November 20, 2023
Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports
Chiefs LB Nick Bolton won't play on Sunday against the Eagles.
Fresh off each of their byes in Week 10, the Eagles and Chiefs will face off in a rematch of Super Bowl LVII in Kansas City Week 11. The Eagles will be getting a couple of starters back from injury, while the Chiefs are a very healthy team at this juncture of the season.
Here are the Eagles' and Chiefs' inactives, with analysis.
• TE Dallas Goedert: Goedert is third on the team in receiving, behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Through nine games, he has 38 catches for 410 yards and 2 TDs. His season began slowly, as he had just 13 catches for 88 yards and no TDs in the Eagles' first four games. However, over the last five games, his production picked up, as he had 25 catches for 322 yards and 2 TDs. With Goedert out likely for an extended period of time, the Eagles' new starting tight end will likely be Jack Stoll, a good blocker, but a near nonfactor in the passing game. The Eagles also have Grant Calcaterra and Albert Okwuegbunam, who are better receivers than they are blockers, but again, do not have Goedert's ability on any level.
• RB Rashaad Penny: Penny dressed Week 9 against the Cowboys, and he even got two carries, but he is down again with Boston Scott returning to the lineup.
• DE Derek Barnett: Barnett was ruled out with a personal issue on Sunday. He likely would've been inactive anyway.
• DT Moro Ojomo: The Eagles are rolling with five interior defensive linemen.
• iOL Sua Opeta: With Cam Jurgens back up, Opeta is down.
• CB Avonte Maddox: Maddox had surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle. His season is likely over. The oft-injured Maddox missed games at three different junctures during the season in 2022, and was only able to play in two games in 2023. He also missed three games in 2018, four games in 2019, and six games in 2020. He is one of the best slot corners in the NFL when healthy, but it seems there will always be durability concerns. Slot corner is a position where the Eagles had already lost depth, as backup Zech McPhearson tore his Achilles during the Eagles' preseason game against the Browns. The Eagles have had a different plan in the slot pretty much every week since Maddox went down.
• LB Nakobe Dean: Entering the 2023 season, Dean was the clear No. 1 linebacker on the roster, as the team was counting on him to take on a much bigger role than what he had as a rookie in 2022. That has not gone to plan, as he landed on injured reserve after suffering a foot injury Week 1 against the Patriots. He returned Week 6 and played in four games before again suffering a foot injury that will likely land him on injured reserve for a second time this season. When he has played, Dean has been fine as a run defender and as a tackler (PFF has him down for 0 missed tackles), but he has struggled in coverage. PFF has him down for 13 completions on 14 targets for 120 yards.
Zach Cunningham has been the Eagles' best linebacker so far this season, as he has been a physical presence in the middle of the defense. Nicholas Morrow has also had his moments, notably in the Eagles' overtime win against the Commanders, when he had three sacks.
• S Justin Evans: Evans was the Eagles' choice to start opposite Reed Blankenship, as he beat out Terrell Edmunds and Sydney Brown during training camp for that opportunity. He started four games for the Eagles earlier this season, and when healthy, has been competent. However, he has a long history of injuries, missing 43 games from 2017-2022 (not including the 2021 season, when he was not on an NFL roster). Evans is eligible to come off of IR at any time. Of course, he lost his starting job when the Eagles traded for Kevin Byard, but he should give the Eagles some added depth on the back end.
• WR Quez Watkins: Watkins has battled hamstring injuries this season, and only has 4 catches for 21 yards in 3 games played. In the Eagles' win over the Rams, Watkins had a chance to pick up a key first down but instead ran directly into a defender who easily rode Watkins out of bounds. That play continued a common theme of Watkins failing to make a play when an opportunity was there. The Eagles have since signed Julio Jones, and they also have Olamide Zaccheaus. Watkins is eligible to come off of IR at any time.
No surprises for the Chiefs.
Here are our inactives for MNF against the Eagles. pic.twitter.com/IymodytQbX
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) November 20, 2023
• LB Nick Bolton (IR): Bolton finished second in the NFL with 180 tackles in 2022. He missed three games earlier this season with a sprained ankle, but returned to the field before dislocating his wrist Week 7 against the Chargers. He is on IR and is expected to miss two months. You may remember Bolton from this play in the Super Bowl (don't actually watch this):
CHIEFS TIE IT BACK UP WITH A SCOOP AND SCORE
— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2023
📺: #SBLVII on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/d8gBDzRt2m pic.twitter.com/3uHVnyCwfW
Drue Tranquill has filled in for Bolton when Bolton has been out. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they will not have Dallas Goedert to capitalize on that potential matchup advantage.
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