Two games, two wins, zero defensive touchdowns surrendered. That’s what the Eagles’ defense has done over the last two weeks after a 33-16 drubbing at Tampa Bay in Week 4. In each of the last two victories, the Eagles have outscored their opponents 48-19, pressuring the quarterback with more regularity and even tackling better.
Is this reminiscent of the Vic Fangio led Miami Dolphins defense from a season ago where that unit started off slow before turning a corner and finished the year ranked 11th in total offense allowed, 7th in rushing yards allowed and led the league in allowing the fewest passing yards per game at 154.5 yards per game. That type of production was one of the main reasons why the Eagles wanted to bring the veteran defensive coordinator to South Philly.
The Turnaround
As we look at how this defense performed over the last two weeks, we have to understand that they did play two of the worst offenses in the league in the Browns and Giants. However, you still have to execute and play the game. The Eagles’ defense did just that.
A quick recap of the Cleveland game, the defense held the Browns to 244 total yards while holding DeShaun Watson to under 200 on the day and just 49 yards through the air in the first half. They forced the Browns to go 3-for-12 on third downs and had five sacks, which was a season-high to that point.
This past week against the Giants, the defense played even better. Battering Daniel Jones, sacking him eight times in their win on the road. It was only the fourth time in the last decade where an Eagles’ defense registered eight sacks in a game. The Eagles only allowed 10 first downs, forced the Giants off the field on third downs on 11 out of 14 chances, held Jones to 99 yards passing and allowed just 119 total yards in the dominant 28-3 win.
So, in total, the defense has allowed 363 total yards, racked up 13 sacks and got 15 third down stops in 26 opportunities. That’s 181.5 yards of total offense allowed during that stretch while getting off the field on third downs 58% of the time. In the previous four games, the unit gave up 1,463 yards which averages out to 365.8 yards per game while only having four sacks during that stretch and going 19-for-46 on third downs.
Sacks are Back for the Eagles
Through the first four games of the season, the Eagles only mustered six sacks through the first four games of the season. This was a defensive unit that is just two years removed from a 70 sack season in 2022, just two shy from tying the NFL record of 72 set by the Chicago Bears in 1984.
That has been one of the biggest differences over the last two weeks. The ability of the defense to pressure and get to the quarterback. In their Week 7 victory, six different players registered a sack with Nakobe Dean and Jalen Carter recording two each.
Fangio said on Tuesday that the strong performance against the Giants wasn’t just the pass rush, but also due to the good coverage from the secondary.
“Yeah, I think in this past game, it was a good mix of coverage complementing the rush. Jones had to hold the ball a little longer than he would have liked to, and it gave our guys a better chance and more time to get there. And I do think that was, in this past game, a big part of it.”
Josh Sweat has come on as of late, picking up a sack in each of the last three games and now already halfway to his season total from a year ago when he recorded 6.5 sacks, down from his best year with the Eagles when he put up 11 in that impressive 2022 season for the defense.
Bryce Huff, who was brought in essentially to take over for the disgruntled Haason Reddick and is starting to look much better than he did in the first month of the season. According to Next Gen Stats, Huff had five pressures on 18 rushes and was able to get a sack in the Giants win. That’s a 27.8% pressure rate, by far his highest rate since joining the Eagles.
They are Rookies?
On the backend of the defense, the Eagles have been trotting out their top two draft picks from this year’s draft in Quinyon Mitchell and now Cooper DeJean for the last two weeks after missing sometime with injury and learning to play the nickel corner position. The duo is performing as if they aren’t rookies, but as if they have a couple years under their belts.
Mitchell has been sensational. The rookie out of Toledo has not allowed a touchdown, has only allowed just 197 yards against when targeted, six passes defended and has played 97% of the team’s stats this season. Against the Giants he allowed just two catches for 15 yards and according to Brendan Deeg, of the Score, 28 defensive backs who have been targeted at least 33 times this season, Mitchell has ranks 1st in terms of passer rating allowed.
Meanwhile, DeJean, the former Iowa Hawkeye has been a difference maker as well both in the secondary and on special teams. DeJean was named Pro Football Focus’ Rookie of the Week after his Week 7 performance against the Giants. According to the PFF, DeJean also graded as the third-best cornerback in Week 7 with an 86.3 PFF grade, allowing just three yards on 28 coverage snaps primarily playing in the slot. Since becoming a full-time starter, DeJean has 10 tackles, seven of which are solo to go along with half of a sack.
Fangio was extremely positive regarding the rookie in his press conference on Tuesday.
“Yeah, he’s (DeJean) very coachable. Got a good demeanor to play. I think that’s a strength of his and will only get better. And I think the more he plays and the more experienced he becomes – you try and expose him to as much stuff as you can in practice, but obviously with the low reps of practice, you don’t get that done always.
But I do think he’ll learn – he won’t be a repeat offender. If he makes a mistake on something new, it will be in his memory bank and not happen again.”
Moving on Up
Philadelphia’s defense has climbed the league rankings thanks to the pair of stout performances. The Eagles enter this week ranked 7th in the NFL in points allowed (19.2), 9th in yards allowed (304.3) and lead the league in yards per play over the last three games, giving up 4.4 yards per play.
Heading into a Week 8 battle at Cincinatti, this defense will have a much tougher test than it faced in each of the last two weeks. Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase and company got off to a slow start once again, but they have the talent and skills to wreak havoc.
The pass rush will need to be successful once again as Burrow has thrown just two interceptions this season and completing 70.4% of his passes, which was his career-high mark in 2021. Can the defense continue to turn heads with another dominant performance against one of the most talented offenses in the league? They’ll certainly need to be just as good as they have been to help the team pick up a tough road win here in Week 8.
Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images
