Eagles snap counts: How Eagles replaced injured Slay vs. Seahawks

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Eagles snap counts: How Eagles replaced injured Slay vs. Seahawks

The Eagles used a rotation to replace the injured Darius Slay on Monday against the Seahawks.

By Dave Zangaro • Published December 20, 2023

 

The Eagles lost a heartbreaker 20-17 on Monday night to the Seahawks to drop to 10-4 on the season.

There’s no doubt the Eagles missed Darius Slay in this game but his replacements actually held their own in the loss.

Slay underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last week and is expected to return before the end of the regular season. In his absence, the Eagles used a rotation with rookies Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks.

Here’s how the cornerback snaps looked in this game:

James Bradberry: 59 snaps (97%)
Kelee Ringo: 32 snaps (52%)
Eli Ricks: 29 snaps (48%)
Bradley Roby: 29 snaps (48%)
Josh Jobe: 2 snaps (3%)

The fourth-round pick Ringo and the UDFA Ricks had solid showings. The bigger problem at the cornerback position was the veteran Bradberry, who was torched on that 92-yard game-winning touchdown drive at the end of the game.

Via ProFootballFocus, here’s a look at how those three main outside cornerbacks fared in coverage against the Seahawks:

Bradberry: 6 targets, 6 receptions, 112 yards, 5 first downs, 1 touchdown
Ringo: 2 targets, 0 receptions
Ricks: 3 targets, 0 receptions

While we might be getting ahead of ourselves a bit, it’s fair to wonder what will happen when Slay returns. Bradberry hasn’t played well for most of the season after the Eagles paid him to return on an extension in the offseason. And it’s very early for Ringo and Ricks but they looked fine out there and at least have some juice.

Could we be heading for a rotation in a few weeks? Maybe. It would make some sense.

Other defensive notes

• The Eagles used a ton of three-safety looks in this game. Reed Blankenship and Kevin Byard played all 61 defensive snaps and Sydney Brown played 48. While Brown missed some plays, the Eagles are making a concerted effort to get him on the field these days.

• Perhaps the biggest Matt Patricia indicator from snap counts was that the defensive line rotation was a little deeper. He played Moro Ojomo (6 snaps) and Patrick Johnson (8 snaps). Ojomo had played very minimally so far in his rookie season and Johnson didn’t have a single defensive snap this season before Week 15.

• Here’s the edge rotation: Haason Reddick: 51 snaps (84%), Josh Sweat: 46 snaps (75%), Brandon Graham: 18 snaps (30%), Nolan Smith: 9 snaps (15%), Johnson: 8 snaps (13%). Still a ton of work for the top two guys without sack production in this one. Smith might have played more but he left with a shoulder injury.

• The DT rotation: Fletcher Cox: 44 snaps (72%), Jalen Carter: 28 snaps (46%), Jordan Davis: 25 snaps (41%), Milton Williams: 21 snaps (34%), Ojomo: 6 snaps (10%), Marlon Tuipulotu: 5 snaps (8%). Still a hefty workload for 33-year-old Cox. We all know Carter is a rookie deep into this season but he just simply needs to play more than 46% of defensive snaps.

• At LB, Nicholas Morrow played all 61 snaps as the MIKE linebacker. Since Zach Cunningham (knee) was inactive, Shaquille Leonard started and played 28 snaps (46%). Leonard did have some rough moments.

Offensive notes

• Despiteentering the game with an illness, Jalen Hurts was able to play all 69 offensive snaps, although he did look worn down late in the game. He finished with a couple rushing touchdowns but a passer rating of 40.1.

• The entire offensive line played all 69 snaps except for Landon Dickerson, who missed one when his face mask fell off and his helmet had to be repaired. Sua Opeta played every snap for the injury Cam Jurgens.

• A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith played 66 of 69 snaps in this game. But the third wide receiver spot continues to be a problem. Here’s how those snaps broke down against the Seahawks:

Quez Watkins: 36 snaps
Julio Jones: 22 snaps
Olamide Zaccheaus: 5 snaps

While this Seahawks defense had given up some deep balls coming into this game, playing Watkins that much more than Zaccheaus is a weird choice. And it was an even weirder choice to dial up a shot play for Watkins when the Eagles should have been in move-the-sticks and bleed-the-clock mode. Watkins didn’t show enough fight getting back to the ball and it was picked, which is something you've heard before. The WR3 position might not be that important with two stars atop the depth chart but the Eagles just can’t get consistent play and production for any of those guys.

• D’Andre Swift out-snapped Kenny Gainwell 41-28 in this game. Swift had a solid afternoon with 74 rushing yards on 18 carries.

• At TE, Dallas Goedert played 58 snaps, followed by Jack Stoll with 22. Grant Calcaterra was active but didn’t see any action on offense.

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