Ten Eagles out against Washington Sunday with NFC East on the line
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson watches warmups before an game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas on Dec. 26. Credit: AP/Michael Ainsworth
Before anyone does any potential scoreboard-watching on Sunday, the Giants and Cowboys undoubtedly were doing some injury report-watching on Friday. That news was not all good.
Ten Eagles players were ruled out for Sunday night’s game against Washington, and to capture the NFC East title, the Giants-Dallas winner will need Philadelphia to win. The Eagles were eliminated from contention because of their loss to the Cowboys last week.
The players who will not participate for the Eagles include Fletcher Cox, Miles Sanders, DeSean Jackson, Duke Riley and Richard Rodgers.
That will make it hard for the Eagles to fulfill the goal set by defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who said earlier this week that he wanted Lincoln Financial Field to be a "no-hat" zone.
"We can’t let opponents put division-win hats on at the Linc," Schwartz said of playing spoiler against Washington. "There’s a lot of pride in that, and all our focus has to be accomplishing that this week."
As for Washington, which will take the division title with a win, top quarterback Alex Smith is "questionable," coach Ron Rivera said on Friday.
As a precaution, Washington added undrafted rookie quarterback Steven Montez. If Smith is unable to play because of the calf injury that kept him out last week, Taylor Heinicke will start and Montez will be the backup.
Wide receiver Terry McLaurin (ankle) and running back Antonio Gibson (toe) also were listed as questionable.
The Giants and Cowboys have their own injuries to deal with. Quarterback Daniel Jones, tight end Evan Engram, wide receiver Sterling Shepard and safety Jabrill Peppers, all of whom appeared on the injury report during the week, did not receive a game-day designation on Friday, indicating they all will play. The Giants did rule out fullback Eli Penny for a second straight week with a non-COVID-19 illness. Wide receiver Golden Tate (calf) is doubtful and linebacker Cam Brown (illness) is questionable.
The Cowboys listed linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (ankle) and cornerback Rashard Robinson (knee) as out. They also added safety Darian Thompson (a former Giant) and defensive lineman Justin Hamilton to their reserve/ COVID-19 list on Friday. Neither will play on Sunday.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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