Eagles Expect to have Miles Sanders Back in Time to Play Giants

Alshon Jeffery could also return, but there are some factors Philly will need to overcome to win a second straight NFC East title

The Eagles will go to North Jersey next Sunday having played only one game in the last 24 days.

They cannot afford to show any rust, not against a New York Giants team that looks to be getting the hang of what first-year coach Joe Judge has been preaching in the first half of the season.

What the Eagles need to show coming out of their bye weekend, among a few things, is more creativity as an offense and in the way in which they use rookie Jalen Hurts. Both have been too vanilla, too predictable, and simply not good enough.

The Eagles will play a team they needed to scramble to beat not that long ago, overcoming an 11-point deficit in the final six-plus minutes to win by a single point on Oct. 22. 

Since then, the Giants have gone on to lose by just two points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a failed two-point conversion pass that would’ve tied the game with 28 seconds left, then defeated the Washington Football Team on Sunday, 23-20.

New York is 2-7, and in the NFC East that ain’t bad. A win over the first-place Eagles, who are just 3-4-1, and the Giants are right back in this thing.

Even the Cowboys could be pesky. Dallas gave the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers all they could handle on Sunday afternoon, leading most of the way until bowing, 24-19, and falling to 2-7 as the Cowboys head into their bye.

The Washington Football Team can’t be counted out, either, even at 2-6. Veteran Alex Smith and his great comeback story after nearly losing his leg figures to be the quarterback going forward.

Smith came into Sunday’s loss against the Giants after Kyle Allen left injured and threw three interceptions but was also 24-for-32 for 325 yards and a TD to go with those three picks. He figures to only get better and the WFT also owns a win over the Eagles.

Philly and Washington won’t meet again until the season finale, scheduled for Jan. 3 at Lincoln Financial Field.

Philadelphia should be sparked against the Giants by the return of running back Miles Sanders, who has missed the two games prior to the bye with a knee injury, his third such ailment of the season following a hamstring, which cost him the opener, and a glute, which didn’t prevent him from playing any games though it limited him in practice.

The Eagles could also be getting Alshon Jeffery back. The NFL Network reported that the veteran receiver is expected to be a full-go in practice this week despite a calf injury that hampered him leading into the bye.

Head coach Doug Pederson won’t talk to the media until Wednesday morning.

On Monday, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and special team coordinator Dave Fipp will talk to reporters with some players being available in the afternoon via videoconference. Tuesday is another off day.

The NFC East, as bad as it has been, is still up for grabs, even though the Eagles went into the bye in first place and with no chance of being passed by either of the other three teams no matter what they did on Sunday.

The Giants are, right now, the current threat.

New York is even a threat to Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz’s health.

Already, the Giants have ended the season of Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott and that of Washington’s Allen on Sunday. Both QBs had their ankles gruesomely ruined against New York.

Wentz has put himself at great risk this season by holding the ball too long at times and taking sacks at other times. He has been sacked 32 times, not all his fault, but some of it is.

If the Eagles have designs of winning the NFC East for a second straight time – and becoming the first team in the division to do that since they did it in 2003 and 2004 – they need Wentz to play better, they need to shake off any layoff rust quickly, and the play-calling and designs need to get better.

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