Eagles Notes: Knee injury puts Jason Kelce’s streak in jeopardy

The Eagles have their fingers crossed that they’ll still have two of their most critical components on offense next week.

Center Jason Kelce sat out a chunk of the 13-7 loss to the Giants Sunday at MetLife Stadium, an opponent stepping on his foot and locking the knee. The impact on the offense was profound.

Replacement Nate Herbig promptly committed a holding penalty, wiping out a significant run by Jalen Hurts and disturbing the momentum of the offense in the first quarter. Another Herbig holding penalty later in the frame wiped out a 21-yard scoring run by Boston Scott.

Kelce had to lobby Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and the medical staff to get back on the field with less than seven minutes to go in the third quarter. He’ll be reevaluated Monday and almost certainly be asked to undergo an MRI on the knee.

Kelce, 34, started his 117th consecutive game, tops among active players. That streak could be in danger.

Hurts also was banged up, as he rolled an ankle although he wasn’t certain when that happened.

“We got it taped up,” Sirianni said of Hurts. “We’ll evaluate that and see what’s going on right there. He was a little bit hobbled at the end of the game.”

It was a busy Sunday in the medical tent for the Eagles. Right guard Jack Driscoll limped off the field with an ankle issue in the final minute of the third quarter. Herbig replaced him next to Kelce.

Also, in the third quarter running back Miles Sanders aggravated a foot and ankle injury. He returned late in the frame and finished with nine carries for 54 yards, but with the game on the line the Eagles rolled with Scott, who had 15 rushes for 64 yards, including the only touchdown. Scott also fumbled the ball away with 1:34 remaining.

“Miles had the foot, and I think he had one more carry,” Sirianni said. “I’ve got to get more information. I haven’t met with the medical staff. But I thought Boston was carrying the ball well. We have to be able to protect the football. That’s been our success and our formula playing efficient offense is protect the football, be efficient in the run game and efficient in the play action. We didn’t do two out of the three of them. But Miles wasn’t in that particular case right there because we felt Boston was going good and Miles was a little bit dinged.”

The loss of Kelce was much more dramatic. When he returned, so did a semblance of order to the offense that outgained the Giants, 332-264, but turned the ball over four times. The Giants had zero giveaways.

“Just a tenacious dude, man,” Scott said. “He’s the embodiment of this team, he’s the embodiment in my opinion of Philadelphia. Just gritty, nasty. You might knock him down but he’s going to get right back up. He’s definitely a big-time leader.”

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Scott notched his 11th career TD Sunday, and his seventh against the Giants.

All Scott will remember, though, is getting stripped by Dexter Lawrence, with Julian Love recovering at the Giants’ 38-yard line with 1:34 remaining, the Eagles trailing by six points.

“He made a big play and I didn’t resort to my fundamentals and it resulted in a critical turnover,” Scott said. “I take full responsibility. I take that on the chin. I just got greedy. I saw the green, my eyes got big … Just lost my fundamentals.”

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Temple University product Chris Myarick, a graduate of Cheltenham High, caught his first professional scoring pass, a one-yarder giving the Giants a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.

Myarick, who later had a 10-yard catch for a critical first down, blocked down on defensive end Derek Barnett from his tight end position, leaked into the end zone and cradled Daniel Jones’ throw between his thigh pad and hand. Myarick had to regain his feet after falling on the lengthier catch, one in which Jones hit him on a scramble.

Myarick got some more playing time because the Giants were short injured tight ends Kyle Rudolph and Kaden Smith.

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NOTES >>> The Eagles averaged 34.5 points in their previous four games, only to be shutdown by the opportunistic Giants. The Eagles trailed, 10-0, at the half, the first time they haven’t scored in the first half this season … The Eagles rushed for 208 yards. In the past five games, they’re averaging 215.6 yards on the ground. It was the third straight game the Eagles have gone over the 200-yard mark. The last time that happened was in the ground-and-pound days of 1978 … Counting the getaway game between the teams last season, the Giants have won two straight in the series with the Eagles. It’s their first win streak versus the Birds since winning three in a row in 2008 … Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave got his seventh sack of the season, a career-high … Linebacker Alex Singleton registered a team-high 12 tackles, including three for loss and a pass breakup in place of the injured Davion Taylor.