Welcome to The Linc, the daily Philadelphia Eagles links roundup at Bleeding Green Nation!
Dontayvion Wicks (AKA Don Wick AKA Donny Candles) has been a pretty good pickup; he’s looking like a real solid WR2 to pair with DeVonta Smith as WR1. Seems to me like Smitty and Makai Lemon missing a lot of time in training camp really helped Jalen Hurts foster a better connection with Wicks since that was often his top option to throw to. Good job by Howie Roseman to trade for Wicks on the cheap (two Day 3
draft picks) and sign him to an extension to keep him under team control through 2027.
Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles news and links …
Cam Jurgens’ fit, Dontayvion Wicks’ emergence, Zach Ertz’s role: Eagles thoughts – The Athletic
The passing game has exceeded what I expected, and the wide receivers are quieting any external concerns. Dontayvion Wicks is validating the summer optimism. One point I made frequently this offseason was that the Eagles didn’t need to replace A.J. Brown; DeVonta Smith could handle that No. 1 role. They needed to replace Smith as the No. 2 option. Wicks is showcasing why the Eagles thought he was an under-the-radar steal when they acquired him via trade and signed him to a contract extension. Wicks has caught seven of 10 targets for 147 yards. All seven of his receptions have resulted in first downs or touchdowns. His average depth of target has been 15.7 yards. Three of his receptions have traveled over 20 yards in the air. Four of his five receptions Sunday were on third down, and two were for third-and-12 conversions. Hurts trusts him. Wicks runs precise routes. He makes difficult catches. Wicks and Smith have combined for 20 catches for 317 yards through two games. That’s more yards than in any of the first two games Brown and Smith played together. This doesn’t mean the Eagles have a duo like Brown and Smith, but it’s a formidable combination.
Eagles-Titans Film Review: A very good offense is hiding in here – BGN
The Eagles won 24-20, and I came away feeling much better about the passing game than I did after Week 1. The Eagles found answers against the Titans’ coverage, attacked the weaknesses I flagged in my preview (which is always great to see), and repeatedly converted third-and-long. However, the offense cannot keep making life this difficult for itself. The Eagles went 11-of-18 on third down, which is an absurd 61.1% conversion rate. That’s why they sustained drives despite averaging only 4.7 yards per play, turning the ball over twice and rushing for 89 yards on 32 attempts. Winning on third down is obviously good. Needing Hurts to repeatedly deliver elite throws on third-and-long isn’t a sustainable offensive identity. The early-down numbers are wild. I mean, come on…
Chicago Bears Injury News: Tyson Bagent in concussion protocol – Windy City Gridiron
If Williams and Bagent can’t go, look for 38-year-old Case Keenum to get the start. Keenum last played in a regular-season game on Christmas Eve, 2023, when he started for the Houston Texans. He was 11 of 17 for 62 yards and 2 interceptions before giving way to Davis Mills in the fourth quarter. Chicago also has undrafted free agent Miller Moss on the practice squad, who would likely be elevated to back up Keenum.
Game Review – PHI 24, TEN 20 – Iggles Blitz
All the WRs contributed in this game. Dontayvion Wicks went 5-74, with several catches coming on 3rd or 4th down. He did a good job of getting open and catching the ball when it came his way. He had a drop on the final drive, but it was only going to be for a couple of yards so the team was better off that he didn’t catch that. Darius Cooper was 2-26 and caught the game-winning TD. He had a chance for another good gain, but the pass was just a bit too far out front. Hollywood Brown had 2 runs for 12 yards. Makai Lemon caught 1 pass for 14 yards. He also had 1 run for -5 yards, a pass behind the LOS. Really good game from the WR corps.
The Winners and Losers of the NFL Week 2 – The Ringer
Every Eagles game becomes a national referendum on how much credit belongs to Hurts and how much belongs to everything surrounding him. But right now, there are real problems for Philadelphia to solve. The offensive line hasn’t played well in the first two weeks. The early-down offense has created far too many difficult third-down situations. Vic Fangio’s defense has struggled throughout both second halves and allowed Cam Ward to play one of the best games of his career on Sunday. But after an offseason spent discussing how much talent the Eagles have assembled around their quarterback, they are 2-0 because of him. He was the one who finished that shit, and he got to tell that to Simmons’s face.
Evaluating surprise early-season trends for 32 NFL teams – ESPN
The early surprise: The defense has generated zero takeaways. The verdict: Mirage. The Eagles ranked sixth in opponent turnovers (47) over the past two seasons under defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, and they should see their fortunes turn in the near future. They’ll get a boost in the pass-rushing department when their splash offseason acquisition, Jonathan Greenard, returns from his pec injury. “Super, super close,” Greenard said last week. Do-it-all defensive back Cooper DeJean has been dealing with calf and abdomen injuries, as well; the healthier he gets, the more dangerous that back end becomes.
Does Zach Ertz still have the juice to contribute to the Eagles? Here’s what the film — and history — says – Inquirer
While Ertz still can thrive as a receiver, he does not bring much as a blocker, an area where the Eagles have struggled through two weeks. Much of his time in Washington was spent as a detached slot receiver on run-pass option plays or as a lead blocker on the perimeter for zone-read runs with Jayden Daniels. He has not had an in-line blocking role for the majority of his career, and that is unlikely to change in this reunion. But with Goedert missing time, Ertz’s contributions as a pass catcher seemed to be what the Eagles are seeking in the franchise legend.
10 reasons to be optimistic about the Eagles’ defense – NBCSP
Pass defense: Not everything has gone well so far, but the Eagles’ pass defense has been elite. The Eagles have only allowed 166 passing yards per game, 4th-fewest in the league, and they’ve held opposing quarterbacks to 57.4 percent completion percentage, also 4th-lowest in the league. They’ve only allowed two passing touchdowns, tied for 6th-fewest in the league. And they’ve allowed only six total plays of 20 yards or more, 10th-fewest in the league through two games. This is a passing league and the Eagles are built to stop the pass.
2026 NFL offensive line rankings: Falcons rise, Patriots tumble following injury – PFF
4) PHILADELPHIA EAGLES. The injury to Landon Dickerson forced some shuffling on the Eagles’ offensive line, with Cam Jurgens moving from center to left guard and Drew Kendall coming in to replace him in the middle of the offensive line. The results weren’t great for either player, with both earning sub-50.0 PFF grades against the Tennessee Titans. Lane Johnson was the team’s best pass-blocker, producing a 97.7% PFF pass-block win rate. There is clearly still a lot of talent on this offensive line, but how Jurgens and Kendall perform this week will be key.
Spadaro: Jalen Hurts, Eagles do what it takes to win – PhiladelphiaEagles.com
This has been, as all parties said from the very start, a collaborative project. Sean Mannion was hired as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator and brought with him a new scheme that required everyone to buy in, make progress on a daily basis, and understand the “why” in his approach. It wasn’t just about Mannion and quarterback Jalen Hurts, although the two understood the importance of “great communication,” as Mannion said, and being “joined at the hip,” as Hurts said. It was about the new-look wide receiver room working together to create a dynamic passing game, the offensive line learning a new approach up front with coach Chris Kuper, the tight ends and running backs knowing that they would play a large part in the creativity and execution of the vision created by Mannion and Head Coach Nick Sirianni, who said often that the Eagles would continue to incorporate “what worked well for us in the past.” It was a process, and the Eagles introduced it slowly and steadily to the players, so that by the time the world of Eagles fans first heard from Mannion, a strong bond had been made and improvement was visible to the team.
Eagles tailgating: What to know about new parking rules coming for oversized vehicles outside Linc – 6ABC
Tailgating is a Philadelphia tradition, but fans who bring an RV, bus or trailer to Eagles games will soon face new parking rules and higher costs. The Sports Complex Parking Venture is changing its oversized vehicle parking policy beginning Oct. 4, when the Eagles host the Los Angeles Rams. The changes apply only to Eagles home games. Under the new policy, oversized vehicles will be directed to designated parking areas by lot attendants outside Lincoln Financial Field. Those areas will be in Lot D and the upper section of Lot N.
Falcons poach CB Robert Longerbeam from Eagles practice squad – The Falcoholic
Longerbeam is unlikely to play much in Week 3, but gives Atlanta a developmental option with some real upside. The former Rutgers cornerback was a playmaker in college who flashed real coverage skills and boasts quality physicality, but isn’t the biggest corner and missed all of the 2025 season with an injury after the Ravens drafted him in the sixth round in the 2025 NFL Draft. Baltimore risked waiving him after a quality summer and lost him to the Eagles, and now the Falcons will get a closer look at him.
Jaxson Dart injury: NY Giants’ QB could miss the remainder of the 2026 season – Big Blue View
The Giants were looking like a potential playoff contender after Dart completed 23 of 29 for 230 yards and 3 touchdowns while also running 11 times for 54 yards in a season-opening 28-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Now, the Giants are looking at having Jameis Winston at quarterback for the remainder of the season. The Giants have quarterback Jake Haener on their practice. They could bring back Brandon Allen, who was let go when rosters were trimmed to 53 players, as a third quarterback, or look elsewhere.
Cowboys offense provides fireworks while the defense is still a little leaky – Blogging The Boys
The defense struggled mightily to bring the quarterback down. The pressure was inconsistent, sometimes getting close, other times allowing the quarterback to have all day. In every instance, they could never quite finish the play with a sack. Even knowing it is a strength of Washington’s offense, the front seven failed to keep the quarterback in the pocket. The QB kept eluding defenders and churning out big gains on the ground. Watching the game closely, there were some instances where Daniels was very decisive and very fast, and sometimes you have to just recognize the other team has great players too, so it wasn’t as egregious as it initially appeared. It’s still something to be mindful of. While last week the defense was burned by designed runs, on Sunday it came from pure improvisation because the defense was not equipped to make stops in space. The good news is the team will be moving to a stretch of games against quarterbacks with far less mobility soon. The bad news is they have Lamar Jackson coming up next, so it might get a little worse before it gets better.
What Washington Commanders will get from Marcus Mariota – Hogs Haven
The Commanders can be a functional and winning football team with Mariota. As he said after the loss to Dallas, he can work with this scheme. “With as much experience as I’ve had, I feel comfortable,” Mariota told on-site reporters. “We’ve got a great crew. Those guys didn’t blink at all, and I thought we did a good job of moving the ball in the second half. But yeah, I feel confident. I feel comfortable. I really like what Coach Blough is doing. I believe in this system and we’ll get this thing right.” Washington needs to stack some victories and do it now after starting 0-2 on the season and within the division. We’ll see when Daniels can return. The Commanders must hold serve until he does. A lot of the responsibility for that falls on Mariota, someone we all know well and someone we know can be a functional quarterback and produce wins that the Commanders need. Desperately.
Ranking NFL’s 0-2 teams by chances to actually make the playoffs – SB Nation
6) Washington Commanders. It was tough to watch Jayden Daniels dislocate his left elbow again in Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Dan Quinn said the team will rally around backup Marcus Mariota, and the veteran does give Washington a fighting chance each week. But with games coming up against Seattle, Indianapolis, the Giants, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and the Rams, Daniels going down comes ahead of a rather tough stretch of games. Maybe Washington steals a game or two, but even that would mean overcoming a 2-6 start which seems like too high of a hill to climb.
Colts Worked Out Three WRs Including Quez Watkins – NFL Trade Rumors
Quez Watkins, 28, is a former sixth-round pick by the Eagles in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Southern Mississippi. He finished out the final year of his four-year, $3.5 million contract with the Eagles.
Detroit Lions poach rookie safety off Steelers practice squad – Pride Of Detroit
The Detroit Lions have signed defensive back Bishop Fitzgerald off of the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad and onto their 53-man roster. To make move for the Fitzgerald, the Lions have released [former Eagles] veteran linebacker Joe Bachie. Lions coach Dan Campbell telegraphed this move on Monday, noting that the team needed both a shakeup in the secondary and some help at safety after Avonte Maddox suffered a season-ending foot injury [Note: Maddox is now officially on IR]. Earlier in the week, the Lions signed veteran Jalen Mills to their practice squad.
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