Injuries ran wild in the NFL in Week 6. Several marquee players went down with injuries that appear to be more significant than most teams would like. Knee injuries plagued some of the best offensive performers, putting teams in a state of flux wondering how to solve the holes created. The Philadelphia Eagles are coming off a nice win against the division opponent, but a knee injury to an offensive star could hurt their long-term outlook.
In the fourth quarter of the Eagles shutout win over the New York Giants, Darren Sproles went down with a knee injury. He was taken to the sidelines where the training staff was checking the stability of both his MCL and ACL. According to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com noted that the team is concerned about the health of the running back and intend to run tests this week to find out the issue. Sproles stressed to reporters following the game that he was fine and not to worry, but Mosher believes this could be an MCL injury, leaving the dynamic back out for a few weeks.
If that is true, the loss of Sproles would be a blow to the offensive plan for Chip Kelly and company. So far this season, Sproles has 211 rushing yards while averaging 6.6 yards per carry. He is an excellent change-of-pace running back that has helped make some big plays for the Eagles throughout the start of the season. Without Sproles, the Eagles have a real issue at depth at the running back position. Curtis Polk is the only other back on the roster and he was inactive on Sunday. Tight end Trey Burton took handoffs at the spot, but the pressure would be on LeSean McCoy to step up.
McCoy has struggled with consistency this season despite declaring himself the best running back in the league during the preseaosn. Sunday was his first 100-yard game of the year with 149 yards, but he only has one touchdown on the season. The offensive line can be blamed for some of that while the success of Sproles is also playing a part. With all of he handoffs now going to McCoy, it should help his numbers.
