Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

More Game Talk – WAS at PHI

Posted September 12th, 2026 | 1 Comment »

We are now just a day away from the Eagles kicking off the 2026 season. Are you starting to get excited? I know I’m looking forward to finally getting a chance to see the starters in action. Reading about practice and watching the backups in preseason action whets your appetite for the real thing. Thankfully the waiting is almost over.

The  Eagles are healthy overall, but will be without one starter. We found out Friday afternoon that Jonathan Greenard will miss the game. The Eagles are taking a conservative approach to his situation. That means Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith will start, with AJ Epenesa and Arnold Ebiketie coming off the bench. Greenard being out is a good opportunity for Smith, Epenesa and Ebiketie. Smith is coming off a down season and wants to show that he’s worthy of being a starter. Epenesa And Ebiketie will battle to show who should be ED4. There could be a time in the future when ED5 is inactive so the pecking order could be important.

Hunt and Smith both played well this summer so I’m not overly concerned about Greenard missing a game. It also helps that the Washington OTs are mediocre players. I thought Epenesa was better than Ebiketie this summer. I’m curious to see how they play in a real game.

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Let’s talk about potential inactives.

Jonathan Greenard
QB3
Cole Payton
Micah Morris
Ty Robinson

I listed QB3 since we don’t yet know who will be the backup, Tanner McKee or Andy Dalton. How is Dan Quinn sleeping at night without knowing this info?

I’m curious to see what the Eagles do at punt returner. Elijah Moore did some of that this summer and could do it for the game. Makai Lemon and Cooper DeJean have practiced at PR. There is also the possibility of promoting Britain Covey.

It is possible the Eagles will sit a DB and keep an extra DL active. I’m sure they would love to get Robinson some reps if possible. Washington has good WRs so going heavy at DB might be the smarter move.

There is also the possibility that Eli Stowers could be inactive. He did practice this week, but isn’t 100 percent healthy. The Eagles want to get him experience, but also might see the value in using that spot on another player (like Robinson).

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The Eagles are lucky that they have such a deep, talented group of DTs. Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo are a dynamic trio. Byron Young is a good backup. Robinson really came on this summer and might deserve some playing time. There is also Gabe Hall on the practice squad. He played well enough to make the team, but got caught in a numbers crunch.

I’m excited to see the DTs in action. Carter is healthy and locked in. Davis has gotten better each year. Ojomo is playing to show he deserves a big contract next offseason.

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Makai Lemon will make his NFL debut and should play a lot. It will be interesting to see how aggressive the Eagles are with getting the ball to him. I know they would love to get him some touches to try and get him going. You do have to be careful about forcing the issue too much. You don’t want to put too much pressure on Lemon and also don’t want to frustrate his teammates.

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Commanders fans and media members have a surprising amount of confidence in the team. Most outsiders see Washington as one of the worst teams in the league. What gives?

The thinking seems to be that Jayden Daniels is healthy and driven to show that he can be the dynamic QB we saw in 2024. They feel the roster is better than 2024, when the team went 12-5 and reached the NFC title game. No one thinks they will win 12 games, but there is a belief the team could finish with a winning record.

Washington has two new coordinators and both are doing this for the first time at the NFL level. There are new schemes on offense and defense. The team has already dealt with some injuries, most notably LT Laremy Tunsil. The team didn’t have great depth to begin with and that will start to be really tested as the season goes along. The defense was dead last in yards allowed last year and didn’t make significant upgrades. They added some talented pieces, but I don’t know that they did enough to become a Top 20 defense. Does the offense have enough firepower to win a bunch of shootouts?

Basically all this optimism is about Daniels. He sure looked like a special talent as a rookie. He is healthy once again, but that doesn’t guarantee that he’ll have the same level of success. We’ve seen plenty of QBs have a big year and then not match that level in the future. This season will tell us a lot about Daniels.

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Focus on Hurts

Posted September 11th, 2026 | No Comments »

Let’s talk about Jalen Hurts as we head into Sunday’s season opener. He is entering his sixth season as the Eagles starting QB. He’s got a pair of Super Bowl appearances and one Lombardi on his resume. He has led the team to the playoffs in each of his first five seasons. Hurts has his share of things to work on, but he is a proven winner.

Hurts is looking to show people he can play well in the Eagles new offensive scheme so this will be an interesting season. He’s not resting on his laurels. He heard a lot of doubts over the past year and is very driven to prove his critics wrong. Some question him, but others think he’ll do well in the new offense.

I hope people are patient with Hurts. Think about what we saw in the first two games of the year. Matt Stafford and Drake Maye, who finished first and second in the MVP voting last year, both struggled and lost their season openers. They combined to throw 1 TD and 4 INTs. Their teams combined to score a total of 17 points. To be brutally frank, Stafford and Maye stunk.

We have to wait until Sunday to see Hurts in action. If you need a fix before then, the team put out a 20-minute video focused on the offense at Training Camp.

There is some good stuff in that video. You can see Hurts working with Dontayvion Wicks and Makai Lemon. He’s got a good relationship with DeVonta Smith and is working on that angle with the new guys.

One advantage that Hurts will have is that I expect the Eagles to lean heavily into the run game. They will want to feed the ball to Saquon Barkley, who has posted big numbers against Washington over the past two years. Hurts and the receivers will need to do their part, but won’t be the focus of the offense. The great thing about Hurts is that he doesn’t care about stats. He’s comfortable throwing 15 passes or 30. He just wants to win. Hurts will do whatever that takes, especially after all the negative comments he had to hear in the offseason. Style points are nice, but coming away with the W is the real key.

It is probably good that Hurts and the coaches got to see the first two games of the season. There are always lessons to be learned from watching other teams. Seeing the Rams and Patriots struggle will keep Hurts focused and from being overconfident.

Sirianni and Hurts are 5-0 in openers so they obviously do a good job of being prepared in those games and handlings things well.

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The Rams have a loaded roster and are still a SB favorite, but the opening game showed how silly some of the hype has been. As good as they are, that roster does have some holes and some issues.

Dan Orlovsky had some interesting comments about the Rams defense.

They struggled in the opener but also going back to last year. They have given up 27 or more points in 7 of the last 10 games. Not good for all the talent they had last season and this year. That could prove to be a legit concern going forward. By comparison, the Eagles gave up 27 or more points just once in all of 2025 (the embarrassing loss to the Giants).

Maybe the Rams will play much better next time out and make this a non-issue. Or maybe not. This is definitely something to watch.

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For anyone who needs a refresher on the Eagles offseason, Jimmy Bama has you covered.

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