PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Eagles were ready for a vacation, even if it meant staying at home.
The Eagles took some time off last week with their bye week as they rested up for the second half of their season. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the players had to stay in their Delaware Valley homes.
However, the Eagles welcomed the opportunity to get away from football.
Other than one day of work and daily COVID-19 testing, Jordan Mailata and the rest of his teammates made the most of their time away from the game.
"The bye week was awesome," said Mailata. "Having that going five weeks straight, not really having a day off, the bye week really helped. We’re just relaxing. It’s easy on the mind."
The emotional break was just as important as the physical one.
In addition to the usual grind of the NFL season, players have been dealing with the reality of COVID-19 with daily testing and reports of players around the league testing positive.
Safety Rodney McLeod said it was another case of adjusting to the "new normal" of 2020.
"It was very different," McLeod said. "Everything in 2020 has been different or abnormal. You just have to adapt.”
The Eagles will now prepare for the second half of the season that starts on Sunday afternoon in North Jersey with a game against the Giants.
The Eagles are 3-4-1 but in first place in the NFL East.
Running back Boston Scott believes the team is close to putting everything together.
"We’re a little thing away from big things," said Scott. "If we continue to keep that mindset and continue to work each and every day, the work ethic has been there, the energy has been high, I really have a lot of confidence in this organization and in this team to put a little run together."
Whether or not the Eagles can put together a long winning streak remains to be seen. Either way, the players did what they needed to do during their bye week. Now, the door is open for them to win the NFC East for the second year in a row.
"It was good to also be able to reset," McLeod said. "You take some time away mentally and physically, get some guys back, and heal up individually."