By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
The Eagles enter this week with a normal amount of rest and hopefully that will lead to a complete game rather than the incredibly slow starts of the past two weeks as the Eagles look for the chance to lock up a playoff spot.
The Birds will be fairly healthy after Derek Barnett, the last high-impact player on the COVID list, cleared protocols on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Washington was unable to activate star running back Antonio Gibson from the COVID list. They still have seven other players on the virus list, including elite punter Tress Way and starting offensive linemen Sam Cosmi and Ereck Flowers.
Washington will also be without their offensive line coach due to the virus, so that could compound the OL issues.
Injury Report
Eagles
Out
LB Shaun Bradley
Bradley was in a fender bender over the New Year’s holiday and will be held out for precautionary reasons, though no serious injury has been thought to have occurred.
RB Miles Sanders
Sanders was ruled out Monday. That’s not good news. The team is not sure when he will be able to return but does not plan to place him on IR, a move that is a bit questionable given there are just two regular season games left and the Birds have yet to clinch a spot in the playoffs. The run game has proven effective even without Sanders.
Questionable
RB Jordan Howard
Howard suffered a stinger last week and while the Eagles have been effective with Boston Scott as the ball carrier, they have used Gainwell sparingly and there are no other running backs on the 53-man roster should another injury occur. The re-signing of Kerryon Johnson earlier this week could become a major move for the Eagles should they deem Howard not healthy enough to play. Maybe the team even considers elevating Johnson in the hopes that Howard doesn’t have to play and is fully healthy when they return him.
Update: Reports are that Jordan Howard will be able to play.
Eagles’ running back Jordan Howard, listed as questionable for Sunday due to a stinger, is expected to play vs. the WFT, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 2, 2022
Washington
Out
CB William Jackson III
Jackson III is Washington’s second-best corner and as such would start the game if he were healthy. Darryl Roberts, who has spent the last five seasons as a part-time starter for the lowly Jets and Lions, will likely start in his stead. This should help the Eagles passing game, particularly if they look to get Quez Watkins really involved this week.
Questionable
DE Montez Sweat
Sweat has been effective from a turnovers standpoint having forced three fumbles, but he has just five sacks and 24 tackles, which is certainly not at the level that one would hope for a first-round edge rusher on a line stacked with first-round picks. That said, he did miss five games earlier in the season.
WR Curtis Samuel
Samuel is a name many fans may recognize, but he has been a bust in his tenure with Washington. He has played more than a handful of snaps just four times this season and has only six receptions for 27 yards. The team is more than able to work around his absence at this point.
DE James Smith-Williams
When Sweat missed time earlier in the season, it was Smith Williams who stepped into a larger role. He went from playing around 30% of defensive snaps to playing 75% and starting. In the five games he’s played since then (he’s missed time due to COVID), he has two half sacks and 15 tackles of his own. That’s some solid production, but Smith-Williams has asthma which has made the COVID situation and ramping back up more difficult.
