Typically, it takes a few weeks for NFL teams to truly find their identity and prove what their strengths and weaknesses are. Unfortunately, for the Eagles, the writing may already be on the wall regarding their defense. Through the first two weeks of the season, that unit has struggled severely in two major aspects, stopping the run and rushing the passer.
Two major elements for any defense at any level of the sport to have success. The silver lining is that there’s time to make changes and for players to get going who are not performing. However, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will need to try and press the right buttons to get this defense on track.
Can’t Stop the Run
315. That’s the number of rushing yards the Eagles have allowed through the first two games of the season. You have to go all the way back to the 1986 season when an Eagles’ defense gave up more rushing yards when they surrendered 403 in the first two games of that campaign. Philadelphia went 5-10-1 that year.
The Eagles have faced formidable running backs in Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs (16 carries, 84 yards) just two years removed from leading the NFL in rushing and a young, upcoming star in Bijan Robinson (14 carries, 97 yards) with the Falcons. Those two backs will usually rack up a lot of yardage in more games than not. However, those teams certainly looked at this defense and saw they could exploit a weakness that has leaked into the start of this season. Atlanta’s 100+ yard performance marks the 11th straight game the Eagles have given up 100 yards or more on the ground dating back to last season.
The defensive line’s performance has been less to be desired with Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Milton Williams. The top draft picks in Carter and Davis specifically have not been factors in the first two games. The duo has combined for just one solo tackle, five assists and zero tackles for loss in two games. That just simply won’t get it done.
Davis is still struggling to stay on the field for a majority of the game, playing in just 29 snaps in the loss to Atlanta to Carter’s 46. When drafted, Davis was looked at to be a promising and menacing presence on the interior, especially in stopping the run. However, opposing teams are double-teaming Carter, the lone true threat on this line and Davis has not proved to be the run stopper the team was expecting him to be.
To add insult to injury, reserve defensive tackle Thomas Booker produced more than Davis and Carter in just nine snaps Monday night.
The linebackers are also at fault as the second line of defense behind the defensive line and setting the edge. That did not happen consistently against Atlanta, but could it be a result of the scheme Fangio is currently implementing?
The Eagles currently rank the worst in the NFL in yards per carry allowing 6.4 yards per rush, have given up the 8th most yards on the ground and have the 32nd overall ranked defense through two games will now have to try and stop a New Orleans Saints offense that has been running the ball with a ton of success. The Saints have handed the ball off 76 times through their first two games, most recently galloping their way to a dominant 44-19 win at Dallas where they ran the ball 39 times for 190 yards. Running back Alvin Kamara ran for 115 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries while scoring on a receiving touchdown as well.
No Pass Rush for the Eagles
Many thought going into the game, the Eagles could take advantage of what seemed to be a very immobile Kirk Cousins based on his performance in Week 1. Surprisingly, Cousins was sacked just one time while the defense mustered just two QB hits. Here’s a snapshot of where the pass rush ranks:
The EDGE rushers are invisible. Bryce Huff has made one tackle in his first two games of his Eagles’ career and has not been able to get to the quarterback like he showed last year with the Jets when he racked up 10 sacks which earned him a 3-year, $51 million deal with the Eagles.
The combination of Huff, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham and Nolan Smith combined for one QB hit, zero sacks, zero tackles for loss, and zero passes deflected. No disrespect to Graham but expecting a 15-year veteran to provide consistent pass rush isn’t fair to him or practical. The Eagles need Huff, Sweat and Smith to find ways to get to the quarterback or at the very least get some pressure.
What also was missing was the linebacker blitzes that we saw Fangio dial up at times in Week 1, most notably on the game-winning touchdown drive the Falcons were able to orchestrate with ease.
There’s plenty of blame to go around. How will this team handle these issues? Will they embrace them and make the necessary changes to improve? Or will we see a similar fate like we did last year? It’s early in the season that’s for sure, but if this team doesn’t figure out how to eliminate two major flaws on the defensive side of the football, it could get late quick here in 2024 for the Eagles.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
