Eagles news: Nick Foles questions team's 'culture'; Injury updates for Saquon and others; Birds stay in prime time

Nick Foles usually only has glowing things to say publicly about the Eagles, but after the team's fifth straight loss Monday night, the 2018 Super Bowl MVP had some choice words for his former franchise, going so far as to question the culture within the organization.

On his podcast, The SZN, Foles pointed to the dismissal of Jeff Stoutland as one of the moments he knew there would be problems.

“There is dysfunction in Philly," Foles said, before acknowledging that he was going to make headlines by questioning his ex-team. "... It was little things that got me. It wasn’t necessarily the execution that got me. It was the culture things. Because culture, we've had a lot of guests on, and the number one thing isn’t scheme, it's not a fancy coordinator, it's not fancy capris or shoes or whatever you do. It’s culture. In Philadelphia, for the better of the past couple decades, it's had a really good culture. Something is changing, I don't know what it is. [Actually] I'll tell you what it is. When they got rid of Jeff Stoutland, that really pissed me off. And I knew something bad was going to happen because that guy is such a great coach and he means so much to that organization. And for him not to get the respect that he deserves and everything go the way it did, that frustrates me."

The Eagles are taking the "prime" out of prime time.

The Birds (2-5) will face the Washington Commanders (1-4-1) this week on NBC's Sunday Night Football after the NFL opted against swapping out the lackluster game. It's one of at least five standalone games the remaining on the Eagles' schedule this season.

Some — such as a Thanksgiving matchup against the Dallas Cowboys (3-4) in Week 12 and a late Saturday afternoon game vs. the Seattle Seahawks (4-3) in Week 15 on Dec. 19 — can’t be moved.

The 2-5 Indianapolis Colts are sellers as they sent eight-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-rounder, according to multiple reporters.

Will the 2-5 Eagles follow suit?

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported the Eagles were "among teams that showed varying levels of interest" in acquiring Nelson, who is on an expiring contract. But it's unclear how much interest Howie Roseman truly had in trying to improve the team before the trade deadline, and if that interest came before or after the Eagles' loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

There are certainly bigger issues with the Eagles, but Nick Sirianni ruffled the feathers of some WIP hosts by gum chewing after losing to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football.

Speaking to reporters, microphones caught every chomp and slurp Sirianni made while discussing the loss. At one point, it sounded like he popped a bubble.

WIP midday host Joe Giglio called it "disrespectful" for Sirianni to be chewing gum after his team lost by 17 points on national television.

The performance of the Eagles’ defensive line vs. the Cowboys on Monday night wasn’t a sudden failure. The unit has been unraveling for some time.

Howie Roseman built its core through the first round of the draft and has since handed out massive extensions to defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis.

Both have been a significant part of the Eagles’ recent success and both may end up justifying Roseman’s confidence in their futures. But the early returns on the contracts that Carter ($152 million) and Davis ($78 million) signed in the offseason suggest that hubris might have prevented the general manager from realizing his mistake.

Before the game, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones revealed a secret weapon that protected him from Eagles fans in Philly throughout the years.

“I used to bring Father Tribou,” Jones said during an interview on Monday Night Countdown. He was referring to the late Msgr. George Tribou, a Jenkintown native who served as the principal and rector of the Catholic school Jones’ children attended in Little Rock, Ark.

“I’d walk through the stands with the protection of the father,” Jones said. “That still didn’t deter the reaction” of Eagles fans.

Here’s the bad news for the Eagles: They dropped their fifth game in a row with a 38-21 loss to the rival Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football.

Here’s the good: They finally got a decent showing from rookie first-round pick Makai Lemon.

Lemon put up his best performance of the season, catching seven passes for 67 yards and scoring his first career touchdown.

Following Monday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys, two Eagles starters — Jalen Carter and Riq Woolen — declined to speak to reporters.

"Y'all have a good night and drive home safe," Carter said, the third straight game he's declined to speak with reporters, according to The Inquirer's Jeff McLane.

That didn't sit well with former Eagles defender Brandon Graham.

Despite losing five straight games, the Eagles (2-5) will remain in primetime one more week.

The Birds will face the Washington Commanders (1-4-1) at Northwest Stadium on NBC's Sunday Night Football in Week 8, a matchup that isn't exactly "must-see TV" for one of the NFL's most-watched broadcast windows.

Even though early-season flexes are rare, the NFL seriously considered moving Eagles-Commanders — and their combined three wins — off NBC. But in the end the NFL opted against the move because in theory both teams could've been playing for first place in the NFC East in Week 8.

"Playoffs? Playoffs?!"

As former Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Mora would say, the 2-5 Eagles need to win a game before thinking about the playoffs. But the chances of making a sixth straight postseason berth just got a lot more difficult.

In the Super Bowl era, just 12 teams have started 2-5 and made the playoffs, according to Fox. The Eagles currently have a 5% chance to make the postseason, according to The Athletic's playoff simulator.

Tanner McKee made his second start, but first since Jalen Hurts was shut down for the season after blood clots were discovered in his lungs.

Should he have the job the rest of the way? His performance against Dallas suggests that maybe he should be on a short leash.

McKee completed 23 of 35 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown. But he threw a costly late interception and is often a sitting duck in the pocket.