Welcome to The Linc, the daily Philadelphia Eagles links roundup at Bleeding Green Nation!
Two of Dontayvion Wicks’ top six games in terms of receiving yards have come since joining the Eagles. So far, Donny Candles is excelling in a bigger role than the one he had with the Green Bay Packers. Did you draft him for your fantasy team?
Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles news and links …
NFL Week 3 predictions: Upsets, fantasy sleepers, stat lines – ESPN
Moody predicts three fantasy sleepers — Dontayvion
Wicks, WR, Philadelphia Eagles (rostered in 37.5% of ESPN leagues). Wicks has emerged as Philadelphia’s No. 2 receiver with at least four targets and 12 fantasy points in back-to-back games. He caught 5 of 6 targets for 74 yards in Tennessee last week, and he could see even more opportunities against Chicago since TE Dallas Goedert is out with an MCL sprain. The Bears have allowed the ninth-most passing yards per game this season.
Week 3 fantasy sleepers: Jets QB Geno Smith, Eagles WR Dontayvion Wicks offer upside – NFL.com
Wicks has been a pleasant surprise for Philadelphia, trailing only DeVonta Smith in targets, catches and yards. Two of his seven highest-scoring games ever have been his first two games of 2026. His 2.8 yards per route leads all Eagles wide receivers and ranks seventh among WRs with at least 50 routes this season. His 14.7 yards per target leads all wide receivers with at least 10 targets. More than anything, Wicks has been a big-play weapon with four explosive plays (20+ yards) this season. On Monday night, he will face a Bears defense allowing the league’s fourth-highest explosive pass rate (22.4%). Wicks should be heavily involved in the offense, especially if Saquon Barkley can’t go due to his stinger injury.
Eagles Injury Report: Good news on DeVonta Smith and Saquon Barkley – BGN
The Eagles listed two player under DID NOT PARTICIPATE: Dallas Goedert and Hollywood Brown. Goedert is expected to miss multiple games after suffering a knee injury in Week 2. The Eagles reportedly will NOT place Goedert on injured reserve, which suggests they’re expecting him to miss three games at most since putting him on IR would require him to miss at least four. With Goedert out, the Eagles will be relying on the trio of Zach Ertz, Johnny Mundt, and E.J. Jenkins at tight end. It’s not exactly clear how the snaps will shake out. Brown is a new addition to the report. He missed Friday’s session due to an ankle injury. Brown was active for Week 1 but did not play any snaps. He saw a few designed touches on offense in Week 2. Now he’s in jeopardy of being ruled out for Week 3.
Eagles at Bears Q&A: Can Ben Johnson best Vic Fangio? – Windy City Gridiron
The Chicago Bears welcome the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football for the first of several Chicago Bears primetime games in 2026. The Bears will almost certainly be without star quarterback Caleb Williams, and there isn’t even certainty whether it will be Tyson Bagent (concussion) or Case Keenum starting for the Bears on Monday. The Bears have several things in flux, but what situation are the 2-0 Philadelphia Eagles in? To find out more about their opponent, we sat down with Brandon Gowton from Bleeding Green Nation, SB Nation’s Eagles site, to find out a little bit more about what the Bears are going up against on Monday. Here’s that conversation:
NFC East Mixtape Vol. 192: Cowboys in Brazil, Eagles on MNF, NYG/WAS moving forward – NFC East Mixtape
A new week is upon us and this is a big one for the NFC East. The New York Giants and Washington Commanders are each set to navigate life without their starting quarterbacks… how possible is that really for them? Monday will see the Philadelphia Eagles visit the Chicago Bears who are also down their starter in all likelihood which should make for an opportunity to get to 3-0. The Dallas Cowboys are out of the country this week hosting the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil and to get the full Baltimore perspective NFC East Mixtape Alumna Raichele Privette joins on the audio side! RJ Ochoa and Brandon Lee Gowton get into it all! You can see that we have a BRAND NEW NFC East Mixtape YouTube Channel so make sure to subscribe as the show will live here exclusively in video format. AND you can also listen to the show! On Blogging The Boys and/or Bleeding Green Nation podcast feeds as well as the SB Nation NFL Show feed!
Four Vertz: Will Zach Ertz be Jalen Hurts’ new favorite target on his favorite play? – PHLY Eagles
Zach Ertz is back and ready to make an impact while Jalen Hurts was in a reflective mood about the Eagles’ win in Tennessee as they turn the page to Monday night’s showdown with the Chicago Bears as Ertz tried to help replace Dallas Goedert and Sean Mannion tries to get the running game unstuck. Deniz Selman and Brandon Lee Gowton join Bo Wulf to discuss the matchup before EJ Smith checks in with news and notes from the Eagles’ facility.
Eagles notebook: Zach Ertz ’embraces’ mentorship role with Eli Stowers; Jake Elliott weighs in on Harry Kane’s NFL pursuits – PHLY Eagles
I’d be remiss if I didn’t take advantage of the international soccer world’s intersection with the NFL this week, so I asked Jake Elliott about The Athletic’s report that Harry Kane is hoping to finish his decorated playing both in Major League Soccer and as a kicker in the NFL. For those unaware, Kane is a 33-year-old soccer player from England, one of the best strikers of his generation and currently playing for Bayern Munich, one of the world’s biggest clubs. He probably has the power to compete against NFL specialists, but surely becoming one of the 32 best kickers available to the NFL is more complicated than that? “I think he has a shot,” Elliott told PHLY. “He’s obviously an incredibly unique talent. I think there’s going to be a unique learning curve as well. It’s so hard to say.” Elliott said Kane’s biggest challenge will probably be mastering the technique of kicking a football on a high trajectory rather than driving the ball on a line. The 31-year-old Eagles kicker said goalkeepers typically have an easier time switching from soccer to football because of the difference in technique, and even those players often take a few years to fully groove the motion.
Enemy Intel – The Bears – Iggles Blitz
Rome Odunze and Luther Burden are the key receivers. Burden is very dangerous after the catch. Odunze is averaging 19.0 yards per reception on the year. The Bears have an excellent group of TEs. Colston Loveland is the star. He only has one catch so far this season, but he is a big time talent. Cole Kmet is very good as well and Sam Roush gives them a good #3 TE. Coach Ben Johnson is going to be pissed off that his team only scored 3 points last week. He will be driven to show the rest of the league that the Bears can win without Williams as the QB. Expect a creative gameplan. Expect the unexpected. Chicago will need to score points because their defense isn’t great. DE Montez Sweat is the best pass rusher. DT Grady Jarrett can be disruptive, but he’s banged up right now. Devin Bush and TJ Edwards are the LBs. Neither guy is filling up the stat sheet so far this year. They have combined for 15 tackles, 1 TFL and 1 PD. Rookie safety Dillon Thieneman leads the team with 17 tackles. He has a good combination of size and speed. Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson are the corners. Stevenson is second on the team with 14 tackles. He is dealing with a hamstring injury. If Stevenson is out, there could be a shuffle in the secondary.
Bears ST coach says Eagles are violating intent of the rule by using holder on kickoffs – PFT
Hightower said he believes the NFL could make a change now requiring that the ball is placed in a tee if there’s a holder on a kickoff, and that the change wouldn’t need to wait until the offseason. “That’s the intent of the rule and what we want to have happen, so that’s the way it should be, and that’s the way we’d like it going forward,” Hightower said. There’s precedent for the NFL making such a change during the season: In 2022, the Raiders were using a holder on kickoffs to place the ball on top of the tee, rather than in the tee, something the NFL initially allowed — only to change course during the season and ban it. Hightower wants to see the NFL do the same thing with the Eagles’ tactic.
The thing that has to change for Eagles defense without pressing – NBCSP
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio earlier this week summed up one of the biggest issues with the 2026 Eagles defense so far with just two words. “We’re due,” Fangio said. They don’t have a single takeaway yet. It might not sound like a big deal because it has only been two games. But the Eagles are one of just three teams in the NFL without a takeaway through two weeks and the others — the Texans and Commanders — are both 0-2. The Eagles are 2-0 and it’s hard to get there without forcing a turnover. In fact, the Eagles are just the fifth team in NFL history to begin a season with a 2-0 record despite not having a takeaway, joining the 1984 49ers, 1998 Broncos, 2016 Giants and 2025 Buccaneers. So the Eagles need to start getting some takeaways. But they have to do it within the flow of the game. They can’t force it. “We have to tackle and not miss tackles because we’re trying to go for the ball,” Fangio said. “That bugs me.”
Spadaro: Game Preview at Bears, 6 storylines to follow – PhiladelphiaEagles.com
Rising up against the run. Chicago runs the football as well as any team in the league. The Bears invested in the offensive line, they’ve got a good rotation in the backfield, and they bring it with the running game. In the Week 1 win over Carolina, Chicago rushed for 291 yards. D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai are a terrific 1-2 punch – Swift has 169 rushing yards and Monangai has 147 rushing yards – so if the Eagles can win at the line of scrimmage and in the box, it will be huge. Philadelphia remembers the game from the 2025 season when the Bears had success on the ground in a 24-15 win at Lincoln Financial Field.
Catching Up with Former Player Rep: Reno Mahe – NFLPA
Reno Mahe was a standout Running Back and Wide Receiver for the BYU Cougars before carving out his role with the Philadelphia Eagles. During his time in the league, Mahe was also an NFLPA Player Rep, serving as a voice for those around him. We caught up with Reno and he gave us insight into his life during and after football.
NY Giants-Tennessee Titans injuries: Andrew Thomas will play; Brian Burns uncertain – Big Blue View
Three Giants are questionable: Brian Burns — The edge defender and defensive captain did not practice all week due to an ankle injury. Media on hand Friday saw Burns work some on the side with trainers. It seems unlikely he will play. Deonte Banks — The cornerback missed Monday’s game against the Rams with a calf injury. he has been listed as a limited practice participant all week. Tyler Nubin — The starting safety has a calf injury. Like Banks, he was listed as limited all week.
Cowboys vs Ravens: 3 causes for concern in Brazil – Blogging The Boys
1) Baltimore’s Rushing Attack. Two games into the 2026 regular season, Dallas’ defense has been dreadful against the run. The Cowboys have allowed the third-most rushing yards (347) and fifth-worst Y/A (5.0), along with the third-worst defensive rush success rate (48.3%). It hasn’t just been traditional running backs who have caused Dallas trouble on the ground; they’ve also allowed opposing quarterbacks to run wild. In their two games, the Cowboys have allowed 126 rushing yards to opposing QBs on 19 rush attempts, an average of 6.6 Y/A. If that trend continues this week, the Cowboys will have no shot at walking out of Brazil with a win. You could argue the Ravens have the best rushing attack in the league. Both Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson are premier rushing threats, and their complementary style of power and speed makes them a perfect duo. Both players have gotten off to excellent starts this season. Henry is second in the league with 212 rushing yards, averaging over five yards (5.3) per carry, and leads all running backs with four rushing touchdowns. While Jackson has done plenty of damage through the air, he’s also been very effective on the ground, rushing for 74 yards on 11 carries, an average of 7.4 Y/A, to go with a rushing touchdown.
Commanders vs. Seahawks Friday injury report: Sam Cosmi among five ruled out – Hogs Haven
The Commanders ruled safety Nick Cross (internal/illness) and quarterback Jayden Daniels (elbow) out of Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks almost a week ago now. There was at least some hope that more key players could recover in time to face the Super Bowl champs. It’s now official that linebacker Frankie Luvu (groin), tight end Chig Okonkwo (hamstring) and right guard Sam Cosmi (concussion) won’t be available. The Commanders official injury report has all five of those players ruled out, but no players listed as questionable. LB Leo Chenal was the only player not ruled out who was still limited at today’s practice. Defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw had missed practice earlier in the week, but was full-go on Friday and did not receive a designation.
The Packers stink, and Tucker Kraft yelling at fans only makes it more embarrassing – SB Nation
The Packers’ performance was so pathetic that the home fans let them hear it. Lambeau Field booed the Packers during the fourth quarter, there were even scant “ATL” chants being heard in the stands. After the game, Green Bay tight end Tucker Kraft chastised the fans who booed the home players. This whole quote is a big yikes.
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