The Eagles’ 2026 season has gone off the rails, but a handful of former Philly players are making noise elsewhere - and in a few cases, they’re making the Eagles’ offseason decisions look even worse.
At 2-6, Philadelphia is staring at playoff elimination and trying to piece things back together. The depth issues are obvious, and the players who left the building are starting to tell their own story. After Week 8, that story includes one receiver breaking loose in a rainstorm, a lineman getting exposed in a blowout, and a pair of defenders piling up tackles at a ridiculous rate.
Jahan Dotson delivered the biggest flash of the weekend in a muddy, rain-soaked game between the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The weather wrecked the passing game, and Tampa Bay won 16-0 with not much air traffic to speak of.
Still, Dotson found a way to leave his mark. He turned a short catch into a 76-yard gain, the longest play in the game by a mile.
He finished with two receptions for a season-high 95 yards. Through this point in the year, Dotson has 14 catches for 337 yards and two touchdowns, and he’s averaging 24.1 yards per catch with four grabs of 30 yards or more. After two rough seasons in Philadelphia, he looks like he might be putting together the best year of his career.
Cam Jurgens, meanwhile, had a rough afternoon in Baltimore’s 36-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills. His start with the Ravens had already been quiet as he worked back from a concussion, but the Bills made sure his return didn’t stay under the radar. Jurgens gave up five pressures and one sack in the blowout.
For the season, he has allowed 17 pressures, two quarterback hits, and two sacks in 219 pass-blocking snaps, along with four penalties. From the Eagles’ perspective, that trade keeps looking better.
Nakobe Dean is on the other end of the spectrum in Las Vegas. The Raiders snapped a four-game losing streak with a tight win over the New York Jets, and Dean was all over the field with 12 tackles and one tackle for loss.
That kind of production is becoming routine. He’s now posted 12 tackles in five of his last six games, and he’s pushing toward what looks like a career season. For Philadelphia, losing him in free agency is starting to sting.
Alex Singleton is doing even bigger numbers in Denver. The Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs in a four-point divisional win, and Singleton was right in the middle of it with 14 tackles and one sack.
He already has 101 tackles in eight games, which is a staggering pace. The NFL record for tackles in a season is 214, and Singleton still has nine games left to chase it.
Jaelan Phillips’ season is on hold again. He has missed the last two games for the Carolina Panthers with a hamstring injury, and his status for Week 9 against the Broncos is still uncertain.
Phillips has 2.5 sacks this season and has flashed at times, but Carolina is waiting for him to get back on the field. The Panthers made a $120 million investment in him, and with injuries piling up around the roster, they need him back soon.
In Other News...
Eagles Ugly Start Is Putting Their Biggest Investments Under The Microscope
The Eagles six-game skid has done more than sink the season into a 2-6 hole. It has turned the spotlight onto the players the front office is counting on most, especially the expensive additions and extensions meant to anchor the roster for years to come. With a playoff run looking increasingly out of reach, every snap is being viewed through a longer lens, and the early returns have raised real questions about whether the teams biggest investments are tracking the way they should.
Jonathan Greenard, Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter all sit at the center of that conversation, along with rookie Markel Bell, whose development matters in a different but still important way. Injuries, inconsistency and uneven production have made it harder to separate temporary struggles from deeper concerns, and the Eagles now have to sort out which problems are just part of a bad stretch and which ones could shape the rosters future well beyond this season. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Hurts Just Gave Eagles Fans A Reason To Hope
Jalen Hurts has been out of action after being placed on injured reserve because of blood clots in his lungs, but his presence around the Eagles this week offered a small lift for a team trying to keep its footing without its quarterback. Reports said Hurts was at the practice facility and involved in team meetings, a reminder that even while he is sidelined, he still remains a visible part of the operation.
Nick Sirianni confirmed he has stayed in communication with Hurts, though he did not have any fresh medical update to share. For an organization and fan base looking for any encouraging sign, Hurts being around the team was enough to matter, even if the bigger questions about his recovery are still unanswered. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Hurts' Absence Is Settling A Debate Eagles Fans Know Well
Jalen Hurts has spent years settling one of the Eagles most familiar arguments, and his latest absence has only sharpened it. The starting quarterback and 2025 Super Bowl MVP has built a 62-35 career record while guiding Philadelphia to two Super Bowl appearances, with one title to show for it, and the difference when he is not on the field has been hard to miss.
With Hurts sidelined by health issues, the Eagles offense has struggled to function with the same rhythm and reliability. For a team built around his command of the system and his ability to keep the whole operation moving, the current stretch is a reminder of just how much of Philadelphias recent success has been tied to No. 1 under center. [Read more 🡒]