Milestones for Zach Ertz, Javon Hargrave in Eagles Stats

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Milestones for Zach Ertz, Javon Hargrave in Eagles Stats

 

OK, Eagles, you’re not making this easy.

Win or lose, I always want to mix some positive numbers into the weekly Roob’s Eagles Stats column. After a game like that? It’s a challenge.

But despite the 41-21 loss in Dallas, we found a few notable achievements by Javon Hargrave, Fletcher Cox and Zach Ertz among others to balance out a few statistical milestones that aren’t quite as positive.

HARGRAVE CHASING JEROME: Javon Hargrave is the first Eagle with four sacks through three games since Dream Teamers Jason Babin and Cullen Jenkins each had 4.0 in 2011. The last Eagle with more than 4.0 sacks through three games is Trent Cole, who had 5.0 the first three games of 2007. The last interior lineman with more after three games is Jerome Brown, who had 4 ½ in 1991. Hargrave is tied for 4th in the NFL in sacks and leads all defensive tackles. He’s only 2 ½ sacks off his career high of 6 ½, set in 2018 with the Steelers.

MOST OF ANY DEFENSIVE TACKLE: Fletcher Cox tied an NFL record for defensive tackles with his third fumble recovery return for a touchdown. He’s one of seven interior linemen with three career fumble return TDs. He’s also tied for 8th-most overall. And he’s the first Eagle in franchise history with three. He had been tied with Nigel Bradham, Sheldon Brown, Seth Joyner, Juqua Parker, William Thomas, Reggie White and Will Wynn with two.

PROMISING ROOKIES: It’s been a quiet couple weeks for DeVonta Smith, but despite that his 11 catches are 3rd-most ever by an Eagle in his first three career games. DeSean Jackson and Keith Jackson each had 17. Jordan Matthews also had 11. Meanwhile, Kenny Gainwell’s seven catches so far are 3nd-most ever by an Eagles running back in his first three games. Lee Bouggess had 10 in 1970 and Junior Tautalatasi had eight in 1986.

FLAG DAY: The Eagles’ 35 penalties so far are not only a franchise record through three games – the previous high was 33 by the 1954 Eagles – that’s the 13th-most in NFL history. The Eagles only committed 13 penalties in a game six times in 14 years under Andy Reid. They’ve already done it twice in three games under Nick Sirianni.

SORRY, BUT HE’S REALLY GOOD: Dak Prescott became only the fifth QB ever to complete 80 percent of his passes with three TDs and no INTs against the Eagles. Y.A. Tittle did it in 1963 and Robert Griffin III, Tony Romo, Peyton Manning and Ryan Fitzpatrick have done it more recently.

I REMEMBER THAT GUY: Trevon Diggs’ 59-yard pick-6 was the longest interception return for a touchdown against the Eagles since Patrick Robinson – then of the Saints – had a 99-yarder off Michael Vick in the Saints’ 28-13 win over the Eagles at the Superdome in 2012. The first pick-6 against Hurts was the longest by a Cowboy against the Eagles since Larry Brown had a 65-yarder off Rodney Peete at the Vet in 1995.

CLOSING IN ON HISTORY: With four receptions Monday night, Zach Ertz increased his career total to 568, and he now needs only 22 for 590, which would break Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael’s 38-year-old franchise record. Ertz ranks 12th in NFL history among tight ends with his 568 catches. He needs 24 to catch Vernon Davis [583] and Heath Miller [592] and move into the all-time top-10.

TAKE YOUR PICK: This is the second straight year the Eagles have failed to record an interception in their first three games. The only other time they opened the season with three games without an INT was 1998. Since opening day 2018, the Eagles have just 29 interceptions in 51 games. Only the Cards (28), 49ers (27) and Lions (22) have fewer. The Eagles’ last September interception came on Sept. 26, 2019, when Nigel Bradham picked off Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau.

EMBARRASSING: By beating the Eagles 37-10 in 2019, 37-17 in 2020 and 41-21 Monday night – all at AT&T Stadium - the Cowboys became the first team in half a century to beat the Eagles by at least 20 points in three straight years. The Cowboys are also the last team to do it, with wins of 42-7 in 1971 at the Vet and 28-6 in 1972 and 31-10 in 1973, both at Texas Stadium. The Eagles’ last three losses by 20 or more points have all been in Dallas.

GARBAGE YARDS BUT A GOOD STAT: OK, a good chunk of his yards came in garbage time, but the stat is the stat, and Jalen Hurts now has three games with at least 325 passing yards in his first seven career starts. Nobody in NFL history has ever had more. Kirk Cousins, Justin Herbert, Kevin Kolb, Cam Newton and Billy Volek also had three. Hurts’ 10 TD passes tie the most by an Eagles QB in his first seven starts since Sonny Jurgensen had 12 in his first seven starts between 1957 and 1961. Kolb also had 10.

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/milestones-javon-hargrave-zach-ertz-roobs-eagles-stats