For the second straight Sunday, the Eagles watched from the sidelines as a whole slate of NFL games played out. At kickoff on Monday night, it will have been 11 days since Philadelphia went to Charlotte and beat the Carolina Panthers to get to 5-1.

Asked whether that feels like an eternity, linebacker Jordan Hicks simply said: “It does.”

The time off has helped heal some bumps and bruises that were evident in the days leading up to, and coming out of, that physical contest with the Panthers.

Hicks, for one, had an ankle injury heading into that game. He tried to play through it but couldn’t continue and was removed in the first half. Running back Wendell Smallwood missed the game completely with a knee injury.

Related Eagles LB Jordan Hicks is out due to ankle injury

Both are expected to play against the Redskins.

“We were pretty banged up, not a lot of guys felt great,” said tight end Zach Ertz. “Obviously, Thursday games are tough from a physical standpoint, but I think with the off time we were able to get that mental edge back as well as physical.”

A potentially sluggish start after such a lengthy layoff cannot be discounted, though, predictably, several players said they don’t think it will be an issue.

“Honestly, the energy we’ve had this past week has been off the charts,” said Hicks. “Everybody’s feeling it. It’s contagious. Winning is contagious. It makes this game fun. We’re having a lot of fun right now going out there practicing doing the hard things, but competing day in and day out, and it’s been fun.”

The mood inside the locker room on Saturday was a good snapshot of a team enjoying itself.

Running back LeGarrette Blount and a production team member of the “Monday Night Football” crew squared off on the pop-a-shot machine in the back of the room while teammates watched and whooped. Other Eagles sat in their locker stalls joking with one another.

“We’re hungry for another game and we’re excited about it,” said Ertz. “I think we’re going to come out with a lot of energy.”