Eagles avoid serious injuries to Jason Kelce, Steven Nelson heading into late bye week

The Eagles escaped Sunday’s win against the New York Jets without any serious injuries, coach Nick Sirianni said Monday.

The Eagles’ coach said the team got “good, positive news” about Jason Kelce after the veteran center left the 33-18 win early with an apparent leg injury and was seen after the game in a walking boot.

“Obviously everybody holds their breath when something like that happens with Jason,” Sirianni said.

“We’re hopeful that after the bye he’ll be ready to go.”

Sirianni also said starting cornerback Steven Nelson (shoulder) and reserve linebacker Patrick Johnson (back) should make quick recoveries after they left the Jets game early.

The Eagles started their bye week Monday, but Sirianni expects Kelce, Nelson, Johnson, and Jordan Howard to all have a chance to return for the team’s next game on Dec. 19 against the Washington Football Team.

Howard has missed the last two games with a knee injury suffered against the New Orleans Saints in Week 11. He has emerged as an integral part of the team’s running game after starting the season on the practice squad.

“We’re hopeful,” Sirianni said. “We know that his rehab is progressing and he’s doing better each day.”

The only player Sirianni wasn’t ready to give a rough timetable for was right guard Brandon Brooks. The 32-year-old has been sidelined with a pectoral injury since Week 2, and the coach hasn’t had much new information in the last few weeks, instead saying the team will know more after the bye week.

Although the Eagles offense had a good deal of success against the Jets on Sunday, DeVonta Smith had a limited role for the second straight week.

The first-round rookie receiver was on the field for just 62% of the Eagles’ offensive snaps, his lowest percentage of the season. Jalen Reagor and Quez Watkins both played more than Smith, who leads the team with 50 catches and 701 receiving yards.

When asked why Smith was on the sideline so much, Sirianni said it had nothing to do with an injury, but rather specific personnel packages.

“We were running some good things out of 13-personnel,” Sirianni said. “We were having some success in the run game and in the play-action game. With who we wanted in there in 13-personnel and what we were asking them do in 13-personnel, that was Reagor. Reagor got a lot of those snaps. That’s just the way it went.

“I’m not going to apologize. We didn’t punt until the last series of the game.”

After a promising three-game stretch in November, Smith has been quiet the last two games, although that might not be entirely his fault. He has two catches in each of the last two games, managing 15 yards against the Jets and 22 against the New York Giants the week before.

Against the Giants, Smith implored Sirianni to call his number on a decisive fourth down late in the game. The play was called for him, and he got open, but Jalen Hurts threw to Reagor instead. The result of the play frustrated Smith so much, he threw his helmet on the sideline after running off the field.