{"id":5056,"date":"2025-12-07T10:18:43","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T15:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/?p=5056"},"modified":"2025-12-07T10:18:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T15:18:43","slug":"tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Tomlin-Harbaugh Showdown, Eagles Injury Setbacks, and Deshaun Watson&#8217;s Future"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Coaching News<\/h2>\n<p>NFL history is on display this Sunday as <strong>Mike Tomlin<\/strong> and <strong>John Harbaugh<\/strong> meet for the 39th time, extending their rivalry as the league\u2019s two longest-tenured head coaches. Their matchup now ranks second all-time in head-to-head coaching meetings, behind only George Halas and Curly Lambeau&#8217;s 49 matchups. The consistency and competitiveness between the Steelers and Ravens remain a defining feature of the AFC North.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, questions linger about Tomlin\u2019s future in Pittsburgh. According to ESPN, the Steelers are not planning to part ways with Tomlin, but a major contract decision looms in March involving the option year on his deal. The organization&#8217;s handling of the situation could set the tone for its next chapter.<\/p>\n<p>In Philadelphia, <strong>Nick Sirianni<\/strong> is reportedly taking a more hands-on role in offensive preparations ahead of Monday night\u2019s matchup with the Chargers. The change comes amid a stretch of inconsistent offensive performances and coincides with key absences on the Eagles\u2019 roster.<\/p>\n<h2>Injuries<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>Philadelphia Eagles<\/strong> will be without two key players Monday night as both <strong>Lane Johnson<\/strong> and <strong>Jalen Carter<\/strong> have been ruled out. The offensive line and defensive interior, respectively, will need to be reshuffled as the team approaches a crucial matchup during the playoff stretch.<\/p>\n<p>Across the field, the <strong>Los Angeles Chargers<\/strong> list <strong>Justin Herbert<\/strong> as questionable after undergoing surgery this week on a broken bone in his left hand. While there is no definitive word yet on his availability, his status could significantly impact a game with playoff implications for both teams.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Packers<\/strong> are set to get a boost as <strong>Jayden Reed<\/strong>, listed as questionable with foot and shoulder injuries, is expected to play against the Bears. The team officially activated Reed from injured reserve and released WR Malik Heath to make room.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Saints<\/strong> are also expecting <strong>Chris Olave<\/strong> to return from a back injury, improving their receiving corps ahead of a pivotal NFC South clash with the Buccaneers.<\/p>\n<h2>Transaction News<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>Denver Broncos<\/strong> promoted veteran tight end <strong>Marcedes Lewis<\/strong> to the active roster. At 41 years old, Lewis continues his league-leading streak of seasons played among active players and adds blocking depth and veteran leadership as Denver contends for a playoff spot.<\/p>\n<h2>Team News<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>Cleveland Browns<\/strong> plan to have <strong>Deshaun Watson<\/strong> on their 2026 roster, according to sources. Despite ongoing injury concerns and limited 2025 production, the front office remains committed to the quarterback and intends to factor him into the organization\u2019s long-term plans. Watson, who missed significant time this season, is expected to be fully healthy ahead of next year\u2019s training camp.<\/p>\n<p>In anticipation of Sunday&#8217;s NFC North battle, the <strong>Chicago Bears<\/strong> aim to maintain their momentum against the Packers despite the frigid temperatures in Green Bay. Players noted the importance of confidence and morale in offsetting the elements as the rivalry game carries added playoff implications.<\/p>\n<h2>Player &amp; Matchup Spotlight<\/h2>\n<p>Raiders rookie tight end <strong>Brock Bowers<\/strong> continues to impress teammates and coaches with his route-running and ability to create separation. The former Georgia standout has become a key asset in Las Vegas\u2019 passing game, especially in high-leverage situations.<\/p>\n<p>Chargers offensive coordinator <strong>Greg Roman<\/strong> addressed the buzz around the expected matchup between Eagles cornerback <strong>Cooper DeJean<\/strong> and Chargers WR <strong>Ladd McConkey<\/strong>. Roman suggested the team will deploy schemes to limit the amount of true one-on-one plays but expressed strong confidence in McConkey\u2019s ability to win matchups.<\/p>\n<h2>Other Notes<\/h2>\n<p><strong>George Pickens<\/strong> made headlines off the field by firing back at former All-Pro cornerback <strong>Richard Sherman<\/strong>, telling reporters, &#8220;Don&#8217;t speak on me unless you know the game.&#8221; The comment follows Sherman&#8217;s recent criticism of Pickens&#8217; route discipline and effort during broadcasts and media appearances.<\/p>\n<p>In lighter news, the Eagles have added a new locker room motivator: the \u201cPositivity Rabbit,\u201d an internal morale booster installed by team staff to build locker room culture amid injury adversity and late-season fatigue. Though largely symbolic, the move reflects the team\u2019s growing emphasis on psychological edge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Coaching News NFL history is on display this Sunday as Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh meet for the 39th time, extending their rivalry as the league\u2019s two longest-tenured head coaches. Their matchup now ranks second all-time in head-to-head coaching meetings, behind only George Halas and Curly Lambeau&#8217;s 49 matchups. The consistency and competitiveness between the&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future\/\" rel=\"bookmark\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Tomlin-Harbaugh Showdown, Eagles Injury Setbacks, and Deshaun Watson&#8217;s Future<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":70,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.7.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Tomlin-Harbaugh Showdown, Eagles Injury Setbacks, and Deshaun Watson&#039;s Future<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tomlin-Harbaugh Showdown, Eagles Injury Setbacks, and Deshaun Watson&#039;s Future\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tomlin-Harbaugh Showdown, Eagles Injury Setbacks, and Deshaun Watson&#039;s Future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tomlin-Harbaugh Showdown, Eagles Injury Setbacks, and Deshaun Watson&#039;s Future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News | GoFootballAnalytics.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-07T15:18:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mick Tucker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mick Tucker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tomlin-Harbaugh Showdown, Eagles Injury Setbacks, and Deshaun Watson's Future","description":"Tomlin-Harbaugh Showdown, Eagles Injury Setbacks, and Deshaun Watson's Future","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tomlin-Harbaugh Showdown, Eagles Injury Setbacks, and Deshaun Watson's Future","og_description":"Tomlin-Harbaugh Showdown, Eagles Injury Setbacks, and Deshaun Watson's Future","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future\/","og_site_name":"News | GoFootballAnalytics.com","article_published_time":"2025-12-07T15:18:43+00:00","author":"Mick Tucker","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mick Tucker","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future\/"},"author":{"name":"Mick Tucker","@id":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/44eb3a29ed2d183fb0506ed1b5fa68f5"},"headline":"Tomlin-Harbaugh Showdown, Eagles Injury Setbacks, and Deshaun Watson&#8217;s Future","datePublished":"2025-12-07T15:18:43+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-07T15:18:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future\/"},"wordCount":665,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/#organization"},"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future\/","name":"Tomlin-Harbaugh Showdown, Eagles Injury Setbacks, and Deshaun Watson's Future","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-12-07T15:18:43+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-07T15:18:43+00:00","description":"Tomlin-Harbaugh Showdown, Eagles Injury Setbacks, and Deshaun Watson's Future","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/tomlin-harbaugh-showdown-eagles-injury-setbacks-and-deshaun-watsons-future\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tomlin-Harbaugh Showdown, Eagles Injury Setbacks, and Deshaun Watson&#8217;s Future"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/","name":"News | GoFootballAnalytics.com","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/#organization","name":"GoFootballAnalytics.com","url":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/gofbanalytics"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/fb-helmet.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/fb-helmet.jpg","width":1024,"height":1024,"caption":"GoFootballAnalytics.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/44eb3a29ed2d183fb0506ed1b5fa68f5","name":"Mick Tucker","description":"With 10+ years of experience in the NFL stats, Mick Tucker is the co-founder of GoFootballAnalytics.com. He can be reached on twitter at @gofbanalytics and at at mick.tucker@gofootballanalytics.com.","url":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5056"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5057,"href":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5056\/revisions\/5057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gofootballanalytics.com\/statsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}