his face, always doing the right things. He’s one of those guys [...] I remember when I was still on practice squad, he was the guy, everyday, telling me I would play one day. So, he’s that guy for this team, and he’ll still be that guy. I think that’s the best thing about him is, we might lose him on the field, but we’re definitely not losing him in the room, in the building.”

Steven Nelson

The veteran corner was asked about Brandon Graham’s injury and he admitted that it affects the defense because a guy like that has a presence on the field.

“That sucks for BG, man, I got a lot of respect for that guy as a leader, and his hard work and dedication to what he’s been for this organization. I just hope he gets better and well, but definitely was sad to see him limp off the field.”

Watch SNF here!

The Week 2 Sunday Night Football matchup will feature a matchup between two of the league’s most prolific quarterbacks when Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens host Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs lead the all-time series between these teams, 7-3, and have won the past four meetings, including most recently in Sept. 2020 when they won in Baltimore, 34-20.

Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s game.

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens

TV Schedule

Game time: 8:20 PM EST

Channel: NBC

Date: Sunday, September 19, 2021

Location: M&T Bank Stadium | Baltimore, MD

Radio: SIRIUS: 81 (KC), 211 (Bal.) | XM: 226 (KC), 225 (Bal.) | SXM App: 815 (KC), 802 (Bal.)

Online Streaming

Peacock | FuboTV

Odds

Kansas City Chiefs: -3.5 (-200)

Baltimore Ravens: +3.5 (+170)

Over/under: 53.5 points

SB Nation Blogs

Chiefs: www.ArrowheadPride.com

Ravens: www.BaltimoreBeatdown.com

This is an open thread — discuss the game in the comments below!

The Eagles head coach also shares his message to the team and his thoughts on Jalen Hurts’ performance.

The Eagles are now 1-1 after a tough loss to the 49ers in Week 2, and we had a chance to hear from head coach Nick Sirianni following the game who talked about some of his play calling decisions, what his message to the team was, and what he saw from Jalen Hurts.

Sirianni said that they are “fearful” for Brandon Graham’s injury, so he didn’t want to say for sure whether they’d be without him. He also said he’s still getting information on Brandon Brooks’ injury, obviously he didn’t return to the game, but they are still getting information.

Here’s what the head coach had to say:

On the missed TD opportunity early on

Sirianni was asked why they didn’t call a QB sneak after the 91-yard gain by Quez Watkins, and the head coach noted that he didn’t think they were close enough to the endzone for a sneak, but also admitted the play calling wasn’t good.

“I don’t think I called good plays in that area. There’s gonna be times you’re going to look at, and be like, ‘yeah, I want those calls back,’ so when they work it was a good play, they didn’t. It was my fault. I didn’t call good enough plays right there. I didn’t put the players in good enough positions, but we’re all in this together — coaches and players.”

The head coach went on to give the 49ers defensive coordinator credit for some of the false looks they were giving and for the coverage they called. He also noted that the play looked good in practice this week, but Sirianni admits he’d like to have that call back — especially in a close game when they’re near the endzone.

“I have to call a better play.”

On his message to the team

Sirianni said that his message after the game was similar to his message after Week 1’s win: they have to get ready for Round 3, regardless of whether they won or lost, they have to put themselves in a position to win next week’s division game and go out this week and practice hard.

“Obviously, there’s disappointment. We didn’t win the game, and that’s the only goal. Don’t care how you ever win it, you just want to win the game. It was though, ‘learn from this, get up, pick yourself up, and get back to work for next week’.”

On Jalen Hurts’ performance

Without watching the tape, Sirianni said that Hurts made some big plays with his feet, and it’s always a fine line between throwing it on rhythm and extending plays if somethings not there. He acknowledged that sometimes the 49ers defense did a good job covering it, but overall he felt Hurts played well. The head coach also gave credit to the offensive line and to Hurts scrambling to keep a good pass rush to just one sack on the day.

On Jalen Reagor’s negated TD

“Saving room on the sideline with how you release, that’s the main thing right there is how you release to save some room on the sideline, so even if you get bumped you don’t get pushed out. So, he was probably a little closer than what we like. I thought he made a great play, obviously his foot was out — the referees did a good job officiating that.”

Other notables

• Sirianni explained calling a timeout with five minutes left, and noted that they wanted to be sure they had enough time to drive down the field and get the ball back. He said Hurts did a good job on that drive to score late in the game, so it was about saving enough time to put them in the position to have two possessions.
• The head coach was asked about K’Von Wallace’s forced fumble, and he admitted that he was watching live and there wasn’t any replay, so he has to trust what the officials saw and called. He noted that the tape won’t lie and he’ll be able to tell what happened once he gets a chance to see the film.
• Sirianni said that he felt the defense did a good job keeping San Francisco to just 17 points, and the offense just didn’t capitalize on some of their early opportunities. He felt like the game may have gone differently had they gone up 10-0 in the first half instead of playing from behind.

The Birds left too many points on the table.

The Philadelphia Eagles are 1-1 after losing to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon. Final score: 17 to 11.

The Eagles didn’t get thoroughly outplayed by a superior opponent in this one as much as they failed to capitalize on some prime scoring opportunities. The Birds weren’t that far off from having 17 first half points alone. But the reality is they didn’t capitalize and that really cost them. The Eagles also weren’t helped by two major injuries to Brandon Graham and Brandon Brooks.

Read on for a recap and stay tuned for more BGN postgame coverage.

FIRST QUARTER

• The Eagles won the opening coin toss and elected to defer. Javon Hargrave immediately tackled Elijah Mitchell for a 4-yard loss. That play set the tone for a 49ers three-and-out.
• The Eagles would’ve went three-and-out if not for a pass interference penalty by Josh Norman. Jalen Hurts aired it out deep to DeVonta Smith but the quarterback’s pass was underthrown despite a clean pocket. The Eagles ran on 3rd-and-6 (why?) for no gain and punted. Too much running from Nick Sirianni early on, especially on a suspect pass defense. Arryn Siposs gave the Eagles a chance to down his punt around the 1-yard line but Zech McPhearson accidentally knocked the ball into the end zone for the touchback. Womp womp.
• Jimmy Garoppolo overthrew an open receiver on third down for another 49ers three-and-out. The defense came to play early. Hargrave already had two tackle for loss and one quarterback hit on just six plays.
• The Eagles methodically moved the ball down the field, mixing a nice option pitch in there. Better stuff from Sirianni. Hurts targeted Smith on a roll out to his left on 3rd-and-3 but the pass was too high and incomplete. Looked like he could’ve thrown to Dallas Goedert or just ran himself for the first. The Eagles should’ve gone for it on fourth down but settled for a 45-yard field goal. EAGLES 3, 49ERS 0.
• Josh Sweat pressured Jimmy G into a high throw that should’ve been picked off by Anthony Harris. The Eagles held the 49ers to another three-and-out despite Hargrave getting held.

• Hurts almost got picked on a miscommunication with Miles Sanders. Yikes. Hurts used his legs to pick up 12 yards and a first on third down. Then he hit Quez Watkins down the right sideline for a chunk gain into 49ers territory. Hurts aired it out deep to Jalen Reagor for a TOUCHDOWN ... but the receiver’s feet went out of bounds (got squeezed out by the defender) before he caught the pass deep down the field. Really taking up Nelson Agholor’s mantle as a talented but frustrating player. And not only was the play overturned but it was a penalty for the Eagles because of illegal touching. Shame because that was an absolute dime from Hurts.

SECOND QUARTER

• The Eagles ended up settling for an Elliott field goal attempt that ... got blocked. Dallas Goedert caught it and tried to run for the first down but came up short. Bummer to get no points after thinking they had a touchdown.
• The 49ers drove into Eagles territory but SF’s drive stalled in part due to some missed throws by Jimmy G. The 49ers ended up punting from Philly’s 38-yard line.
• Landon Dickerson came in to play right guard with Brooks injured and got pancaked into Hurts ... but it didn’t really matter because Hurts aired it out deep to Quez Watkins for a 91-yard reception. QB hit the WR right on the money. The Eagles got to 1st-and-goal from the 1-yard line but couldn’t get it in. Sirianni went for it on 4th-and-goal from the 3-yard line, the Eagles ran the Philly Special and Greg Ward had no one open so he sailed the ball out of bounds. Turnover on downs. Huge wasted opportunity. Unacceptable, really. Could’ve just tried multiple QB sneaks.

• The 49ers drove 97 yards in 12 plays to get a wide open touchdown. Bad breakdown. Disappointing end to a first half that wasn’t far off from being much better for the Birds. Could’ve had 17 points but instead went into the half down four. EAGLES 3, 49ERS 7.

THIRD QUARTER

• Hurts was very fortunate to have a strip-sack forced by Nick Bosa recovered by Jack Stoll. instead of the 49ers. QB held on to the ball for too long. Hurts aired it out deep to Smith but the ball was underthrown and Smith couldn’t come up with it as he was looking into the sun and had two defenders on him.
• The 49ers got to 3rd-and-6 around midfield and Steve Nelson almost picked Jimmy G’s pass but couldn't hang on.
• A good punt by the 49ers had the Eagles start at their own 7-yard line. The Eagles ran the ball seven straight times — including some good Miles Sanders touches in there — to get to 3rd-and-4 from the 49ers’ 46-yard line. Hurts finally attempted a pass with a completion to Zach Ertz for a first down. Ertz’s first reception of the game. The Eagles got to 3rd-and-10 and pressure forced Hurts into an incompletion. Reagor didn’t look like he expected the ball to come to him. Punt.

FOURTH QUARTER

• The 49ers got to a 3rd-and-7 and converted to move into Eagles territory. Then they pounded the rock into goal-to-go territory. On third down, Anthony Harris got called for pass interference. The 49ers ran it up the middle from the 1-yard line for a touchdown. Or not because the runner’s knee was down. But the 49ers snuck it with Jimmy G for the score anyway. Hey, what a concept. EAGLES 3, 49ERS 14.
• Hurts aired it out deep to Reagor but the ball was a bit short and off target for an incompletion. Reagor didn’t exactly fight back to the ball to try to draw PI. Bit of a wild play with Hurts throwing to Smith along the sideline but the ball getting deflected into Sanders’ hands, who unfortunately couldn’t hold on. Weird to call that a drop but he very much could’ve had it. Hurts got sacked on 3rd-and-2 to force a punt.
• It looked like the Eagles had a gift with JaMycal Hasty dropping the ball but it bounced out of bounds and Derek Barnett got hit with (yet another) unnecessary roughness penalty. Way too many dumb flags in his career. The 49ers fumbled after a big run on their next play and Darius Slay recovered but K’Von Wallace got called for unnecessary roughness and the 49ers got to keep the ball. Wallace went in with his shoulder and hit the 49ers running back in the head after the RB lowered his head. Don’t really love that call! The 49ers ultimately settled for a 46-yard field goal. EAGLES 3, 49ERS 17.
• Hurts took off running on multiple plays to move the chains. He got hit as he was going out of bounds on one of them to pick up a 15-yard penalty on San Fran. Hurts has a real good tight window throw to Dallas Goedert, who got the ball to the 1-yard line. JUST short of the goal line. Hurts then snuck it in (like the Eagles should have done earlier!) for the score. The Eagles went for a two-point conversion, as analytics suggest teams should do down 8 points late in the game, and got it with a Kenny Gainwell run. Down only six points with 4:02 to go. EAGLES 11, 49ERS 17.

• The 49ers got to 3rd-and-1 and Jimmy G snuck it for the first down. That was the game with the Eagles having no timeouts left to stop the clock.

LINEUP NOTES

• K’Von Wallace, not Marcus Epps, got the start at safety with Rodney McLeod out.

INJURIES

• Brandon Brooks got banged up early in the second quarter. He was holding his arm when he came out of the game. He was ruled questionable to return with a chest injury. Brooks was replaced by Landon Dickerson. And eventually downgraded to OUT.
• Brandon Graham got hurt late in the second quarter. He was carted off the field after he was unable to put any pressure on his left leg. Not great.

• Davion Taylor (calf) was ruled questionable to return early in the fourth quarter. Been dealing with this issue since training camp.

No one wants to see this for the Eagles’ defensive leader.

[UPDATE]: No official word yet, but things aren’t sounding good for Brandon Graham, who has reportedly suffered an Achilles injury. We all know what that means, the Eagles’ veteran will likely miss the remainder of the 2021 season. Graham will reportedly get an MRI on Monday.

ORIGINAL STORY BELOW.

First, Brandon Brooks was sidelined with a chest injury, and then Eagles’ veteran defender Brandon Graham went down and stayed down just before halftime in Sunday’s game against the 49ers. Graham was in obvious pain, pounding the ground, and unable to walk off the field under his own power. He was keeping his weight off of his left leg as he was helped to the sideline and was eventually carted back to the locker room.

Graham’s teammates were visibly upset for their leader, with many of them helping him off the field and offering some comforting words as he made his way to the sideline.

Fortunately, the Eagles have some depth on the defensive line, and have seen big leaps in production already this season from guys like Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat, and Derek Barnett. But still, BG is the lifeblood of the Eagles defense, and his energy is contagious, so any time he’ll have to miss will be felt throughout the locker room.

Here’s hoping for some good news for the fan favorite.

Talk about this matchup here!

There’s only one NFC East game left in Week 2 and it’s between the Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Chargers late-Sunday afternoon.

The Cowboys will be entering their Week 3 matchup against the Eagles with an 0-2 record if they don’t win today.

These two teams don’t play often, but the Cowboys narrowly lead the all-time series between them, 6-5. However, the Chargers have won the past three meetings, including most recently in Dallas back in 2017, 28-6. The last time they played on the West Coast — albeit in San Diego — the Chargers got a home win, 30-21.

Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s game.

Dallas Cowboys vs Los Angeles Chargers

TV Schedule

Game time: 4:25 PM EST

Channel: CBS

Date: Sunday, September 19, 2021

Location: SoFi Stadium | Inglewood, CA

Announcers: Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson (field reporter)

Radio: SIRIUS: 133 (Dal.), 82 (LAC) | XM: 382 (Dal.), 227 (LAC) | SXM App: 808 (Dal.), 817 (LAC)

Online Streaming

FuboTV

Odds

Dallas Cowboys: +3, +145

Los Angeles Charges: -3, -165

Over/Under: 55

SB Nation Blogs

Cowboys: www.BloggingTheBoys.com

Chargers: www.BoltsFromTheBlue.com

Open thread: discuss Sunday’s game in the comments below.

After the third quarter, the Eagles lead the 49ers by a score of 7 to 3.

This is your fourth quarter thread for the 2021 Week 2 Philadelphia Eagles vs. San Francisco 49ers game. Join the discussion in the comments below.

Here is some basic information to help guide you through the game:

• How to watch the game - TV schedule and online streaming information;
• Follow me on Twitter: @BrandonGowton;
• Follow along with 49ers fans at Niners Nation;
• Live game stats;
• Eagles full regular season schedule;
• Current Eagles depth chart;
• Current Eagles roster

...

Note: This is an open thread. Discuss the game and stay tuned for BGN’s postgame coverage!

TWITTER UPDATES

After the second quarter, the Eagles trail the 49ers by a score of 7 to 3.

This is your third quarter thread for the 2021 Week 2 Philadelphia Eagles vs. San Francisco 49ers game. Join the discussion in the comments below.

Here is some basic information to help guide you through the game:

• How to watch the game - TV schedule and online streaming information;
• Follow me on Twitter: @BrandonGowton;
• Follow along with 49ers fans at Niners Nation;
• Live game stats;
• Eagles full regular season schedule;
• Current Eagles depth chart;
• Current Eagles roster

...

Note: This is an open thread. Discuss the game and stay tuned for new threads after each quarter!

TWITTER UPDATES

Dickerson stepped in at right guard when Brooks was sidelined.

[UPDATE #2]: Brooks will undergo an MRI on Monday to see whether he suffered a full pectoral tear or if it’s just a strain.

[UPDATE]: Brandon Brooks might have suffered a pec injury, per a report by Derrick Gunn, and will at least miss the remainder of the Eagles’ Week 2 game against the 49ers.

The Eagles have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, if they can stay healthy. Unfortunately, Brandon Brooks was sidelined early in the second quarter on Sunday against the 49ers with a chest injury and was labeled as questionable to return.

Fortunately, however, the team added a bit of depth this week with second-round draft pick Landon Dickerson being cleared to play and active. The rookie was drafted as a center, but stepped in at right guard to takes Brooks’ spot.

We haven’t had a chance to see much of Dickerson this offseason as he worked his way back from an ACL injury he suffered in late-December. Earlier this week, OL coach Jeff Stoutland said that the rookie is a big, strong, talented player, who has put in extra time be able to put the lineman in position — sure, he isn’t lining up at center just yet, but it should mean that he has awareness of what he’ll need to do at guard, hopefully.

HERE WE GO!

PHILADELPHIA. EAGLES. FOOTBALL. IS. BACK. AT. LINCOLN. FINANCIAL. FIELD.

For the first time since January 2020 (Philly’s playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks), the Birds are back at the Linc in front of a full crowd of fans. Fans who are very fired up to be back and cheer on the Eagles following an exciting Week 1 win.

The Eagles are kicking things off against the San Francisco 49ers starting at 1:00 PM Eastern. The Birds are home underdogs in this one but there’s certainly reason to believe they can pull off the upset and get to 2-0.

With San Fran’s secondary looking vulnerable (they’re starting a washed up Josh Norman), Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith could be in for big days.

Let’s do this thing!

Here is some basic information to help guide you through the game:

• How to watch the game - TV schedule and online streaming information;
• Follow me on Twitter: @BrandonGowton;
• Follow along with 49ers fans at Niners Nation;
• Live game stats;
• Eagles full regular season schedule;
• Current Eagles depth chart;
• Current Eagles roster

...

Note: This is an open thread. Discuss the game and stay tuned for new threads after each quarter!

TWITTER UPDATES

Who’s in and who’s out.

The Philadelphia Eagles officially announced the inactives list for their 2021 NFL Week 2 game against the San Francisco 49ers.

The following five Eagles players have been ruled INACTIVE: Rodney McLeod, Gardner Minshew, Brett Toth, Marlon Tuipulotu, and Mac McCain.

McLeod was ruled out on Friday’s final injury report. One would figure that Marcus Epps, who is active despite being listed questionable due to his concussion, will start in his place once again. Or maybe K’Von Wallace will get a crack at the starting safety spot next to Anthony Harris?

A little interesting but not shocking to see the Eagles kept Andre Dillard active over Toth. Dillard obviously has the bigger pedigree and Philly likely doesn’t want the optics of him being a healthy scratch. Toth has struggled less to this point in his career and has experience at right tackle, unlike Dillard.

Tuipulotu isn’t really ready to contribute this season as much as the Eagles value his long-term potential.

Landon Dickerson and Davion Taylor are both active after missing Week 1 due to injury.

Philadelphia Eagles Inactive List

S Rodney McLeod - Injury.

QB Gardner Minshew - Third string quarterback.

T/G Brett Toth - Depth offensive tackle.

DT Marlon Tuipulotu - Depth defensive tackle.

CB Mac McCain - Depth cornerback.

San Francisco 49ers Inactive List

No major surprises for San Fran. Starting defensive linemen Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw are active despite being ruled questionable on their final injury report. Emmanuel Moseley was ruled doubtful and is out, which means Josh Norman (!) will start at cornerback. Yikes. The Eagles need to really take advantage of that.

CB Emmanuel Moseley

OL Aaron Banks

CB Ambry Thomas

DT Zach Kerr

How are you feeling about this matchup?

The Philadelphia Eagles shouldn’t beat the San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers are more talented. A Week 1 over the Atlanta Falcons doesn’t prove the Eagles are good enough to beat a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

But ... what if the perceptions about the 2021 Eagles were wrong? What if the Birds really are good?

It’s possible. Sure, the Falcons might be really bad. But good teams beat down inferior competition and that’s just what Philly did down in Atlanta.

We saw enough to learn that the Eagles aren’t a bad team. But are they a good one?

Again, it’s possible. From good coaching to strong quarterback play to domination in the trenches ... the Birds have a recipe for success.

Perhaps this optimism will look foolish if/when the 49ers give the Eagles a reality check. Until then, though, why would one go against the good vibes that the Birds have going for them right now?

And I promise I’m not just Nick Sirianni-level pandering here but the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field is going to be absolutely insane. The first full game back at The Linc since January 2020? With a chance to go 2-0? The fans are going to bring the juice and that can only help.

The Eagles’ offense is going to be able to take advantage of a 49ers defense that’s banged up. DeVonta Smith is going to feast on a gettable secondary.

The Eagles’ defense might have some trouble shutting down Kyle Shanahan’s offense entirely. But their defensive line gives them a chance to slow down the 49ers’ attack.

All told, the feeling here is that it’s going to a good game. And it’s going to be one the Eagles win.

No way Philly loses after 49ers unwisely pulled a “Vikings fans prior to the 2018 NFC Championship” move here:

Terrible vibes emanating from San Fran’s side.

For more, check out BGN’s weekly NFL game predictions.

Suggested format:

Score prediction:

Bold prediction:

My predictions:

Score prediction: 33 to 30, Eagles win.

Bold prediction: DeVonta Smith scores three touchdowns.

Your predictions:

Leave your own score predictions in the comments.