Eagles' Interest in Moving Parts May Hinge on Timeframe of Key Injuries

If the absences of Lane Johnson and Avonte Maddox reach into the postseason the Eagles' will consider moving parts

The Eagles’ season may have changed dramatically at AT&T Stadium on Christmas Eve and that sentiment has little to do with a 40-34 loss with a backup quarterback in Gardner Minshew.

For just the second time this season 13-2 Philadelphia felt the sting of the wrong side of the scoreboard but could also credibly point toward beating itself more than the 11-4 Cowboys earning a hard-fought win.

Whether it was Quez Watkins failing to fight hard enough for two contested catches, Boston Scott and Minshew being a little too sloppy at the mesh point, or an uncharacteristic Miles Sanders fumble, the one thing the Eagles’ second loss had in common with the first was four turnovers.

And while Philadelphia’s miscues, other than the Scott/Minshew hiccup, were not by definition unforced errors they weren’t exactly standard operating procedure for a team that nearly went wire-to-wire leading the NFL in turnover ratio.

The wake of the setback grew far darker by Monday, however, when it was revealed that Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson and starting slot cornerback Avonte Maddox are likely to miss the rest of the regular season and could even be in danger of making it back for the postseason.

READ MORE: Eagles Suddenly Vulnerable with Bad News on Lane Johnson ...

As far as the plan moving forward, a short-term absence (think the final two games but not the postseason) will likely result in a straightforward plan of Jack Driscoll replacing Johnson at right tackle and Josiah Scott tagging in for Maddox in the slot.

That was the case in the regular season whenever Johnson missed reps while banged up and Maddox was on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

If missing the postseason becomes a question though all avenues must be looked out to get the best group on the field.

“Everything will be on the table, whatever we feel like is best for us,” said head coach Nick Sirianni.

On the offensive line, 2019 first-round pick Andre Dillard could be inserted at left tackle while Jordan Mailata shifts to RT.

The potential return of Chauncey Gardner-Johnson from a lacerated kidney could have Jonathan Gannon mulling playing him in the slot, which he did in New Orleans prior to being acquired by the Eagles, or in a hybrid role that Maddox had been playing: safety in the base defense before moving to the slot when a third CB is needed.

The Eagles could start Gardner-Johnson's 21-day practice window this week but  Sirianni noted his injury is a little more complicated than most and black and white medical tests will determine that fate.

“We have to see how everything is healing in there,” Sirianni said. “That's a little bit of a harder one to track because you can't just - you have to go in there and see, right? You have to get the CAT scans and see how everything is healing in there. So, we'll see where he is.”

The problem with moving parts, however, can be substantial and many coaches do not like affecting multiple positions.

SI Eagles Today asked Sirianni if you had a base philosophy on the subject.

“I think every one of those (situations) is a little bit different," he said. "You try to have your base philosophies. I mean, that's a good question because you try to have your base philosophies on everything.

"Here is my base philosophy on this, here is my base philosophy on that and everything, and so you kind of get to that based off your prior experiences, things like that.

“But with this, this is a game. It's just such a physical game. It's such a long season that these things happen and there are injuries throughout the year that you have to navigate, that you have to handle the adversity.”

Johnson's loss can't be understated.

A player Sirianni has called the "best right tackle in the world" on multiple occasions, Johnson has not allowed a sack in a record number of snaps that has nearly reached 1,000 when he shut out Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence on Saturday.

More so, the Eagles are 72-44-1 when Johnson plays and are well underwater at 12-20 when he does not. In the Sirianni era, those numbers are even more pronounced with the Eagles being 21-7 with Johnson in the lineup and 1-3 without him.

“The answer is different all the time and it depends on the person, it depends on the position, it depends on the situation of who you may be playing, there are a lot of different things that go into it,” Sirianni said of potential lineup changes.

“So, this is one there isn't just a base, here is a rule book on it and you adjust off that based off what your philosophy says or anything like that. And so, I guess with every one of these injuries that we've had, it's a little bit different each time, and every case will be treated so.”

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen