Sunday night was a rough one for Philly fans, who watched their team fall to the Cowboys, 27-20, at Lincoln Financial Field. And if you were expecting things to get better for the Eagles on Monday, think again.
During his day-after press conference, head coach Doug Pederson announced that his team will be without starting cornerback Ronald Darby for the remainder of the season after the 24-year-old tore his ACL against the Cowboys.
"Darby, it's unfortunate, but he has an ACL tear," Pederson said while updating reporters on the status of his decimated secondary. "So he's done for the year. Go ahead and tweet that out now."
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And for the Eagles, it truly is unfortunate. They're already without several starters in the secondary, including Sidney Jones and Jalen Mills, both of whom are out with hamstring injuries. The former, according to Pederson, is day-to-day and could return this week, while the latter has a bit longer to wait.
In the meantime, here's the chart Jimmy Kempski provided in his weekly awards that really highlights just how decimated this secondary is. It shows the starters at each position in Week 1 compared to the players who finished Sunday night's loss to the Cowboys.
Of those named below, both Darby and McLeod are done for the year.
| Eagles secondary | Week 1 | Week 10 |
| CB1 | Jalen Mills | Rasul Douglas |
| CB2 | Ronald Darby | Chandon Sullivan |
| Slot CB | Sidney Jones | Avonte Maddox |
| FS | Rodney McLeod | Corey Graham |
| SS | Malcolm Jenkins | Malcolm Jenkins |
"It is hard," Pederson said of having to play with so many guys forced into starting roles. "It's hard because you're asking players who maybe don't get a lot of practice time to come in and play. They're on the look-teams [scout teams], giving a look to the offense, and the next thing you know they're getting ready to play."
Unfortunately, when the Eagles visit the Saints in New Orleans next week, they're going to need all the help they can get — and it looks like, at best, the only player they'll be getting back in time for that one is Jones.
"We'll see with Sidney [Jones], where he's at this week," Pederson said. "We have a couple days to have a discussion and see where our players are after practice Wednesday."
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