The Philadelphia Eagles reached their bye week, and the mid-point of the season, with the best record in the National Football League.
Standing at 8–1, despite key injuries and their leaky pass defense, is a tribute to their coaching staff and players staying focused while finding new ways to win. The Eagles MVP-caliber Quarterback, Jalen Hurts, is basically playing on one leg and looks at times as if he can’t run at all.
So naturally, the player who was thought of as unable to read defenses and spoke of as having a weak arm becomes the best pocket passer in the league with a 116.3 QB rating and a 77.9 completion percentage while throwing from the pocket. The team also lost their starting right guard, Cam Jurgens, and that, coupled with the loss of the threat of running from their QB, makes RPOs more predictable and harder for their running backs to net positive yards.
Enter new Eagles Offensive Coordinator Brian Johnson. He has added more RB screens and has also started having D’Andre Swift out wide in pass formations.
The defense, guided by the new Defensive Coordinator Sean Desai, has had its challenges as well. They have had to use nine different defensive back alignments due to a barrage of injuries, and they have struggled to find healthy bodies. The Birds have been forced to start multiple UDFAs (Undrafted Free Agents) on the field at the same time.
Despite the backfield being a work in progress, the defense has kept them in the game and given the team a chance to win every week. This brings us to another skill they are learning, that may not have been in their toolbox last year, 4th quarter come from behind victories.
A big reason for their success, aside from Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown playing at levels never seen from an offensive duo in Eagles history, is the investment the Eagles have made in their defensive line. And the dividends are paying off in the fourth quarter as they are leading the NFL in 4th quarter pressures.
The Eagles’ philosophy of employing a deep rotation has given them a huge advantage as they are fresher competing against opposing offensive lines who have played way more snaps.
Quite simply, they are wearing the opposition down. Week in and week out they have closers who finish the game with sacks while also disrupting their opponent’s offense with relentless pressure.
Josh Sweat, a player who is often thought of as the second-best edge in Philadelphia, and who gets even less National recognition, entered the game versus Dallas tied for the league lead in pressures with Micah Parsons with 50.
Sweat now leads the league in 4th quarter pressures with 23 and his partner Haason Reddick is 5th, boasting 15. And when the Eagles needed those defensive linemen versus Dallas in the 4th quarter to preserve an Eagles victory, they generated 13 pass rush wins.
No other team in the league has had more in the 4th quarter over the last 3 years. The contributions are also coming from the rotational lineman and a player that Father Time has not had his way with. Beloved Philadelphia Eagle, Brandon Graham.
A guy known for making big plays was only on the field for 18 snaps against Dallas and once again made them count. Graham finished the game with 1.5 sacks while also denying Dak a crucial 2-point conversion forcing him to step out of bounds a yard shy of scoring.
And I have not mentioned a certain defensive rookie of the year candidate who has already become the focal point of every opposing Offensive Coordinator game plan. Jalen Carter is already double-teamed on a high percentage of plays, yet his interior presence still opens up opportunities for whoever is on the outside.
The front end and the back end of the defense are a tale of two cities.
You know, Charles Dickens.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”
In short, are there things to clean up? Yes. That is acknowledged by everyone in the organization, including Jason Kelce. “It’s a pretty good record. I’ll take it. But we know we’ve got to play a lot better in a lot of areas. A lot of things to clean up.”
Have these close games caused fans stress and given their critics material to criticize the Eagles? Yes again.
Would it be nice if they finished games with long demoralizing drives like they did in the Tampa game earlier in the season? Also yes.
But, maybe all of these close games will prove to be beneficial.
Eagles learning to fly
During the second half of last year’s Super Bowl loss, Philadelphia struggled to put their opponent away despite enjoying a 10-point halftime lead.
The Eagles were reeling when the Chiefs, led by Patrick Mahomes, drove down the field for a game-winning drive late in the 4th quarter. This year the Eagles are battle-tested and should prove to be more prepared. Just maybe, it will be the difference in the Eagles watching the confetti of another team’s colors fall from the sky, as opposed to them hoisting the Lombardi trophy.
AP Photo/Chris Szagola
