What’s going on with the Eagles’ injuries at center?

The Philadelphia Eagles’ center situation took multiple twists and turns from warmups throughout the NFC Championship Game against the Washington Commanders. Now, it’ll be a position to watch as the Eagles are headed to their second Super Bowl in three years. 

Eagles Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens was active for Sunday’s game but didn’t start due to a back injury. Left guard Landon Dickerson started in Jurgens’ place at center. However, he suffered a knee injury in the first half that caused him to depart the game at the start of the second half. 

So, the Eagles turned back to the hampered Jurgens to start at center when they got the ball to open the second half. Dickerson was deemed as questionable to return.

“I was talking to (Eagles coach) Nick Sirianni coming out of the half. He, of course, wouldn’t tell me what was going on with Landon Dickerson,” FOX Sports’ Erin Andrews said on the broadcast. “I said, ‘He’s a tough guy.’ He said, ‘He is a tough guy. We have a lot of those. You’ll find out.'”

Dickerson has been one of the best guards over the last few seasons, but he had only played a handful of snaps at center in his four years in the NFL before his start on Sunday. Additionally, Jalen Hurts had only taken very few snaps from anyone not named Jason Kelce or Jurgens prior to Sunday’s game. Tyler Steen started at left guard in place of Dickerson.

In the first half, Dickerson and the Eagles’ offensive line mostly did a solid job protecting Hurts, giving up just one sack. They also picked up a first down and scored a touchdown when they called the “tush push,” but they were unsuccessful on their two-point try from a yard out when they called the same play.

“With those injuries, now you’re looking at two positions that are looking a little suspect,” Tom Brady said on the FOX broadcast. “With Steen just kind of being in there and hasn’t had much playing time this year and Jurgens coming back. Will (Commanders defensive coordinator) Joe Whitt call more inside pressure? I wonder if they’ll have their communication straightened out. If both of them physically aren’t feeling well, I’d expect some pressure up the middle.”

In the first two plays with Jurgens in the game, Hurts scrambled around for a 2-yard loss and took a 7-yard sack. That resulted in a three-and-out for the Eagles. On the ensuing drive, though, Philadelphia found the end zone, calling a quarterback draw with Hurts getting the necessary blocking to score a 9-yard touchdown that gave the Eagles a 34-15 lead in the middle of the third quarter.

But there were a pair of messy situations involving the Eagles’ interior offensive line. In the fourth quarter, they tried another “tush push” on a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line, but were stuffed. The Commanders were called for three straight encroachment penalties following that play, though, allowing Hurts to easily get in the end zone on the next “tush push” to make it a 41-23 game. 

Less than five minutes later, Saquon Barkley added his third touchdown of the afternoon, essentially sealing the NFC title. Rookie Will Shipley got in on the action late in the fourth quarter with the first touchdown of his career, giving the Eagles a 55-23 win.

The Eagles’ seven rushing touchdowns were the most ever in a conference championship game since the NFC and AFC were introduced in 1970. The musical chairs at center didn’t seem to faze them much on Sunday, but it’ll still be a situation to monitor ahead of Super Bowl LIX. 

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