Cincinnati @ Philadelphia preview
Lincoln Financial Field
Last Meeting ( Dec 4, 2016 ) Philadelphia 14, Cincinnati 32
The Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals will have the ignominious distinction as being the only two winless teams to play each other in Week 3 when they tangle Sunday in Philadelphia.
The scuffling Eagles have dropped their first two games -- 27-17 on the road against the Washington Football Team and 37-19 at home against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Bengals lost their opener to the Los Angeles Chargers at home and fell to intrastate rival Cleveland in Week 2, 35-30.
Philadelphia, which has reached the playoffs each of the past three seasons, winning the Super Bowl following the 2017 campaign, has struggled with turnovers and injuries at the outset.
Quarterback Carson Wentz has produced more interceptions (four) than touchdown passes (two) and will be playing behind an already battered offensive line that lost starting left guard Isaac Seumalo this week.
"It's OK to be frustrated," Wentz said. "It's OK to be a little ticked off. But you watch the tape and you move on. And so for me, it's another week. It's on to the next one."
Wentz was sacked eight times in Week 1 and had better protection against the Rams yet made some questionable throws. Wentz's accuracy (58.8 percent) also has been inconsistent, especially downfield.
"They're not layups," said Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, who appeared testy during Wednesday's Zoom interview.
"There ain't a throw out here that's a layup. And so, some of it is just timing with young guys, some of it is just Carson just being not accurate at that particular time. It could be that there's a defensive guy that finished a hand where he's gotta change his arm angle at a split second. There's all kinds of reasons for accuracy and these are things that we continue to work on and will continue to work on the entire season."
Right tackle Lane Johnson (ankle) and running back Miles Sanders (hamstring) played against the Rams and are expected to be available again for the Bengals. Johnson was limited in practice Wednesday.
But wide receiver Jalen Reagor, the team's first-round pick, will be out with a thumb injury. Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox (abdomen) also was a DNP on Wednesday.
The Bengals were dreadful last season, finishing 2-14 overall and 0-8 on the road.
They drafted quarterback Joe Burrow No. 1 overall after he won a national championship at LSU. Though winless, the Bengals finally landed their franchise quarterback.
The Bengals' two losses have been by a combined eight points.
Burrow was terrific against the Browns with a 37-for-61 performance for 316 yards and three touchdowns. The 61 passes were two shy of tying a league rookie mark set by Chris Weinke.
More than the 61 throws, Burrow has looked poised with a team that is very much a work-in-progress.
"I'll throw the ball zero times. I'll throw it 100 times," Burrow said. "It doesn't matter to me. We just gotta start winning games."
The Bengals have had a strong chance to win each of their first two games, which gives them confidence heading into Week 3.
"I think I took a big step personally in the last game," Burrow said. "I felt super comfortable back there. We took some steps on that day towards the right direction."
The Bengals' offensive line has struggled at times through the first two games and they're also missing tight end C.J. Uzomah, who's lost for the season with a torn right Achilles.
Additionally, defensive tackles Geno Atkins (shoulder) and Mike Daniels (groin) missed last week's game against the Browns. It's unclear whether they'll play against the Eagles but both were non-participants in Wednesday's practice.
--Field Level Media