Eagles Reveal Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith Playing Status vs Jaguars

When the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend in London, the team will be doing so short-handed.

Entering the week, the Eagles were dealing with multiple key injuries, including to star running back Saquon Barkley and star wide receiver DeVonta Smith. And now the team has announced that both players will indeed miss the game against the Jaguars.

Both Barkley and Smith are dealing with hamstring injuries, with each player not practicing this week. Philadelphia is hopeful that both guys can come back on the field sooner rather than later, but at least for this week, they are out.

Losing both Barkley and Smith is a massive blow to the Eagles chances this week, and the offense could be in for another rough day. Last week against the Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia was missed Smith to open the game, but Barkley left early due to the injury.

The Eagles struggled to move the ball, with quarterback Jalen Hurts doing all he could to will the team to a win. Philadelphia may be in for similar results this weekend against a tough Jacksonville defense that can be opportunistic with the ball.

Running back Will Shipley will likely handle the bulk of the carries for the Eagles with Barkley out of the game, Backup Tank Bigsby is on injured reserve for Philadelphia, adding more concern to this running game.

Shipley has rushed 15 times this year, posting 51 yards on the ground. For the Eagles to take down the Jaguars, he may need to play the game of his life, opening up the passing game for Hurts.

With Smith out, the Eagles' passing attack could suffer greatly, and others are going to have to step up for the team. Smith is easily the best wideout on the roster, and he was expected to give this group a boost this year.

Players such as Dontayvion Wicks, who has been dealing with a hamstring of his own, and rookie Makai Lemon are going to need to make an impact. If Hurts can get some help against the Jaguars, the Eagles have enough talent to steal the win.

But this game now gets a lot more challenging without the stars on the field, and the Eagles are going to have to hope for the best. Philadelphia is looking to stop the bleeding after dropping the past two games, coming into this contest with a record of 2-2 on the season.