It's one of the last two football Sundays of the year. The four teams playing today are mostly healthy, which is of course a factor in them getting this far. A few injury updates, but only a few.
Most notably, Washington has ruled out 320-pound defensive tackle Daron Payne. Payne has started every game for the team the past five seasons, and was a Pro Bowler in one of those, so it's a loss. It might be a bigger deal for the pass rush (Payne has averaged 5 sacks per year for his career) than the run defense, which has generally struggled even with him (29th this year). But however you want to view it, it's a negative for the defense and a big plus for Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts and company.
Better injury news for the Eagles, with Jalen Hurts (knee) and Dallas Goedert (ankle) both practicing fully on Friday, and removed from the injury report. Hurts says he'll be playing with a brace on his knee, and I believe his running will be limited some, but it doesn't seem to be an issue he or the Eagles are overly concerned about. I will be interested to see what his mobility is like, but I also have to respect the team's injury report -- if they believed it would limit him overly, they'd usually say something about it. The point spread has moved in favor of the Eagles this week; was 5.5 when I wrote the preview a few days ago, and is currently 6 points.
In the AFC, the key player missing for the Bills is safety Taylor Rapp, who was ruled out earlier in the week. That's a plus for Kansas City's offense. Buffalo also may be without cornerback Christian Benford, who's questionable. He suffered a concussion against the Ravens last week. He practiced on a limited basis on Wednesday and Thursday, seemingly progressing through the protocol, then didn't practice on Friday for personal reasons. I don't have any details beyond that; seems like he was on track to clear the protocol. So we'll have to see. Kansas City is healthy; the players listed on their injury report all practiced fully on Friday.
Weather doesn't look like it will be a factor in either game. It will be 40 degrees in Philadelphia, with no precipitation expected. Winds of 8-10 mph during the game. In Kansas City, it will be a little colder (30 degrees), dropping to 25 by the time the game is over. But no precipitation expected there, either, and not much wind (3 mph). NFL caught a break for today's outdoor games.
--Andy Richardson