Eagles running backs Jay Ajayi, Darren Sproles miss practice, but expected to return later this week

Running backs Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles might be close to returning from injuries, but neither one practiced Wednesday in the Eagles' first day back on the field preparing for Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans.

The Eagles also missed defensive end Michael Bennett with an illness and safety Rodney McLeod with a knee injury.

Ajayi is nursing a back injury. He worked on a side field with a member of the training staff while his teammates started practicing. Sproles has a hamstring injury. He stretched with the team, but was not wearing a helmet or pads. It was the first time Sproles was on the field since sustaining the injury on Sept. 12.

"We'll find out probably later in the week, quite honestly," coach Doug Pederson said of their status. "But they are both feeling really well and they are excited to get some time this week in practice."

Carson Wentz watched the film from his season debut and said he'll "always critique" himself. He knows he must improve upon the two turnovers, noting that committing them at that spot of the field (inside the Eagles' zone) is especially dangerous.

"I've got to see coverage better," Wentz said of an interception in which he appeared to eye down Zach Ertz.

On the positive side, he liked the way the Eagles used the up-tempo offense to move downfield at the start of the game.

"Something encouraging and something we can build on," Pederson said.

It was a good debut, not a bad one, but the standard for Wentz has been set high. Wentz said he's onto the Titans, moving past the previous game by Tuesday morning. And coach Doug Pederson expects an even better Wentz this week.

"I think things will come into focus a little bit more for him this week," Pederson said. "[He] did some great things, obviously last week, and not only through the air but with his arm and how he managed the run game. I just think that the more reps and the more time he's out there, it just gets better and better and things will begin to slow down. We start getting more of the pieces around him back, will also help."

If it appeared Lane Johnson put on a little bit of an acting job to draw a crucial defensive holding penalty during the Eagles' game-winning penalty, he's guilty as charged. Johnson said that he's willing to do "whatever it takes" and that he had some choice words to the officials about how he was being held throughout the game.

"The right time — fourth down, I knew if there was any time to make it look like I was ridin' a bull, that was it," Johnson said. "It paid off, but it wasn't pretty, by any means."

The Colts ran stunts to try to penetrate and a defender apparently held Johnson while another player looped around. Johnson vowed to "shoot a [bleeping] cannonball through somebody's chest" if that's what it takes to not get held.

Staff Les Bowen contributed to this report.