AJ Brown’s Absence Should Unleash Eagles’ Saquon Barkley
The Philadelphia Eagles are preparing for their second matchup against the New York Giants in three weeks.
New York was able to pull off the upset in Week 6, but the Eagles took a step back in the right direction in Week 7 and now will welcome one of its biggest rivals to Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon. The biggest news of the week was the Eagles losing AJ Brown for the matchup due to a hamstring injury.
While this is the case, the Eagles' offense should still be able to get the ball moving and it should start with Saquon Barkley. If there ever was a time for Barkley to get it going, it would be on Sunday. Last year, much was made about Barkley coming over to Philadelphia after spending the beginning of his career with the Giants. That's not as big of a talking point this year, but Sunday actually will be the first time he faces his old team as a member of the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
Week 8 should be Saquon Barkley's day to shine
The Eagles obviously faced the Giants twice last year, but Barkley and the starters were rested for the Week 18 matchup at home. On the road, Barkley was brilliant against his old team finishing the matchup with 176 rushing yards on 17 carries to go along with a touchdown.
This season hasn't gone as planned for Barkley. He has 369 total rushing yards in seven games to go along with three rushing touchdowns. In comparison, Barkley had 326 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the three games that Brown missed early on last year from Week 2 through Week 4. He averaged 6.7 yards per rush with Brown out, in comparison to 3.3 rushes per attempt this year.
With Brown set to miss Week 8, the Eagles need to turn to the running game more. Barkley had 18 carries for 44 yards last week, 12 rushes for 58 yards the week before against the Giants, and six carries for 30 yards against the Denver Broncos.
Although it's unfortunate that Brown is out, Barkley had success when he was out last year and there's some added theatrics to the matchup as it's Barkley's first matchup at home against the Giants as a member of the Eagles and Philadelphia is looking for revenge. With that being said, if there was a time to think Barkley could breakout, it would be this week.
Lions Fans Brace for a Quiet Deadline Despite Playoff Push
The Detroit Lions are in a comfortable position after a 24-9 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football that moved them to 5-2. Detroit has looked like the class of the NFC, and a well-timed bye week will give them some much-needed rest and allow some injured players like Kerby Joseph, Terrion Arnold, D.J. Reed, and Marcus Davenport time to recover.
And as the NFL trade deadline approaches, it naturally begs the question of whether the Lions will make a move to bolster their roster as they gear up for a run at the NFC North title and potentially a top seed in the conference.
The Lions made a splash at last year's deadline, acquiring pass rusher Za'Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns for a fifth- and sixth-round pick. Detroit was in dire need of pass-rush help after Aidan Hutchinson and Davenport were both lost for the year with injuries, and Smith wound up being a productive player for them.
The Lions have had similar injury problems on defense this year, most notably suiting up against Tampa Bay with both starting cornerbacks and safeties out. But those injuries aren't considered as long-term as the ones that plagued their front seven last year.
"The good news is that we are going to start to get a lot of players back," head coach Dan Campbell said. "You are going to see players start to come back over the next month, so that is encouraging."
"While we are only getting better and better, we are going to start getting some of our players back, too."
All of those secondary players are expected to return relatively soon. Arnold has already returned to practice, Brian Branch was suspended, Reed is eligible to return from injured reserve in Week 10, and Joseph's knee injury has been nagging him but is not considered long-term.
The Lions are also expected to get back linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez from a torn ACL relatively soon, as well as Davenport.
Lions don't desperately need to make a big move at the NFL trade deadline
All of that to say, the Lions probably don't feel like they need to make a move this deadline the same way they did last year.
They have virtually zero needs on the offensive side of the ball, and their main defensive holes will be addressed once players return from injury. And after their backup secondary put up a fantastic performance on Monday night, they've got to be feeling pretty good about their depth anyway.
The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported that Detroit has been "making calls, looking for an edge rusher," but said in the same report that this deadline is expected to be relatively quiet, especially compared to last year.
While there remains as much of a market as ever for good players, Russini reported that an NFL coach said there aren't enough teams willing to part with theirs.
And if Detroit really does want to add an edge rusher, their options appear limited in terms of high-end talent. The Las Vegas Raiders have reportedly already told Michigan native Maxx Crosby they aren't trading him, and the Cincinnati Bengals aren't expected to move Trey Hendrickson since they believe they can make a run in the second half.
Miami's Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips, Tennessee's Arden Key, and the Jets' Jermaine Johnson have all been floated as potential options. But Chubb is on a big contract lasting until 2027 that the Lions likely won't want to pay, and Johnson is a former first-rounder still on his rookie contract. It would be a surprise to see New York move him anywhere.
Phillips and Key are the most realistic options for Detroit, since they're both on expiring contracts and play for teams that are likely to go through something of a fire sale, or as close to one as you can get in the NFL.
But the Lions don't own their third-round pick in 2026, and so the value of their fourth- and fifth-rounders becomes a lot more intriguing. They could go all-in on this season and give up one or both of those picks, but it would leave Brad Holmes with limited draft capital, which is something the Lions have always prioritized.
Detroit is unlikely to make a big splash at the deadline. If they do, it will likely be a pass rusher. But they're returning a litany of key players from injury at the bye week, and that might be what they view as a de facto deadline. The defense's health isn't nearly as much of an emergency as it was this time a year ago.
