Which Eagles weakness is the most concerning?

[time2rock]

Which Eagles weakness is the most concerning?

The Eagles are 8-1, but they are far from flawless. What are the most pressing issues?

BY EVAN MACY
PhillyVoice Staff

ERIC HARTLINE/USA TODAY SPORTS

Eagles WR A.J. Brown fights for extra yards after the catch against the Cowboys on Sunday.

The 8-1 Eagles are the best team in football. But they don't always look that way.

As they've found ways to win game after game this season they've also left fans with concerns that this team might not be the runaway Super Bowl contender it was last season.

As the team takes a week off for their annual bye, let's take a look at a few of the concerns that could potentially undo their championship aspirations. First, three major concerns:

The secondary

The Eagles defense overall is a solid unit. It plays very good situational football, as was seen in their dramatic win against Dallas (that bailed out an offense unable to run the clock out). They have the best run defense in football and one of the top three or four pass rush units. But they have issues in the secondary.

Teams do not have issues moving the ball through the air against the Eagles. Here's some of the numbers:

Category	Stat	NFL Rank
Comp. passes against	241	Most
Pass attempts against	362	Most
Pass yards against	2,313	Most
Pass TD allowed	19	2nd most
Air yards on comp	1,450	Most
Interception rate	1.1%	2nd worst
QB rating against	99.4	5th worst
Interceptions	4	2nd worst

How much of this is due to the rule of large numbers? The run defense is so good, and the offense scores so much, that opposing teams are passing at an astronomical rate against them. 

They've also battled injuries and inconsistencies all season long. But no matter what combination of defensive backs they line up in the backfield, there seem to be holes that opposing offenses exploit. Except against the historical Dolphins offense — ironically enough. Can they win a Super Bowl with this issue, against offenses led by gunslingers like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson?

The schedule

It's about to get really grueling. Philly hasn't had it particularly easy to begin with — they have beaten likely playoff teams like the Dolphins and Cowboys as well as the fringe Buccaneers and Vikings. But it's going to be even more difficult when the Eagles return from their bye. Here's the slate for the next five weeks:

Week	Opponent	Record	DVOA
Week 11	at Kansas City	7-2	2nd
Week 12	vs. Buffalo	5-4	5th
Week 13	vs 49ers	5-3	3rd
Week 14	at Dallas	5-3	9th
Week 15	at Seattle	5-3	15th

So that's three of the top five teams in football by DVOA, four of the top 10 and five of the top 15, all in a row after the bye week — starting with a Super Bowl rematch. The standings-trailing Cowboys and Lions have easier schedules. Is it possible that the Eagles go 3-2, or 2-3 over this stretch and find themselves in a tighter race for the NFC East and home-field advantage?

All they can do is play the games in front of them. But it will be clear if this team is still the best in the NFL after the next couple weeks.

Their injuries

Last season, one of the biggest reasons the Eagles won the NFC title was their lack of injury issues. They stayed extremely healthy. It was almost a miracle.

This year it's not been as lucky. 

• Jalen Hurts — hasn't missed a game but has clearly is having some knee issues.
• Dallas Goedert — broke his forearm in Week 9, will miss four weeks or so
• Nakobe Dean — hurt his foot in Week 9, already missed multiple weeks this season
• Cam Jurgens — set to return to the offensive line after an IR stint
• Quez Watkins, Justin Evans, Avonte Maddox, Zech McPhearson, Shaun Bradley — all currently on injured reserve.

And this is just the injury situation as it looks right now. They've also seen players like Jalen Carter, Fletcher Cox, Darius Slay, James Bradberry and numerous others miss time on the field due to minor ailments.

This team might boast the most talented roster in football. Whether they'll all be on the field together come January could be the determining factor for their championship hopes.

Less pressing concerns

There are a few minor issues that could become major ones down the road.

The run game: The Eagles run game has degraded from dominant and best in the NFL to just decent. After 200+ yards twice in the first three weeks they're barely getting to 100 in recent weeks. They have the third most rushing yards in football, but that's on the second most rushing attempts. They average a pedestrian 4.0 yards per carry, 15th best in the NFL.

Give/takeaways: Philly is -2 in turnovers this season, in the middle of the pack in the NFL. They have 13 giveaways (13th most) and just 11 takeaways (19th most). The secondary, as we mentioned, has the second fewest interceptions in the league. One would expect these numbers to improve — they'll need to for a Super Bowl run.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/eagles-stats-schedule-news-analysis-weaknesses-playoffs-secondary-injuries-pass-defense-dvoa/

[weko]

I don't understand the infatuation with Gainwell.  Scott and Penny are both better runners.  I would like to see them get his carries. 

Our pass D is in shambles now.  We need to blitz some.  Love the CB blitz.  Why do we never use it?  We need to bring 6-7 guys to the line pre snap sometimes and divert the QB's eyes to see who might be coming.  Move his eyes down, take his focus away from reading the DBs and coverage.  Then you can send 1 or 2 guys or drop everyone back.  This is a valuable tool.  We rarely use it.  Rules allow the DB to hit the WR within the first 5 yards.  Why don't we press sometimes and knock the WR off his route.  This would give the Dline another second or two to get to the QB.  Why do we back off pre snap and sit passively back in a soft zone all the time?  It's too easy to find gaps to throw to and the QB can relax and keep his eyes up to read the coverage.  We're just too passive in our scheme on D 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

Look I really do not like our secondary right now. Bradberry looks washed, the Safeties have struggled and Slay has been fine but not the level he was last year. So there’s absolutely concern there! 

But I actually think the run game is a really big concern. Why? Because our offense is superb and is winning games but late on it can’t ice games. It can’t drain the clock to help us win the game. And come the play offs you need a run game to go on a deep run.

[Cochis_Calhoun]

The run game will be fine when Jurgens goes back in at guard, we've just had an interior line issue the last few games, Sunday we played a strong defensive front with our 3rd string right guard, not every issue is the same.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

2 hours ago, Cochis_Calhoun said:

The run game will be fine when Jurgens goes back in at guard, we've just had an interior line issue the last few games, Sunday we played a strong defensive front with our 3rd string right guard, not every issue is the same.

Jurgens helps I’m just not sure he’s going to make that big a difference… 

[time2rock]

On 11/10/2023 at 9:00 AM, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Jurgens helps I’m just not sure he’s going to make that big a difference… 

Getting Jurgens back will certainly help ... he's better than Opeta or Steen at this early stage of his career.  But I do agree that there is more to the dropoff in the running game than just missing Jurgens.  I personally think it has to do with play design / scheme - there appears to be a lack of creativity in the running game (they are pretty much either inside zone or read option).  It would be great if they'd start using motion, etc. to move the defenses around - it'll help loosen them up to get more from the running game.