The Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles wrapped up their practices for the week on Saturday, as the pair are set to face off on Monday Night Football. We have received the final injury reports from both teams and have news on who will and will not be playing on Monday.
For the Falcons, the big news was that linebacker Nate Landman was ruled out for Monday night due to his calf and quad injuries. We hope he recovers soon, as Landman was very solid in Week 1. Additionally, corner Antonio Hamilton Sr. will miss his second consecutive game due to a groin issue.
We learned on Sunday that Eagles’ wide receiver A.J. Brown, who missed Saturday’s practice with a hamstring injury, has been ruled out for Monday night against the Falcons. Expect to see more Devonta Smith tomorrow night.
Falcons Injuries
Landman had a quad injury late in the preseason but played in the season opener. He saw action on 54 percent of the defensive snaps and had a crucial fourth-and-one stop in the fourth quarter.
Landman, though, also now has a calf injury and did not participate in practice this week.
The Falcons have only rookie JD Bertrand behind starters Kaden Elliss and Troy Andersen and do not have a true inside linebacker on the practice squad. They did workout veteran linebackers Kwon Alexander, Rashaan Evans and Josh Woods on Friday.
Hamilton will miss his second consecutive game with a groin injury as he returned to limited practices Friday and Saturday.
Offensive tackle Kaleb McGary (groin) and running back Jase McClellan (knee) were full participants Saturday and neither has a designation.
Eagles Injuries
The Philadelphia Eagles issued their first official injury report on Thursday in advance of their Week 2 game against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football.
The Eagles listed one player under LIMITED PARTICIPATION: Milton Williams.
Williams is dealing with a foot injury. It’s currently unclear if he’s in serious jeopardy of missing Monday’s game. If Williams can’t play, the Eagles have five healthy defensive tackles on the roster: Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo, Thomas Booker IV, and Byron Young. Ojomo in particular could see more playing time if Williams isn’t able to suit up.
The Eagles listed two players under FULL PARTICIPATION: Devin White and Isaiah Rodgers.
White missed Week 1 due to suffering an ankle injury in practice leading up to Friday’s game. With Nick Sirianni and Vic Fangio confirming that Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun are the Eagles’ starting linebackers, it’s unclear exactly what White’s role will be. Does he see snaps in a rotational capacity? Is he only playing if there’s an injury to Dean or Baun? Is he even active if he’s not providing special teams value (he’s averaged 3 ST snaps per game over his career)? We will see on Monday.
Rodgers fully practiced for the first time since a teammate accidentally broke his hand during the Eagles’ final training camp practice. After recovering from surgery, Rodgers appears ready to play. The question is: how does he fit in? Heading into Week 1, it seemed like Rodgers would come in to play on the outside with Quinyon Mitchell shifting to the slot in nickel packages. But the Eagles might just want to keep Mitchell on the outside. If that’s the case, it could be Avonte Maddox in the slot again with Mitchell mostly serving as a depth player. Again, we’ll just have to wait and see. (Side note: Rodgers could also be in consideration as a kick returner.)
Williams (foot) was a full participant in Saturday's practice and carries no injury designation ahead of Monday's game against Atlanta.
Williams popped up on the Eagles' injury report Thursday due to a foot injury. After logging back-to-back limited practices, he participated without restrictions Saturday and will suit up for Monday's contest. The 2021 third-round pick played 29 snaps (24 on defense, five on special teams) and recorded one tackle in the Eagles' Week 1 win over the Packers.
The A.J. Brown Injury
The Eagles had their moments defensively in Week 1, notably Zack Baun’s huge night as both an interior backer and pass rusher. Nakobe Dean will continue to start at middle linebacker ahead of veteran Devin White. And with Isaiah Rodgers set to return from the hand injury that kept him out Week 1, how the cornerback rotation shakes out with rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, who’s off to a slow start to his NFL career, bears watching.
Brown’s hamstring tightened up during Friday’s practice, per head coach Nick Sirianni, and the team backed him off for precautionary reasons. He was held out of Saturday’s practice, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday that the star wide out will miss Monday night's game. It's a major blow to the Eagles passing game, which will now run through Smith, Barkley and tight end Dallas Goedert.
What to Watch for in Week 2
Looking to avoid an 0-2 start — with the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs on deck — the Falcons enter Monday’s game at the Linc about as desperate as an NFL team can be this early in the season. They’ll need a much better performance from quarterback Kirk Cousins, who was essentially a sitting duck for Pittsburgh’s pass rushers in the Falcons’ 18-10 loss to the Steelers in Week 1.
Looking to start 2-0 for the third consecutive season, Philly will be looking to build off of what was a solid debut for new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. With No. 1 wide receiver A.J. Brown dealing with a hamstring issue, DeVonta Smith will look to continue being a catalyst for QB Jalen Hurts. All eyes, of course, will be on running back Saquon Barkley as well after he crushed his Eagles debut with three touchdowns in the team’s 34-29 win over the Green Bay Packers in Brazil.
The Falcons defense just handled mobile quarterback Justin Fields last week. Now, it has another scrambler in quarterback Jalen Hurts ahead on Monday.
The Falcons and Eagles will kick off at 8:15 p.m. Monday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
