Category: Eagles

Jason Kelce and Eagles linemen sing Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

Some holiday cheer from Philadelphia Eagles offensive linemen

When you are 9-1, every day feels like a holiday.

So, the timing is perfect for some of the Philadelphia Eagles offensive linemen to put out the first song off their holiday album.

Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata, and Lane Johnson make Darlene Love proud.

 

The entire album will be out Dec. 23.

Jalen Hurts’ late TD run lifts Eagles over Colts

Jalen Hurts and the Eagles are 9-1 after downing the Colts

Jeff Saturday and the Indianapolis Colts’ defense forgot that Jalen Hurts is quite the runner.

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback faced a third-and-goal with less than 2 minutes left Sunday in Indianapolis.

The decision was made easy for Hurts when the entire middle of the field opened from Indy’s 7-yard line.

Hurts took off and could have waltzed into the end zone for the TD that tied the game.

The Eagles took their first lead on Jake Elliott’s PAT and went on to a 17-16 victory.

The loss evened Saturday’s record as interim coach for Indianapolis at 1-1.

The Eagles are now 9-1.

Philadelphia trailed at one point in the fourth quarter, 13-3, before scoring a pair of touchdowns

This wasn’t exactly the play that was going to lead to a conversion of a fourth-and-21.

New Eagles Linval Joseph, Ndamukong Suh combine for sack of Matt Ryan

Philadelphia Eagles new guys Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh combined for a third-quarter sack of Matt Ryan.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ run defense has been a problem of late, especially since first-round rookie defensive lineman Jordan Davis suffered an ankle injury in Week 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Having the Washington Commanders run the ball 49 times for 152 yards and two touchdowns last Monday night in a 32-21 Washington win was the last straw for general manager Howie Roseman, who then went out and did what Howie Roseman does — he signed two free agent defensive linemen in Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh to try and shore things up.

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

It didn’t take long for the two new guys to make an impact, and it wasn’t even in the run game. With 8:56 left in the third quarter, and the Indianapolis Colts driving and already up 13-3 (this is far more a reflection of Philly’s offense), Joseph and Suh cranked things up and took down Colts quarterback Matt Ryan.

Davis is on injured reserve, which means he can’t return until Week 13, but imagine what kind of defensive line depth the Eagles will have when he returns!

Now, about that suddenly stagnant offense…

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

The Philadelphia Eagles signed Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph to fix their leaky run defense. Here’s how the veterans can do just that.

The Philadelphia Eagles are 8-1 with the NFC’s one-seed, but all anybody wants to talk about is the thing that is falling apart.

In this case, it’s about more than the standard Philly sports fatalism.

The Eagles’ run defense has become a disaster, every team facing the Eagles knows about it, and every team facing the Eagles is going to hit that particular wound with everything they have. The Washington Commanders certainly reinforced that last Monday night. In handing the Eagles their first loss of the 2022 season, Washington ran 49 times for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Those trying to extract positives from the game might say that, hey, Philadelphia’s defense allowed just 3.1 yards per carry, which really isn’t the point. When your opponent knows that it can go all 1978 Marv Levy Wing-T on you, and you’re really not prepared to deal with it, that’s a big problem.

“If a team is going to run the ball on first and second down, first and second down, first and second down, and try to get it to third-and-short, we have to do something to combat that,” defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said Thursday. “That’s what we’re working on and that’s what we’ll do.”

Our own Laurie Fitzpatrick recently got into all the problems with that run defense, which currently ranks 28th in Football Outsiders’ DVOA metrics. Whether it’s penetrators who need to be gap-stoppers, a lack of discipline in gap maintenance, or the simple fact that first-round rookie Jordan Davis is out with ankle injury, things are not working.

So, the Eagles did what they do — they went out and tried with all aggression to solve the problem. This week, they signed two veteran defensive tackles in Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh. Neither player had a snap in the 2022 season, but both have proven to be stellar run defenders in recent years.

“He’s a really good player against the run,” Gannon said of Joseph. “His attitude is right. His character is great. He practices extremely hard. He is diligent. He kind of fits right into what we do and how he wants to play and what he wants to do, and I think it’ll help us.”

The Suh signing happened after Gannon’s presser, so we didn’t get his thoughts on that one. But overall, it’s clear that Gannon, head coach Nick Sirianni, and general manager Howie Roseman — not to mention everyone else in the building — hopes that these two veteran Band-Aid contracts will reinforce something that desperately needs reinforcement.

We have no 2022 tape on Joseph and Suh, but 2021 tape does reveal some positives.

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The Philadelphia Eagles’ run defense: Fixable, or fatal flaw?

The Philadelphia Eagles’ run defense has been a problem of late. Is it fixable, or could it bump the team out of a Super Bowl run?

The Philadelphia Eagles losing their first game of the season to the Washington Commanders last Monday night isn’t the biggest issue that they have right now.

It wasn’t just how they lost, but why they lost.

With the rookie nose tackle Jordan Davis on IR, the Commanders decided to keep the game on the ground, and they demolished the Eagles between the tackles.

The Commanders dominated the time of possession. By halftime they had the ball for 23:49 and the Eagles only had the ball for only 6:11. If there is one way to minimize an explosive offense, keeping the ball out of their hands is one of them.

The Commanders may have very well leaked the formula for success against the Eagles’ defense. And with the remainder of the Eagles season up against some run-heavy offenses, this defense may be in more trouble than we realize.

Here’s how it all went wrong, and how it can be solved.

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

Eagles lose TE Dallas Goedert to shoulder injury

Eagles TE Dallas Goedert was injured on a controversial play

This would be adding injury to insult in a twisted way.

The Philadelphia Eagles suffered their first loss Monday night. The defeat to the Washington Commanders also saw the NFC East leaders lose tight end Dallas Goedert.

The shoulder injury came on a second-half play when Goedert had his facemask grabbed, which the officials missed and didn’t call a penalty on Washington.

Goedert should be back before the season end but in the short run it adds more pressure to Jalen Hurts and his receiving corps.

4-Down Territory: Midseason awards!

Players of the Year, Rookies of the Year. Underrated players, and MVP. It’s time for 4-Down Territory’s Midseason Awards with Doug Farrar and Luke Easterling.

Every week in “4-Down Territory,” Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Luke Easterling of Bucs Wire and Draft Wire go over the things you need to know about, and the things you need to watch, in the NFL right now. With Week 8 of the 2022 NFL season in the books, there was a lot to cover!

This week, Doug and Luke present their Midseason Awards, because in a 17-game season, “midseason” is whatever you want it to be. Kind of like the Colts’ coaching situation.

  1. Who are the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year so far?
  2. Who are the Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year?
  3. Who are the NFL’s most underrated players?
  4. And finally, who’s the league MVP at our halfway point?

You can watch this week’s “4-Down Territory” right here:

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How the Philadelphia Eagles changed C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s game for the better

Philadelphia Eagles DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson is playing his best football with a new team and a new role. Here’s why it’s working so well.

Through his first three seasons in the NFL, all with the New Orleans Saints, defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson had a total of five interceptions. The Saints traded Gardner-Johnson to the Philadelphia Eagles on August 30 for a fifth-round pick in 2023 and a sixth-round pick in 2024, giving a 2025 seventh-round pick back in 2025.

Film Room: Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is a huge part of Eagles’ defensive overhaul

Through his first eight games in the Eagles’ secondary, Gardner-Johnson has… five interceptions, which leads the league. He got the fifth on Thursday night in Philly’s 29-17 win over the Houston Texans, which kept the Eagles as the league’s only undefeated team.

The pick came with 8:23 left in the third quarter, and at that point, the game was tied at 14. Houston quarterback Davis Mills made an ill-advised throw under pressure, and Gardner-Johnson made a great play to turn the ball over.

The Eagles had been playing with their food before that, but after Gardner-Johnson’s interception, they scored touchdowns on their next two drives, putting the game out of reach.

In conjunction with star cornerbacks Darius Slay and James Bradberry, Gardner-Johnson has become a fulcrum in a defense that ranked second in the NFL in DVOA (behind only the Denver Broncos) through Week 8. They also ranked second in Defensive Passing DVOA through Week 8, behind only the Denver Broncos. Quite an uptick from ranking 24th in overall Defensive DVOA and Defensive Passing DVOA in 2021.

One reason the Eagles found Gardner-Johnson so attractive is that they had a safety problem last season. Outside of Rodney McLeod, who signed with the Indianapolis Colts in the offseason, they didn’t have a legitimate pass defender at the position(s). It’s the primary reason this defense in 2021 allowed 18 catches on 43 targets of 20 or more air yards for 580 yards, one interception, four touchdowns, and an opponent passer rating of 110.4.

In the first eight weeks of the 2022 season, on those same types of deep throws, the Eagles had allowed four completions on 22 targets for 136 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 68.0. Their EPA per play allowed on deep throws dropped from +0.28 to -0.35.

That’s why they got Gardner-Johnson. What they did with him to change the arc of his career was even more interesting, and has a predecessor in Pennsylvania’s other NFL team.

Eagles DI Javon Hargrave has five sacks in the last five days

Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Javon Hargrave saved his team’s undefeated season Thursday night, and he has five sacks in the last five days.

The Philadelphia Eagles were short on depth on their interior defensive line as they faced the Houston Texans on Thursday night. Rookie Jordan Davis is out for at least four games on injured reserve with an ankle issue, and veteran Fletcher Cox was working through his own ankle issues in this game. Philly’s run defense certainly reflected Davis’ absence, as it had all season in a situational, as opposed to injury-related sense.

So, with all that going on, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave decided to take over the game, and just house both left guard Kenyon Green and center Scott Quessenberry all game long. Hargrave had three sacks and multiple pressures in the Eagles’ 29-17 win to take them to 8-0 as the NFL’s sole undefeated team, and given the extent to which this team played with its food in the first half, it could be said that Hargrave saved his franchise’s unblemished record.

Here’s Green, the rookie guard, getting bull-rushed twice on the way to quarterback Davis Mills…

… and here, he just blows by Quessenberry for another takedown.

Last Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 35-13 win, Hargrave was similarly unblockable. He had two sacks, two quarterback hits, and five quarterback hurries against Pittsburgh’s overmatched offensive line.

Here, left guard Kevin Dotson thought he had Hargrave pushed out of the pocket, but Hargrave made a great recovery to take quarterback Kenny Pickett to the turf.

On this sack, Dotson didn’t stand a chance; Hargrave just rode him right into the quarterback.

At his best, Hargrave is as disruptive as just about anybody at his position in the NFL, and he turned it up to 11 at exactly the right time.

Jalen Hurts finds Dallas Goedert as Eagles open lead

Jalen Hurts throws another second-half TD pass for the Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are getting away from the Houston Texans as they play in Thursday Night Football in the fourth quarter.

Jalen Hurts has had an accurate night and on this drive found Dallas Goedert wide-open for a touchdown.

The Eagles were set to go for a PAT but the Texans jumped offsides.

Nick Sirianni decided to go for a 2-point conversion and after a bunch of shifts, Hurts simply plowed forward to make it 29-17.