Many Eagles fans are frustrated with the lack of a pass rush off the edge and the inability to create pressures and sacks. The defense has many problems to address, including but not limited to tackling, coverage assignments, knocking receivers off their routes, and creating long third downs for their opponents. And yes, the lack of a pass rush, but as Buccaneer QB Baker Mayfield showed by getting rid of the ball in less than 2.50 seconds per pass, properly pressing receivers, and having the edge rushers contain the edge is a much larger problem.
Flashback to Super Bowl 57
In Super Bowl 57, Mahomes’ passing numbers were 21-of-27 for 182 yards. His longest completion of the night was for 22 yards, which came in the first quarter.
Patrick only attempted one pass for 20 or more yards, which fell incomplete.
What Mahomes was good at, was extending plays by moving in and out of the pocket, despite playing with a sprained ankle. To those observing the game during the first half, it appeared as if Mahomes and the Chiefs were struggling, but what they were dealing with was a lack of opportunities. The Eagle’s defense and their feared pass rush were struggling.
Mahomes was pressured on 35.5% of his dropbacks. This number was higher than their season average of 32.1%, and playing against a quarterback like Mahomes, it shouldn’t have been. The Eagles generated their historic sack numbers, in part, to playing against many QBs who do not get rid of the ball quickly.
During the regular season, the Eagles sacked the QB 33.3% of the time when applying pressure. That number was almost 5% higher than the second-place team. The Birds sent pressure 10 times in the Super Bowl. By their league-average stats, that should have resulted in 3 sacks.
They had zero!
Mahomes is the best in the NFL at avoiding sacks while being pressured. Since he came into the league, he has only been sacked 11.2% of the time he is pressured. Nobody else in the league is under 15% during this same timeframe. So while the Chiefs did lack opportunities in the first half, Andy Reid and company still made in-game adjustments to the pass protection and game plan, despite Mahomes not having taken a sack.
He averaged getting rid of the ball in 2.93 seconds in the first half. He lowered that to 2.46 seconds in the second. Hindsight is 20–20, but maybe Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon shouldn’t have challenged the best QB in the league at handling pressure, by sending more pressure. But I digress.
Sacks are a QB stat
When the sacks are coming in bunches, look no further than the QB that the defense is sacking!
During the historic 2022 season where the Eagles defense compiled 72 sack during the regular season, the team played a lot of QBs who held the ball way too long. The Eagles sacked Carson Wentz nine times in a single game during the season. Sacking Wentz accounted for 12% of their sacks on the season for all 18 games in just 4 quarters.
The defense accomplished this by totaling 7 of those 9 sacks without sending pressure. That tied for the most sacks during the regular season while only utilizing a 4 man front since 2020. In the first half, Carson lost 40 yards on 6 sacks. He only had 24 passing yards completing 3 of 10 attempts. He went into halftime with a net loss of 16 yards and behind in the game 24–0.
He was sacked 2 more times in the second half, losing an additional 18 yards. So, in short, sending pressure vs Wentz is good (and most of the time not even necessary), pressuring Mahomes and QBs who get rid of the ball fast, equals bad.
2024 Eagles Defense
The Eagles have seen this movie before.
Nick Sirianni arrived in 2021, and since then the ownership and, or, GM Howie Roseman have desired to play a Fangio-style defense.
Jonathan Gannon did, Sean Desai, Matt Patricia, and now they have the real thing, Vic himself. They also have the same results. The team that struggles to get to Quarterbacks that release the ball quickly and defensive backs that allow 7-yard cushions and far too many easy completions.
This defensive style works great when the offense is doing its job and scoring points early, like during the 2022 season, but when the offense struggles early in games, the defense rarely can lift the team, like it did in New Orleans. Which, if we are being honest, seemed to be a result of a bad game plan from the Saints more than it did of an elite strategy from the Eagle’s defense. New Orleans played into the Eagle’s strengths. That will not be the case every week, as we all witnessed in Tampa.
Eagles DC Vic Fangio recently suggested that the corners have the autonomy to press receivers at their discretion.
“The corners have the ability to press on almost all of our calls”
Perhaps the coaches need to emphasize and coach a defense that instills this into their gameplan rather than relying on players to decide. They have 2 weeks before their next opponent to implement new wrinkles.
After the Bye
Individual and team sacks are fun stats, and they have been since the league started keeping track of them in 1982, but they should not be the barometer by which a defense’s success is measured versus a QB.
Disrupting passing lanes, not allowing easy 3rd down conversions, pressuring the QB into errant throws, challenging receivers at the line, and putting stress on the opposing offense are lacking in this defense. This should be the focus, and success will follow.
Until the Eagles are willing to alter their style of play to combat how offenses are challenging them, the results will likely be the same. First-round draft picks and a constant carousel of defensive coordinators will not change that.
As always, Thank you for reading!
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Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
