The 2020 season has not been very kind to the Philadelphia Eagles. The team currently sits in second place of the dreadful NFC East at (1-3-1) behind the Dallas Cowboys (2-3).
Unfortunately for the Cowboys, their “franchise” quarterback, Dak Prescott, is out for the season after fracturing his ankle against the New York Giants on Oct. 11. It was a devastating injury for Prescott who was playing on the franchise tag in hopes of cashing in on a big contract after this season. Due to the injury, Prescott might be forced to prove himself once again next year to secure the elusive huge contract.
The Eagles haven’t been able to avoid the injury bug this year, either. Not only are five starting offensive linemen missing significant time (Lane Johnson, Brandon Brooks, Issac Seumalo, Andre Dillard and Jason Peters), but all three of their starting receivers heading into week six have missed time as well (Alshon Jeffrey, 2020 first-round pick Jalen Reagor and DeSean Jackson). Fortunately, the injuries have led to a new face leading the charge of the wide receiver group.
Enter Travis Fulgham. Fulgham was drafted with the 184th pick in the sixth round by the Detroit Lions. In 2019 Fulgham made three appearances for the Lions without recording a reception and was promptly waived on Aug. 9, 2020. Shortly after, Fulgham was picked up off waivers by the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 10 and then ultimately waived by the Packers on Aug 19. A day later Fulgham was claimed by the Eagles, then waived on Sept. 3, and then signed to the practice squad on Sept. 6. That turned out to be a wonderful move by Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman.
Once the Eagles injuries continued at the receiver position this season, Fulgham was promoted to the active roster on Oct. 3, and boy has Fulgham has made the most of his opportunities. The very next day, Fulgham made his Eagles debut against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football. What did Fulgham do? Oh nothing, he just caught two passes for 57 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown pass from Carson Wentz, that wound up being the game-winner and giving the Eagles their first victory of the season.
If you don’t stay up to date with the Eagles roster transactions, it should be assumed that most people watching that Sunday night game had never heard of Fulgham. However, after the Eagles game the very next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was hard not to know who Fulgham was as a football fan. Why? Fulgham one-upped his performance against the 49ers as he went for an unbelievable 10 catches, 152 yards and a touchdown against the vaunted Steelers defense. While the Eagles ended up losing the game, there’s hope that they may have at long last found their next franchise receiver.
When asked about Fulgham, Carson Wentz was very confident that Fulgham is the real deal. Wentz couldn’t hold back his excitement about Fulgham when talking with NBC Sports. “I think he showed last week that there was no fluke,” Wentz said on Wednesday. “The big touchdown catch against the Niners, I think he showed last week that it wasn’t a fluke. He’s a big-time player and we’ve seen what he’s done in practice now for a while and how he’s kind of come along within our offense, within our system.” Wentz continued.
“With the injuries and everything going around, he was the next guy up. We looked out there and said, ‘Hey, we’re confident in this guy to get it done.’ And he’s been making play after play. I think he’s got a bright future ahead of him.”
Fulgham is not the only thing getting the fans and team excited. On Tuesday afternoon, the Eagles announced that for the first time this season fans will be allowed at the game. As the Eagles are set to host the Baltimore Ravens this Sunday, around 5,000 fans will be allowed to be in attendance for the game. Tickets will be first offered to season ticket holders that opted in to receive tickets for the 2020 season. The tickets that remain after will go on sale starting Oct. 14 for the Oct. 18 game against the Ravens and the Oct. 22 game against the Giants.
For the rest of the games remaining at home, the single sale tickets will be able to be purchased in the next couple of weeks. (NBC Sports) The Eagles are one of nine teams that will allow fans in the stadium in week six. After hearing the news that fans will be allowed at Lincoln Financial Field, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson was thrilled. “I’m excited. I’m happy. I’m so glad for this day to be here, to have fans in our stands. To feel the energy of the crowd, even a small crowd. It was really good in Pittsburgh to have the fans there. Just to see them when we come out of the tunnel and to see people in our bleachers, it’s going to be exciting. We’ve talked about it before, our players are going to feel energized to have them there and to have our families back in the stands is important to them, it’s important to us and we’re really looking forward to it,” said Doug Pederson to Action News’ Jeff Skversky during Wednesday’s press conference.
While the Eagles will certainly welcome fans this Sunday, their work is put out for them as they face the reigning MVP Lamar Jackson and the 4-1 Baltimore Ravens.