The effort and performance from the defense Sunday night was inexcusable. How did it get this bad?
Let’s start with the excuses. Yes, the Eagles are severely depleted right now. Their 4th string running back is now also on IR. They played without their top two receivers Sunday night. The offenses most explosive weapon is and has been hampered by a nagging hamstring injury. The Super Bowl MVP quarterback is done for the year. Starting center? Gone. All pro right tackle? Retired. Notice anything? Yes, those are all offensive injuries.
The defense was relatively healthy Sunday night. Nolan Smith was out, as were a few of the backups in the secondary, but 10 of the 11 starters were out there. How did a Cowboys team that struggled to run the ball all season churn up over 200 rushing yards and 38 points? What happened to this defense?
Maybe… just maybe… convincing guys to stay in jobs is a bad strategy. The Eagles begged and convinced Lane Johnson to return. He didn’t make it to Week 3 before retiring. Vic Fangio was considering retirement and the Eagles brass convinced him to return. The defense is atrocious right now. I thought maybe the 4th quarter collapses were due to fatigue and too many snaps as the result of a poor offense. Not Sunday. There was no resistance at any point in the game. The Eagles defense finished with no pressures, no QB hits, no sacks, no turnovers, no negative plays and by my count, 392 missed tackles.
Howie Roseman and the front office committed $328 million to the defensive line over the summer. Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis both signed extensions. Outside of Carter occasionally crashing the opponent’s backfield, there’s been little to show for the Eagles investment. They’re currently ranked 27th in opponent rush yards per game and 20th in yards per attempt. Not great. It seems obvious the young defensive tackles have a serious case of complacency.
How about Jonathan Greenard? The Eagles traded for and subsequently signed the standout pass rusher to a deal worth $98 million. He has zero sacks and can’t seem to get healthy. Between Greenard, Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt, the Eagles were supposed to have a formidable pass rush to pair with their dominant young interior. Instead, they’re dead last in sack percentage, 28th in pressure rate and 20th in scoring. It’s not just the defensive line.
Zach Baun has apparently forgotten how to tackle. Jihaad Campbell is a supreme athlete but can’t seem to understand where he’s supposed to be or what he’s supposed to do on any given down. Safety Andrew Mukuba struggles as a tackler and is even worse in coverage. It’s hard to win in the NFL when you whiff on the top two picks of your draft. Whatever experimentation the Eagles are doing with Cooper DeJean at safety also needs to end. He’s a shell of himself. DeJean is thinking and not playing. He looks lost, unsure of his role, and it’s impacting his tackling… something he was elite at. Let him play the slot and only the slot. Plug that hole and figure something else out at safety.
Only Quinyon Mitchell has played up to the standard set for the defense back in August. There’s too much talent for the unit to be THIS bad. There’s way too much investment for the unit to be THIS ineffective. Send Fangio on his way and try something else, because whatever this is is not working. Not even close.