The NFL’s Week 6 setup leaves Philadelphia in a brutal spot.
The Eagles are back from London and have to turn around quickly for a home game against the Carolina Panthers, who are coming out of their bye week with extra rest and extra prep time. That combination has been a disaster every other time the league has seen it. This is only the fifth instance of a team coming off an international game facing a club coming off a bye, and the four teams in the same position before Philadelphia all lost.
That history alone makes this an awkward draw. Add in Philadelphia’s current state, and it gets even uglier.
The Eagles entered Week 6 at 2-3 after dropping three straight, including a 19-17 loss to Jacksonville in London. Philadelphia had the lead late in that game before the Jaguars sealed it with a walk-off field goal, sending the Eagles home with another tough defeat.
They’re also not walking into Sunday anywhere close to full strength. Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith have both been dealing with hamstring injuries, and the offensive line has been in flux.
The Panthers pointed out that Philadelphia has changed three starting offensive linemen from Week 1, and Barkley along with backup running back Tank Bigsby were unavailable against Jacksonville. On top of that, the official injury report showed Barkley and Smith did not practice Thursday.
So the Eagles are trying to recover from international travel, sort through injuries, and stop a losing streak - all while their opponent has spent the week resting and preparing.
That’s exactly the kind of scheduling edge the NFL usually tries to avoid. The league has historically given teams coming off international games a bye afterward, but that approach has changed as bye-week flexibility has increased.
NFL vice president of broadcast planning Mike North has previously said international travel is now more routine and teams can often get back to their facilities quickly after games overseas. Still, the toll of the trip doesn’t just vanish because the flight home is smoother.
Carolina enters the matchup at 2-2 and comes in rested, with the Panthers also ranking near the top of the NFL offensively in several categories, while Philadelphia has struggled to consistently move the ball.
The Eagles will get their chance Sunday, and they do at least have home field. But the setup is obvious: one team is fresh, prepared, and waiting, while the other is trying to recover from London. And in this exact spot before, the team coming off the international trip is 0-4.
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For Carolina, the distinction between its best player and its most indispensable one matters. Young may be playing at the highest level overall, but Lloyds importance on defense gives the Panthers a different kind of value, one tied less to highlights than to the steady presence that keeps the whole side from wobbling. If the defense is going to stay afloat, it is hard to imagine doing it without him. [Read more 🡒]