CHICAGO − Two weeks ago, Dallas Goedert said he fully expected to be activated off injured reserve this Sunday, the first game in which he’s eligible to play.
In fact, Goedert said he was upset the Eagles put him on IR in the first place after he suffered a shoulder injury on Nov. 14.
Yet the Eagles let the Saturday deadline pass without activating Goedert for their game against the Chicago Bears, even though Goedert returned to practice last week. It’s quite possible the Eagles gave Goedert an extra week to rebuild strength in his shoulder so that he will be ready for the Eagles’ showdown next Saturday against the Dallas Cowboys.
HURTS VS. FIELDS:These Eagles saw Justin Fields’ game for the ages in college; will he surpass Jalen Hurts?
There will be much more at stake next week anyway. The Eagles have already clinched a playoff berth. But if the Eagles beat the Bears on Sunday, or if the Cowboys lose to Jacksonville, then the Eagles can clinch the NFC East and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs with a win next Saturday against the Cowboys.
Goedert was asked about the possibility of sitting out against the 3-10 Bears to not risk anything heading into the game against Dallas.
Goedert didn’t necessarily believe in that strategy.
“Even though the Bears only got 3 wins, they’ve lost a lot of close games,” he said. “They’re not a bad team, that’s for sure. We’ve got to be ready to go when we get there. Obviously, I definitely want to play in Dallas. But you know, every game is important. When you sit on the sidelines, you want to get back there as soon as possible.”
The game begins at 1 p.m., and will be broadcast on FOX with Joe Davis, Daryl Johnston and Pam Oliver providing coverage.
Poor start for Eagles, Hurts
The Eagles played one of their ugliest first quarters of the season Sunday, but at least they weren’t losing because the defense did a good job containing Justin Fields.
The Eagles had the ball for only 2 minutes, 10 seconds in the quarter. Jalen Hurts went 1-for-5 passing for 21 yards with an interception. The completion was a pretty pass as Hurts was rolling to his left and threw it to the sideline where Smith dove and caught it while keeping his feet inbounds.
But on the next play, Hurts rolled to his right and was intercepted at the Bears’ 17.
The Eagles sacked Fields twice in the first quarter. The first, by Josh Sweat, gave him 8.5 for the season, a career high. In all, the Eagles have 51 sacks on the season, most in the NFL.
Eagles’ inactives, Bears missing 2 top WRs
The Eagles won’t have safety Reed Blankenship, who had started the previous two games in place of Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, who’s on injured reserve. Blankenship suffered a knee injury.
But the Eagles didn’t replace Blankenship on the roster as safety Anthony Harris, signed on Thursday to the practice squad, did not get the practice squad elevation. K’Von Wallace is expected to start in Blankenship’s place.
The Eagles’ other inactives are QB Ian Book, RB Trey Sermon, DE Janarius Robinson, G Josh Sills and G Sua Opeta.
The Bears, meanwhile, won’t have two of their wide receivers in Chase Claypool and N’Keal Harry. The Bears traded for Claypool before the deadline in October. He has 12 receptions in 5 games. Harry has 5 catches this season.
3 things I’m watching
- Hurts vs. Fields: This is the most intriguing matchup as the Bears’ Justin Fields leads all NFL quarterbacks with 905 yards, including 178 yards in a game earlier in the season. The Eagles’ Jalen Hurts ran for 157 yards earlier this season. But Hurts is the much more accomplished passer, leading the NFL in passer rating and with a completion percentage of 68%. It will be fun to watch both do their thing.
- Who’s the safety? The Eagles didn’t give veteran safety Anthony Harris the practice squad elevation, meaning that the only safeties on the roster for the game are Marcus Epps and K’Von Wallace. The Eagles could use Josiah Scott there. But Reed Blankenship, who’s out with a knee injury, had passed Wallace as the third safety before Chauncey Gardner-Johnson’s injury (he’s still on IR).
- Who’s the leading rusher? If you like rushing stats, this game is for you. At least one player will get over 100 yards, whether it’s Hurts, Fields, Eagles’ running back Miles Sanders, or Bears’ running back David Montgomery. After all, these are the top two teams in rushing in the NFL. The Bears average 189 yards per game, the Eagles 162.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
