JUST IN: Eagles’ five questions to address coming out of bye week

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Because the Philadelphia Eagles are on bye in Week 10, there is nothing to watch on Sunday.

However, there is plenty to watch in the NFC East, with the Dallas Cowboys hosting the New York Giants, the Washington Commanders, who haven’t mailed it in despite trading their top two pass rushers, hosting the Seattle Seahawks, and the Detroit Lions (6-2) visiting the Los Angeles Chargers in an attempt to keep pace with Philadelphia for the top NFC playoff seed.

Three of the league’s top teams are off this weekend. The Eagles will be joined by the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins. The Los Angeles Rams are also off the field.

The Eagles will also provide plenty to watch over the next two months. There will be eight more regular-season games before the postseason, assuming the Eagles can seal the deal, which there is no reason to believe they won’t.

Here are five questions to answer over the next eight minutes.

The knee of Jalen Hurts. The two weeks between games will be beneficial, but will it be sufficient? Will the knee ever be fully recovered this season? Does it make a difference?

Hurts’ game has evolved as a result of his knee injury. Whereas some thought he was regressing earlier in the season, I believe he is maturing into a pocket passer, and we are seeing that.

Hurts appears to have figured it out, as he has a career-high completion percentage close to 69 percent, including three straight games with a completion percentage of 73 percent or higher.

In addition, despite an injured knee, he leads the NFL in rushing first downs with 39.

A.J. Brown’s blistering pace. The receiver had the best first half in Eagles and league history, but can he keep it up? There’s no reason to doubt him.

His six straight games with 125-plus receiving yards set an NFL record, and his 1,005 yards receiving make him the fastest Eagles player to reach the 1,000-yard mark.

If Brown stays healthy, he will break Philly’s single-season receiving yardage record for the second year in a row. He had 1,496 last year. He should finish close to 2,000 meters this year.

Roby, Bradley. Can the veteran slot cornerback provide consistency to the position? There has been a revolving door there. Since backup Zech McPhearson was lost for the season this summer, which was followed by Avonte Maddox’s season-ending injury. Roby, 31, was signed to the practice squad on October 4. He was eventually promoted to the active roster, but he has missed the last three games due to a shoulder injury. He is expected to play against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs the following week.

Carter, Jalen. As the Eagles look to clinch the NFC’s top seed in the playoffs for the second year in a row, the question is whether the rookie defensive tackle can win Defensive Rookie of the Year. If he does, he will be the first Eagles player to receive the award.

Carter has been the most impactful rookie on the defensive side of the ball, and watching him is a joy. The best part is that he will only get better, and his development will continue for the duration of the season.

Nakobe Dean and Dallas Goedert. Can the Eagles survive and thrive in their absence?

Tight end and linebacker were two key losses in the win over the Dallas Cowboys before the bye week.

Goedert broke his forearm and will be out for at least a month. He missed five games last season due to a shoulder injury, but the Eagles went 5-0, so that’s good news.

Dean’s situation is a little more complicated. He has a Lisfranc sprain, which typically takes six to eight weeks to heal. Dean has added depth to his position despite not playing as well as Zach Cunningham and Nick Morrow. Keep an eye out for anything that happens to Cunningham or Morrow.