Philadelphia Eagles Hybrid Grass/Turf: NFL Looking at ‘Fresh Ideas' For Playing Surfaces

Philadelphia Eagles Hybrid Grass/Turf: NFL Looking For 'Fresh Ideas' For Playing Surfaces

One of the hottest topics of this NFL season has been about playing surfaces and the dangers turf fields can often present to players. 

When New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered an ACL tear in Week 1, the debate between artificial turf and grass heated up.

The Philadelphia Eagles are one of two teams (Green Bay Packers) that play on a combination of turf and grass at Lincoln Financial Field, which opened in 2003. Currently, 14 teams out of 32 do not play on real grass.

Today, the league announced a crowd-sourced challenge to accelerate innovations that can help make playing surfaces more consistent and safer for players.

NFL players continue to advocate for grass fields because of the link with non-contact lower-body injuries on artificial turf. NFLPA’s new executive director, Lloyd Howell, released a statement in September saying all NFL stadiums need to have natural grass.

The league is inviting submissions for how it can better its playing surfaces ... and offering a reward. 

According to the NFL: "The 'HealthTECH Challenge I' is open to submissions from companies and new ventures from outside the surface industry, including representatives of academic institutions, design houses and other entities that specialize in engineering, advanced manufacturing, and material science."

"The challenge will provide up to $100,000 to entrants with ideas that further improve the safety and consistency of playing surfaces. The individuals or groups who submit projects that are selected for funding will have the opportunity to work with an expert support team to further develop their concept and plan for creating a finished product."

Jalen Hurts / USA Today

The Eagles are undefeated at home this season. However, this week they hit the road for a a highly-anticipated Super Bowl rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The Monday Night showdown is highlighted by the top two candidates for NFL MVP, quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes.

RECORDS: Philadelphia Eagles (8-1) at Kansas City Chiefs (7-2)

ODDS: Philadelphia is a 2.5-point underdog vs. the Chiefs

GAME TIME: Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 at 8:15 p.m. ET

LOCATION: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium - Kansas City, MO

TV/RADIO: ABC/ESPN, 94WIP

THE FINAL WORD: Philadelphia center Jason Kelce thinks that the time has come for him to defeat his former head coach Andy Reid:

"I love Andy," Kelce said via 94WIP. "There's two teams that I haven't beaten, this year, that are on the schedule and it's the Chiefs and the Seahawks. I'd love to get a win. Try not to make that the main focus, you try and just focus on the little keys to victory and doing your job and staying locked in. But yeah, Andy's had our number since he left Philadelphia."