By Sophie Popp
CONJSports.com Staff
Five Philadelphia Eagles starters got hurt during their game on Sunday night against the Atlanta Falcons.
Three of the injuries came early in the game and left the Eagles having to put second-string players in. It didn’t end well for the team, as they lost to the Falcons 24-20.
One of the most impactful injuries was to Dallas Goedert, a crucial member of the offense as the team’s best tight end after Zach Ertz. Goedert didn’t even make it past pre-game warm-ups, injuring his calf (an ailment he had dealt with in training camp.)
DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery both got hurt in the first quarter. Later, Corey Clement hurt his shoulder and Tim Jernigan injured his foot. leaving Clement in a sling and Jernigan in a boot postgame.
One of those being DeSean Jackson, who caught two touchdowns in week one in the Eagles win against the Washington Redskins.
With both Jeffery and Jackson out, quarterback Carson Wentz was down four of his main pass-catching targets, and turned to wide receiver Nelson Agholor as as his primary option. Agholor caught eight balls for 107 yards and a touchdown, but he also let what could have been the game-winning touchdown pass that slip right through his fingers with just under two minutes to play.
Even Wentz missed six snaps while getting checked out by the medical staff for a concussion.
Despite the injuries, they did put up a fight and scored a go-ahead touchdown with 3:16 left to play in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons came back and scored a 54-yard fourth-down touchdown to take the lead with 2:10 left in the game. With just over a minute left, the Eagles had a first down on Atlanta’s 18-yard line. After three plays yielded little else. Wentz went to Ertz on fourth down, but was stopped inches short of the first down.
Only a Matt Ryan kneel down on the next play remained before the game mercifully ended for Philadelphia.
If Agholor hangs on to a ball up the sideline or Ertz extends the ball for a first down the Eagles might have flown home victorious. But ultimately, injuries made it too steep a mountain to climb.
Leave a Reply