Category: Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles’ offense has perfected the illusion of simplicity

The Philadelphia Eagles have perfected the illusion of offensive simplicity, while demolishing defenses with terrifying complexity.

When we think of 11 personnel — three receivers, one tight end, and one running back — we generally think of teams that roll heavy on the passing side of things. Makes sense given the personnel, but right now, the NFL’s best team by record are throwing all kinds of wrenches at enemy defenses by deploying a complete, versatile, and devastating offense out of that specific personnel grouping.

The teams throwing most out of 11 this season — the Bengals, Buccaneers, Chargers — tend to lead with the pass, and the run game is an ancillary construct. Although, as our Laurie Fitzpatrick recently revealed, the Bengals are finding a dangerous balance these days.

That said, if you want dominant offensive balance out of 11 personnel, look no further than the 11-1 Philadelphia Eagles, who are killing opposing defenses with it, run or pass.

In Week 12 against the Packers, the Eagles had the 20th-most rushing yards in a single game in pro football history with 363. Green Bay came into that game ranked 30th in run defense DVOA, so it made sense that head coach Nick Sirianni, offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, and run game coordinator/offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland went that way.

But what was really interesting? How often they ran the ball out of that lighter package. The Eagles ran the ball 36 times out of 11 personnel against the Packers for 252 yards, 131 yards after contact, and two of their three rushing touchdowns. Hurts ran 15 times out of 11 for 116 yards, which made him the NFL’s most productive runner out of 11, regardless of position.

Then, in Week 13 against a Tennessee Titans defense that ranked first in run defense DVOA through Week 12, the Eagles completely flipped the script. But they did so almost entirely out 11 personnel. 34 of Hurts’ 39 passing attempts, 27 of his 29 completions, and all three of his passing touchdowns came out of 11.

Hurts won NFC Offensive Player of the Week after each of those games.

So, whatever you have to offer on defense, the Eagles have ways to nuke it, and it’s going to look very similar before the snap. This speaks to modern offensive trends, and it’s a huge problem for the defenses that have to deal with it.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Sports Info Solutions, Pro Football Focus, and Football Outsiders unless otherwise indicated). 

A.J. Brown scorches Titans for second receiving TD

A.J. Brown is having a game against his former team, the Titans

If the Tennessee Titans weren’t having second thoughts about trading A.J. Brown to the Eagles, he is definitely messing with their mind.

The receiver who was dealt from Tennessee to Philadelphia in the offseason has a pair of touchdown grabs on Sunday at the Linc.

This one was good for 29 yards and put the Eagles up 28-10 after the PAT.

In the third quarter, Brown had 7 grabs for 113 yards and 2 scores.

 

Titans forget to cover A.J. Brown on 41-yard TD for Eagles

The Titans lost A.J. Brown in the offseason and against the Eagles on Sunday

The Tennessee  Titans decided not to cover A.J. Brown’s contract demands, so they sent the fine wide receiver to the Philadelphia Eagles in the offseason.

On Sunday, in what could be considered a revenge game for Brown, the Titans’ secondary somehow forgot to cover their former teammates.

Jalen Hurts found Brown all alone and the wideout could have waltzed into the end zone to complete the 41-yard touchdown play/

Does Mike Vrabel have to be wondering how could this happen? How could we forget to cover this guy?

Vrabel even managed to find Brown before the game started.

Jalen Hurts proves ultimate versatility on Eagles’ first drive vs. Titans

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is a runner and a thrower. The extent to which he’s able to do both makes him fully dangerous.

Last week against the Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts gained 103 yards on the ground with just seven rushing attempts in the first quarter alone. That was the start of a game in which the Eagles decimated the Packers for 363 total rushing yards, the 20th-most in NFL history, on their way to a 40-33 win.

Against the Titans’ defense on the Eagles’ first drive this Sunday, Hurts completed five of six passes for 80 yards, a touchdown, and the highest possible passer rating of 158.3. The drive ended with this masterful 34-yard touchdown pass, in which second-year receiver DeVonta Smith just housed his poor defender on the way to the end zone.

And no, this wasn’t just a one-read RPO.

A smart play here, as the Titans came into this game ranked first in the NFL in run defense DVOA. It speaks to how the Eagles are able to respond to any type of defense with Hurts as the epicenter, both as a thrower and as a runner. Smith’s runs aren’t just scrambles after the snap — they have a distinct package of designed runs for him, and this season, he’s run the ball 94 times for 595 yards and eight touchdowns.

But if you’re set up to limit Philly’s run game? Hurts has no issue at this point in his career throwing the ball all over the field.

Which is a big part of what makes this offense to tough to defend. Those who are still wondering whether running quarterbacks can lead top-tier offenses need to spend a bit of time catching up, because this is where the NFL is heading in a big hurry.

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Eagles run through Packers, become first team with 10 wins in 2022

The Eagles ran all over the Packers in a high-scoring game at the Linc

The Philadelphia Eagles ran the ball all around, through, and over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders easily cracked the century mark as Philly ran for 363 yards in a 40-33 victory over Green Bay at the Linc.

Hurts set a team record for a quarterback with 157 rushing yards, breaking the mark of 130 Michael Vick held.

The Eagles averaged almost 8 yards per carry as their offensive line dominated the Packers’ defense.

Hurts averaged almost 10 yards per carry.

Hurts and Sanders combined for 300 yards in a dazzling performance that saw Philly up its record to 10-1.

The Eagles became the first NFL team to reach 10 wins in 2022.

Eagles’ Darius Slay channels World Cup with header deflection, Josiah Scott interception

Darius Slay has never intercepted Aaron Rodgers. But his World Cup-style header led to Josiah Scott’s unusual interception.

The Philadelphia Eagles don’t appear be satisfied to be the only one-win team playing American football these days; at least two of their defenders have perfected the kind header-to-teammate work you’d expect to see in the ongoing World Cup.

With 10:32 left in the first quarter of Philly’s Sunday night game against the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers tried to hit Allen Lazard. Which didn’t happen, as cornerback Darius Slay saw the ball bounce right off his helmet, and into the hands of fellow cornerback Josiah Scott. This is how Scott, the 2020 fourth-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars out of Michigan State logged his first NFL interception.

Interestingly enough, Slay has played 16 games against the Packers in his estimable career — the most he has against any opponent (primarily from his time with the Detroit Lions from 2013 through 2019), and he has never intercepted an Aaron Rodgers pass of his own.

For the time being, Slay will have to console himself with his status as the Cristiano Ronaldo of the American game, and his new contribution to the Eagles’ defense.

Eagles fans put a Philly spin on cheeseheads

Eagles fans with a different take on Green Bay’s cheeseheads

Leave it to Philadelphia Eagles fans to put a unique and City of Brotherly Love touch on the Green Bay Packers’ cheesehead phenomenon.

Everyone loves Philadelphia Cream Cheese, right?

So, these Eagles fans have created their own spin with Aaron Rodgers & Co. in town.

Voila, the Cream Cheese Heads.

Surprised they didn’t attempt the Cheese Whiz angle. Now that would have been a taste of Philly.

Eagles, Packers lighting up scoreboard early at the Linc

The Packers and Eagles were scoring fast and furiously at the Linc

The Philadelphia Eagles are playing great football. The Green Bay Packers are not.

That continued in the first 6 minutes of Sunday Night Football at the Linc.

Kenneth Gainwell capped a 75-yard drive with a 4-yard run to open the scoring.

Then, Josiah Scott grabbed a deflected Aaron Rodgers pass for an interception.

That set up a 3-play, 29-yard drive, which saw Miles Sanders score from 15 yards.

Jake Elliott missed the second PAT after converting the first one so it stood at 13-0.

The Packers countered as AJ Dillon found the end zone from 20 yards.

The PAT was good and Philly led, 13-7.

New guys Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh saved the Eagles’ defense

Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman did it again with the signings of Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh.

Among all the other things the Philadelphia Eagles did this last offseason with general manager Howie Roseman at the helm, they selected Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis with the 13th overall pick. They did so because the Eagles ranked 24th in defensive Adjusted Line Yards, also allowing 4.69 running back yards per carry. That’s not going to work if you consider your team a Super Bowl contender, and Roseman clearly did.

As Davis worked his way onto the field, the effect of his presence was clear. From Weeks 1-8, per Sports Info Solutions, the Eagles allowed 6.3 yards per carry on the 67 opponent rushing attempts in which he wasn’t on the field, and 4.3 yards per carry on the 60 carries in which he was. Yards after contact for Philly’s opposing runners dropped from 2.5 to 2.2 yards per carry when Davis was on the field, and the Eagles’ blown tackle rate in the run game dropped from 7.5% to 5.0% when Davis was out there.

Then, Davis suffered a high ankle sprain that has caused him to miss every game since Week 9, and the team put him on injured reserve. He would miss at least four weeks, and over the next two games, the Eagles allowed 168 rushing yards to the Houston Texans, and 152 yards to the Washington Commanders in Philly’s first loss of the season. The Commanders ran the ball 49 times for those 152 yards, and up next were the Indianapolis Colts with their Jonathan Taylor-led rushing attack.

Commanders hand Eagles first loss of season as Philly’s defense falls apart

So, Roseman did what he does — he got aggressive, he stayed smart, and he added two street free agents to a defensive line with talent, but also with one fatal flaw. The Eagles signed veteran interior defensive linemen Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh to identical base contracts ($2,187,500 for the season with $250,000 fully guaranteed for each player), and somehow got them on the field for that Colts game, though the signings happened so quickly, defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon couldn’t even refer to the Suh signing during his Thursday press conference because it hadn’t happened yet.

Can Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph save the Eagles’ run defense?

You’d expect a couple guys in their thirties to get a very soft landing in a case like this — perhaps the Eagles were thinking about later in the season, and perhaps Davis wouldn’t be ready until the playoffs — if then. We don’t yet know how that will go, but we do know that both Joseph and Suh made huge differences in the Eagles’ 17-16 win over Indianapolis. For the first time since Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Eagles allowed less than 100 total rushing yards (99), and that mattered.

Moreover, both Joseph and Suh showed up as pressure players, helping to foil the Colts’ passing game.

“We thought the entire defensive line played really well,” head coach Nick Sirianni said Monday after the win. “Obviously, those two guys played really well. It was exciting to see that, and felt like all the plays that we felt were splash or play-of-the-game type caliber plays had something to do with the defensive line.

“So, it was all of them. Suh and Linval, they both played outstanding games, and it was great to get them going and get in here and make an immediate impact.

“I think that’s what we were all hoping for, and they did, and that speaks to the type of players they are, the types of pros they are, the types of teammates they are, and look forward to continuing to get them in and mixing them into an already really outstanding defensive line that I think a lot of teams in this league would be salivating to have.”

Which is exactly what it looked like for Joseph and Suh — stellar stand-ins in the short term, and fierce rotational cogs when Davis returns to health.

Let’s see what the tape showed.