Thanks to the incompetency from Washington and Dallas in the early window of games on Sunday, the Eagles will take the field on Sunday Night Football with first place in the NFC East on the line. They will need every single player to step up their game in order to come up with their first victory of the season, but here are five players in particular fans should pay attention to this evening:
Jordan Mailata
Mailata will get his first career start at left tackle tonight. A solid preseason in 2018 (his first real football action) resulted in some hype generated around him. We'll find out tonight if he can develop into a starting left tackle in the NFL, or if he plays like the 7th rounder with limited football experience. A solid game could give the Eagles another option behind Andre Dillard if Dillard doesn't develop into anything special.
Greg Ward
Ward is the only wide receiver playing tonight that was on the initial 53-man roster to start the season (even if J.J. Arcega-Whiteside plays tonight I'm not considering him an actual wide receiver). The 25-year-old had eight receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown last week against the Bengals, so it'll be interesting to watch if he can duplicate those kinds of numbers while being the only formidable receiver on the field.
Derek Barnett
The former first-round pick registered his first two sacks of the season last week. The entire season will be important for Barnett, as he is trying to play for a new contract while trying to keep his snaps from being taken by Josh Sweat. He needs to keep up the solid play, and tonight he will have to contribute to keeping Nick Mullens uncomfortable, or else the Eagles defense could get into some trouble.
Nate Gerry
The only word to describe Gerry's season so far is "awful". All three games this season opposing offenses have picked on him and it has cost the Eagles dearly. Tonight he will need to pick up his play in order to help the Birds end up in first place in the NFC East. Even just mundane play from him could help the Eagles churn out a victory.
Cre'Von LeBlanc
With Avonte Maddox and Trevon Williams both out the Eagles are down to just three true corners -- Darius Slay, Nickell Robey-Coleman, and Cre'Von LeBlanc. Since NRC was the starting slot corner to start the season, it's likely that LeBlanc will need to kick outside. He'll have to stay healthy for all 60 minutes tonight while also performing strong to keep the offense from attacking him. "Strap" will have to earn his nickname with a national audience watching him.
