The Eagles took a unique approach to trying to remain undefeated heading into their Thursday night matchup against the Houston Texans.
Exercise bikes and massage beds were set up in the locker room within minutes after the Eagles (7-0) finished off their 35-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
Then instead of holding live practices on Monday, Tuesday and/or Wednesday, the Eagles held walkthroughs each day. In addition, the Eagles had a big enough lead in the fourth quarter against the Steelers, so they were able to rest their offensive starters for the last nine minutes of the game.
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The Eagles did all of this despite just having their week off. That gave the coaches extra time to prepare not only for the Steelers, but for the Texans. Much of the work on the Texans had already been done leading into last weekend.
“We are doing things a little bit differently this year as far as how we’re going about our process, so it was a group effort by everybody because we had a little bit of extra time,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said.
The players appreciated it, too.
“It’s never the physical part of it,” defensive end Brandon Graham said. “I feel like we always get our body back by Thursday anyway. It’s more mental. It’s about the game plan, carrying out the game plan. So just making sure you don’t have any hiccups there, because that’s what can get you beat for real, on top of not making the plays when your plays come to you.”
We’ll find out if it works against the Texans (1-5-1). The game was originally scheduled to air on FOX29, but it was moved to WPHL17 to accommodate the World Series Game 5 between the Phillies and the Houston Astros. The broadcasters are Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit and Kaylee Hartung.
3 things to watch
- Jordan Davis’ replacement: The Eagles placed the rookie defensive tackle on injured reserve Thursday with an ankle injury, meaning that the game Thursday will be the first of at least four that he will have to miss. The Eagles could go with a four-man rotation with Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Milton Williams and Marlon Tuipulotu. But you can also expect to see a defensive end like Brandon Graham moving inside on passing downs, too. The acquisition of Robert Quinn makes that possible.
- Jalen Hurts in his hometown: Hurts grew up in Houston, and his godfather used to work for the Texans, so Hurts had visited the team’s practice facility as a kid. He idolized former Texans players such as wide receiver Andre Johnson and quarterback Vince Young. This will be the first time Hurts is playing in NRG Stadium. And since the Eagles only come to Houston once every eight years, he’ll want to make the most of it.
- Owning the Texans: The Eagles have never lost to the Texans, going 5-0. The last time the Eagles were in Houston, on Nov. 2, 2014, they won 31-21 as backup quarterback Mark Sanchez replaced the injured Nick Foles. Only four players − Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham − remain from that game. The last time the two teams met, on Dec. 23, 2018, was at Lincoln Financial Field. Foles lead the Eagles to a 32-30 win.
Prediction: Eagles 32, Texans 10.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
