By Paul Bowman, Eagledelphia Managing Editor
The Eagles offensive line is disarray. With both starting tackles suffering injuries, the birds brought in reserve tackle Halapouilivaati Vaitai in to play left tackle and moved starting left guard Isaac Seumalo over to right tackle while backup guard Stefan Wisniewski filled in at left guard again. While Johnson’s high-ankle injury was never thought to be too serious, there was more concern with the bicep injury Jason Peters suffered.
The Eagles believe that the injury is one that he can play through. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network confirmed that today.
#Eagles LT Jason Peters is believed to have suffered a torn bicep, though he told reporters post-game he was OK. I’m told doctors are optimistic that he’ll be able to keep playing, though the MRI is pending.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 12, 2018
The Eagles line has been very good at running the ball up the middle but has struggled mightily in pass protection. That is in large part due to Johnson and Peters being unable to give Wentz the time he needs.
A bright spot for the Eagles is that the line played just fine without the two starters. Once Peters left the game, the whole line began to improve and there was not an issue following Johnson leaving the game as the Eagles looked to run out the clock.
Make no mistake, however, Peters is a Hall of Famer and will get the chance to play, especially with Johnson being injured and the reserves of the offensive line already being tested. It is a chance he deserves after being the top ranked offensive tackle through week six last season. Pro Football Focus had him graded 86.9 overall at that time and there is little reason to believe he could not be that effective again if he can cope with his injuries. That could be a big if with the injuries piling up, however.