The Philadelphia Eagles defense, a unit expected to carry the team through early season struggles, completely imploded on Monday Night Football, giving up 38 points in an embarrassing 38-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. After six weeks of offensive futility, quarterback Jalen Hurts’ season-ending blood clots, and a tough 2-4 record, it truly looked like the effort dam finally broke for Vic Fangio’s guys.
The Dallas Disaster Was A Complete Meltdown
You know it’s bad when the offense, which everyone knew would be problematic with Sean Mannion’s new scheme, Hurts needing to adapt, offensive line health as a question, and receiver issues, actually showed a pulse for the first time all season. Backup quarterback Tanner McKee, despite being a backup for a reason, played pretty well through three quarters. They even managed a really nice touchdown drive coming out of halftime that gave the Eagles a 21-20 lead. And what did the defense do with that momentum? They offered about as much resistance as single-ply Dollar Store toilet paper. Seriously, it’s fair to say this defense has been way more disappointing than the offense through seven ugly weeks of football. And worse, it looked like they just gave up on Monday night. Former Cowboys coach Wade Phillips summed it up best on ESPN’s Manning Cast. You just hate to see it.
The Numbers Are Downright Disgusting
The stats for this defense are absolutely brutal, especially for a unit that’s loaded with high-priced, and soon-to-be high-priced, talent. They are giving up the 6th-most yards per game at 371.3, the 7th-most passing yards per game at 239.9, and the 6th-most rushing yards per game at 131.4. The fact that they’re only 12th-worst in points per game allowed at 25.0 is honestly a bit of a miracle, probably thanks to a couple of key goal line stands against Jacksonville and the Rams earlier this season.
And then there are the takeaways. They have a measly three interceptions and are the only team in the entire league without a single fumble recovery. Three total takeaways, tied with the Colts for the fewest in the league. You can’t win games like that. Their pressure rate is also a problem: 28.1% pressure rate, which is 10th-worst. They have the 9th-fewest total pressures, and they’re 2nd-worst in sacks per game at a pathetic 1.1.
What makes it even tougher to stomach? There are no injury excuses on the defensive side of the ball, certainly not against Dallas. While they missed Nolan Smith due to a concussion on the edge, Jalyx Hunt and Jonathan Greenard were back in the lineup. This is a group with tackles thought to be the best trio in the NFL. Instead, they got gashed by a Dallas running game that came into the Linc ranked 30th in the league, allowing them to run for 204 yards on 38 carries, an average of 5.37 yards per carry. And to top it off, Dak Prescott wasn’t even sacked. That’s just unacceptable.
This team is now saddled with a 2-5 record. The defense, which was supposed to be the anchor, is now the biggest question mark. They need to find some answers, and fast.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleeding Green Nation.
Leave a Reply