Earning a bye week gave the Philadelphia Eagles an opportunity to work even harder.

No mini-vacations. No golfing. No beach trips.

Instead http://www.thebengalsfootballauthentic.com/drew-sample-jersey-authentic , the Eagles (13-3) kicked off preparation for next Saturday’s divisional playoff game by holding their toughest practice since training camp.

Players put their pads on Wednesday and got after it on the indoor field as starters faced off like it was a hot day in August instead of a frigid January afternoon.

”The guys in this room aren’t afraid to work, grinding, enjoying the process, enjoying the small things a lot of people don’t like to do this time of year,” Pro Bowl safety Malcolm Jenkins said. ”We understand the significance of the situation we’re in and we want to take advantage of the time we have. Guys didn’t want to be off for the whole week. We want to get better.”

The Eagles are the NFC’s No. 1 seed but no longer are Super Bowl favorites after losing MVP candidate Carson Wentz in Week 14. Oddsmakers have three NFC teams listed ahead of Philadelphia.

Backup quarterback Nick Foles played well the first five quarters he filled in for Wentz, then struggled in the last five. He was 20 of 48 for 279 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions versus 23 of 49 for 202 yards with one TD and two picks. Foles and the rest of the starters sat out the final three quarters of a 6-0 loss to Dallas that prevented Philadelphia from setting a franchise record for regular-season wins.

The defense looked sharp in the last two games, but had a tough three-game stretch on the road to start December.

So, members of the team’s players’ council told coach Doug Pederson they wanted to practice in pads instead of going through walkthroughs during their bye.

”It’s not a punishment thing; it’s not coming directly from me,” Pederson said. ”It’s what the players want. I listen to my guys. I think they understand that there is a sense of physicality that we have to get back to. So you get back into pads and it sort of refocuses the guys a little bit.”

Of course, there was no tackling at practice, but the intensity level was much higher.

”We were moving around Germaine Pratt Jersey , moving fast,” Foles said. ”Pads are different, and getting to move in pads, getting to throw in pads is a good thing.”

Even the receivers welcomed the change of pace.

”All gas and no brakes now,” Alshon Jeffery said. ”You have to keep working hard and we wanted to go out and compete against one another.”

The Eagles are in the postseason for the first time since a 26-24 home loss to New Orleans on Jan. 4, 2014. Foles rallied Philadelphia from a 20-7 deficit late in the third quarter and tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz for a 24-23 lead with 4:54 remaining, only to watch special teams allow a long kickoff return that helped set up a winning field goal.

The NFC East champions will host the Saints (11-5), Panthers (11-5) or Falcons (10-6) on Jan. 13. They’ll be seeking their first playoff win since advancing to the 2009 NFC championship game as the sixth seed.

Expectations outside the locker room are low. Many folks are predicting Philadelphia is the most likely team with a bye to be one and done. Panic-stricken fans even called for Pederson to bench Foles for second-year pro Nate Sudfeld, who threw his first career pass against the Cowboys. Sudfeld was 19 of 23 for 134 yards. Pederson actually was asked by reporters to confirm that Foles was indeed the starter.

Obviously, he’s not benching Foles for a guy who just made his NFL debut.

”He’s the guy now,” Pederson said. ”But http://www.thebengalsfootballauthentic.com/ryan-finley-jersey-authentic , he doesn’t have to feel the weight of the entire team. This is a team sport. We have to play great defense, obviously, and special teams has to own up to their jobs. Then offensively, we just have to be better all around. I want Nick to embrace it; he has embraced it. At the same time, the guys around him also need to own their jobs and their responsibilities going forward.”

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AP NFL website:

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays continue to win games they perhaps shouldn’t, and they’ll have an opportunity for more of that Saturday against Houston’s Justin Verlander.

The Rays (40-41) hit the midway point of their 2018 season with a 3-2 win over Houston, giving them six wins in their last seven games. Their pitching has led the way — three times in the last four games, they have held their opponent to three hits or less, this after doing so only three times in the first 77 games of this season.

“If we are going to win a lot of game and we are going to string a bunch together, we have to have good pitching Renell Wren Jersey ,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “The timely hitting is great, but we have to stay in the ballgame. For us to have allowed three runs in 18 innings against arguably the best team in baseball, we should find a way to win one.”

Houston will send Verlander, who has been dominant (9-3, 1.82 ERA) but has gotten surprisingly little run support from a potent Astros lineup.

Houston is just 11-7 in games he starts, and the Astros have scored a total of two runs in five of those losses.

So Saturday could look like Thursday’s 1-0 Astros win, or could look like Friday’s 3-2 loss, which saw two errors factor in Tampa Bay’s scoring.

Verlander faced the Rays just 11 days ago in Houston, again pitching well, allowing one run on six hits in 6 2/3 innings, but ultimately taking a no-decision in a 2-1 loss. He has 136 strikeouts in 113 innings this season and a ridiculous 0.81 WHIP.

Against the Rays for his career http://www.thebengalsfootballauthentic.com/michael-jordan-jersey-authentic , Verlander is 8-3 with a 3.18 ERA, but since 2010, he’s just 4-3, despite a 1.72 ERA in his last five starts against the Rays. At Tropicana Field, he’s 5-2 all-time with a 2.53 ERA, including a 1.20 ERA in his last two outings.

The Rays counter with reliever-turned-starter Ryne Stanek, who has thrived in the “opener” role that Tampa Bay has essentially created in the past six weeks. He’s starting for the second time in three days against the Astros having thrown 1 2/3 innings of scoreless, hitless baseball Thursday night. For the month of June, he’s pitched in 11 games and 14 2/3 innings without allowing a run.

He’s held opponents to just four hits, lowering his season ERA to 1.85, just barely above Verlander’s.

The Astros know they have to be careful with the white ceiling of Tropicana Field — the Rays’ three-run fourth inning got a spark Friday when center fielder Jake Marisnick couldn’t hold onto a pop at the warning track http://www.clevelandbrownsteamonline.com/sione-takitaki-jersey , allowing a run to score.

“When you play here, you try to not take your eye off the ball,” Marisnick said. “With the ceiling, I kind of glanced quickly at the ball, then looked back up and lost track. I wasn’t able to come up with it. That’s a play I need to make 10 out of 10 times.”