Anyone got any scotch tape? They could use some down in Washington.
Sure, Washington is still in first place in the NFC East, but they got spanked by the Falcons this weekend and now have some injury to add to that insult. And this is all good news for the Eagles.
Head coach Jay Gruden on Monday announced that three starters need surgery and are done for the season:
- RG Brandon Scherff (torn pec)
- LG Shawn Lauvao (ACL)
- WR Paul Richardson (AC joint)
On top of those injuries, Washington was already without Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams, who needed thumb surgery and missed the Falcons game.
Without Scherff and Williams, they're without their two Pro Bowl offensive linemen and Lauvao, who had been playing at a pretty high level too.
That means Washington is now down to just two healthy starters on the offensive line for at least a few more weeks. Yikes. All they have left are center Chase Roullier and right tackle Morgan Moses. And even Moses got hurt in the game.
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After announcing the injuries, Washington went out and signed three free agent offensive linemen: G Luke Bowanko, G John Cooper and T Austin Howard. Signing three linemen off the street in November isn't exactly ideal.
And then, in addition to Richardson, Washington is also without Jamison Crowder (ankle) and Chris Thompson (ribs). Both missed the Atlanta game.
With a 5-3 record, Washington still has a nice lead over the Eagles (4-4) in the division, but its playoff chances certainly took a huge hit on Monday.
Add that to the fact that the Eagles have a chance to get some of their injured players back - guys like Tim Jernigan, Darren Sproles and maybe even Mike Wallace - and it looks like things are starting to trend upward for the Eagles and downward for the the leaders of the division.
With two head-to-head matchups between the two still left on the schedule, the Eagles ought to have a chance to get back in this race and win it.
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