PHILADELPHIA – And you thought a confounding 32-21 setback to the Washington Commanders was bad.
The Eagles’ first loss of the season was far more costly than a blemish in the standings. Philadelphia is going to lose star tight end Dallas Goedert for an extended period of time with a shoulder injury, according to the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Goedert, one of the NFL’s most explosive tight ends, is third on the Eagles with 43 receptions for 544 yards and three touchdowns. He was injured on a blown call in the fourth quarter when the officials missed an obvious facemask from Jamin Davis resulting in a fumble, a possession lost for the Eagles, three points for Washington, and now the injury.
While there are blown calls every week in the NFL few have the butterfly effect of Davis’ missed foul on Goedert.
GTFOH WITH THESE REFS pic.twitter.com/WCkeTBhggp
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) November 15, 2022
“We didn’t see a face mask on the field,” referee Alex Kemp admitted to PFWA pool reporter Zach Berman. “As far as the review, we were reviewing whether he was down by contact or whether it was a fumble and then whether the Washington player who recovered the ball was also down by contact.”
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni took the high road after the game when asked about the play and the fumble which was actually forced by defensive tackle John Ridgeway.
“We have to have better ball security there,” Sirianni said. “We take a lot of pride in the way we protect the football. We were obviously loose with it there, that’s how they got it out. The defense did a nice job of stopping them there, so we held them to three.
“Whether it was a face mask or whether it wasn’t a face mask, it’s hard for them to see at that time. I get it. We have to protect the ball better, and we didn’t do a good job of that all game. We were loose with the football, and it came out and they got it.”
Jack Stoll is technically the TE2 for Philadelphia but the Nebraska product is more blocker than receiver leaving it up to rookie Grant Calcaterra or developmental prospect Tyree Jackson to handle the role of primary pass-catching tight end for Jalen Hurts while Goedert is sidelined. Stoll has four receptions for 49 yards on the season while Calcaterra has one catch for 40 yards.
Jackson, who tore his ACL in Week 18 last season, had his practice window started two weeks ago and the Eagles have until Wednesday to put the former University of Buffalo quarterback on the 53-man roster, something that is now virtually assured with Goedert set to miss time.
The full extent of Goedert’s injury is not yet known but the hope is that it’s not a season-ender.
