The Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 lead on the New Orleans Saints, and the injury bug started biting the team again. First Brandon Brooks was carted off, and now star defensive tackle Fletcher Cox is questionable to return to the game with a foot injury. Injury Update: DT Fletcher Cox (foot) is questionable to return. — Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 13, 2019 The Saints are starting to take advantage of all the Eagles’ injuries up front and are now down 14-7.<doc-sep>NEW ORLEANS — Philadelphia Eagles star defensive tackle Fletcher Cox is questionable to return to Sunday’s playoff game at the New Orleans Saints with a foot injury. Cox was injured in the second quarter on a Saints fake punt that was converted. He stayed down on the turf while trainers worked on him and then limped to the sideline, where he was worked on in the blue medical tent. He headed to the locker room shortly after. The Eagles lead the Saints, 14-7, in the latter stages of the second quarter. Cox is one of the most indispensable members of the Eagles, regardless of position. Cox made his fourth Pro Bowl and first All-Pro team after he recorded a career-high 10.5 sacks in the regular season. The 28-year-old is dangerous against the run and the pass, and the Eagles invest in him with a lucrative long-term contract in summer 2016. The Eagles other active defensive tackles are Tim Jernigan, Haloti Ngata and Treyvon Hester. Cornerback Rasul Douglas also went to the locker room with an ankle injury. He was announced as questionable to return. He returned to the sideline, but he hasn’t returned to action. Josh Hawkins, who the Eagles signed to their practice squad in December and promoted to the active roster on Christmas Eve, replaced him. --@danieljtgallen<doc-sep>UPDATE #2: He played through injury in the third quarter, but Fletcher Cox made his way into the locker room early in the fourth quarter, and for a real gut-punch, Jason Peters is also questionable to return with a back injury. Injury Update: DT Cox (foot) and T Peters (back) are both questionable to return. — Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 14, 2019 So you know, things aren’t getting much better for the Eagles at the moment. UPDATE: After being noticeably absent for much of the second quarter, Fletcher Cox was able to return just before halftime — and drew a holding penalty on his first play back, like a boss. And despite being looked at earlier in the quarter, Brandon Graham was able to stay on the field. So things could get a little better for the defensive line when they’re back from halftime. The second quarter has not been nearly as friendly for the Eagles, and things got worse after Nick Foles threw a pass that was intercepted by Saints’ Marshon Lattimore. First, you had Rasul Douglas getting carted off the field with an ankle injury. Injury Update: CB Rasul Douglas (ankle) is questionable to return. — Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 13, 2019 And then, on what should have been a three-and-out, the Saints moved the sticks thanks to a fake punt, which also resulted in Fletcher Cox going down. He was able to leave the field under his own power, and could maybe return. Injury Update: DT Fletcher Cox (foot) is questionable to return. — Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 13, 2019 As if things couldn’t actually get worse for the Eagles defense, two plays later, Michael Bennett went down forcing another injury timeout. Bennett, like Cox, was able to leave the field under his own power after what appeared to be a bit of stretching by trainers and was able to return later in the drive. (Phew.) Although that was about the only good news to come out of the first half of the second quarter — the Saints ended up scoring on the drive, and then Brandon Graham was another Eagle being looked at on the sideline. So, a week after the team seemed to escape pretty injury-free, they are back to getting roughed up in New Orleans.<doc-sep>The Philadelphia Eagles released their second official injury report on Thursday in advance of their Week 16 game against the Houston Texans. The good news is that Zach Ertz and Jordan Hicks were upgraded to full participants after being limited on Wednesday. Hicks is set to play for the first time since getting hurt in Week 11. His return means less reliance on Nathan Gerry. Stefen Wisniewski was also full go for the second day in a row. Three players were limited: Timmy Jernigan, Cameron Johnston, and Cre’Von LeBlanc. Jernigan is tentatively on track to return this week. That could be a boost for the defensive line. Hopefully Johnston is going to be OK so the Eagles don’t have to bring in another punter. LeBlanc is a new addition to the injury report. A total of eight players did not practice: Carson Wentz, Fletcher Cox, Alshon Jeffery, Michael Bennett, Jake Elliott, Isaac Seumalo, Sidney Jones, and D.J. Alexander. Wentz is out this week. Nick Foles will start at quarterback. Cox did not practice on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday. That’s typically not the best sign but there seems to be an expectation that he’ll play. Hard to imagine he’s going to miss a do-or-die game. Jeffery and Elliott are both dealing with illnesses. They should be fine for Sunday. Kamu Grugier-Hill was working on his field goal kicking in practice, just in case. It seems likely that Bennett will suit up considering he’s played despite not practicing much in previous weeks. Seumalo and Jones are expected to be out for Sunday’s game. Alexander didn’t practice on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday. Might not be the best sign for his availability. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES INJURY REPORT (THURSDAY) DID NOT PARTICIPATE LB D.J. Alexander (hamstring) DE Michael Bennett (foot) DT Fletcher Cox (hip) K Jake Elliott (illness) WR Alshon Jeffery (illness) CB Sidney Jones (hamstring) OG Isaac Seumalo (pectoral) QB Carson Wentz (back) LIMITED PARTICIPATION DT Timmy Jernigan (back) P Cameron Johnston (back) CB Cre’Von LeBlanc (hamstring) FULL PARTICIPATION OG Stefen Wisniewski (thumb) TE Zach Ertz (ankle) LB Jordan Hicks (calf) HOUSTON TEXANS INJURY REPORT (THURSDAY) The Texans’ Thursday injury report is largely identical to Wednesday’s version. The most significant difference is that starting safety Mike Tyson has been downgraded to not practicing after being limited yesterday. He’s dealing with a concussion, which means he must be cleared by an indepedent doctor before he can return to the field. Lamar Miller was limited for the second day in a row. It seems like he’s on track to play despite missing most of the Texans’ Week 15 game with an ankle injury. DID NOT PARTICIPATE S Mike Tyson (concussion) QB Brandon Weeden (illness) LIMITED PARTICIPATION WR Keke Coutee (hamstring) NT Brandon Dunn (ankle) C/G Zach Fulton (hand) S Andre Hal (ankle) WR DeAndre Hopkins (ankle) CB/S Kareem Jackson (knee) CB Johnathan Joseph (hip) OG Senio Kelemete (elbow/rib) RB Lamar Miller (ankle) DE J.J. Watt (knee) FULL PARTICIPATION LB Dylan Cole (wrist/knee) C/G Greg Mancz (knee) LB Brian Peters (ankle) S Justin Reid (shoulder/wrist)<doc-sep>
UPDATE (Sunday, 7:29 p.m): Fletcher Cox returned to the game with 7:42 remaining in the fourth quarter. NEW ORLEANS — The Eagles suffered a wave of injuries during the first half against the Saints, including to one of the most important players on the roster. Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox limped off the field early in the second quarter on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Cox was seen limping on the sideline as the Saints marched down the field on their first scoring drive of the day, capped by a two-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees. Cox suffered a foot injury and returned before the end of the first half, but left the game again in the fourth quarter and was declared questionable to return. Cox was an All-Pro selection for the second straight season and was second only to Rams' Aaron Donald in quarterback pressures this season for a defensive tackle. Cox might be the most important player on the Eagles defense for the presence he has as a pass rusher and in creating space for the rest of the defensive line to operate. The Eagles also lost offensive lineman Brandon Brooks (leg) and cornerback Rasul Douglas (ankle) to injuries. Douglas eventually returned, but Brooks might be lost for the season. Defensive end Michael Bennett went down at one point in the second quarter but only missed a play before returning. With Cox out, the Eagles would fill the defensive tackle snaps with a rotation of 34-year-old Haloti Ngata, Treyvon Hester and Timmy Jernigan. Cox had 10.5 sacks in the regular season, the first time he’s surpassed 10 in a season. His previous career-high was 9.5 sacks. Zack Rosenblatt may be reached at zrosenblatt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZackBlatt. Find NJ.com on Facebook.