Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay (2) celebrates with teammate safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (23) after intercepting a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
The first prerequisite that the Eagles must have in order to make a Super Bowl run is a healthy Jalen Hurts, They need him to be able to operate all of the offense that head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen had developed. The Birds offense needs Hurts to be a threat to pull the ball out of his running backs’ stomachs on Read Options and take off around the corner for big gains. His arm needs to feel good enough to make all the throws both short, intermediate and deep. Hurts has been the most important aspect of this offense and they need him at the top of his game in order to make a run for the title.
He makes the running game much better because of the threat that he’s going to pull the ball out on the handoff and takeoff outside, so he limits the number of defenders that the other team has to stop the run. Defensive coordinators don’t like playing man-to-man coverage against Hurts because he scrambles for big gains when the defenders turn their backs to him in coverage. He’s learned how to be patient against zone defenses and take what they give them. To put in plainly, Hurts has become the ultimate weapon and the Birds need him at his best.
The Eagles also need their offensive line to take over games like they did earlier in the regular season. The big guys upfront need to dominate. Eagles Pro Bowl center Jason Kelce and his crew must get physical and drive defenders off the ball in the running game. When the Birds are throwing the ball, the tackles Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata will need to be on top of their game. Johnson will be trying to play through an injury and if he’s unable to Jack Driscoll will need to step in and do the job.
The Birds running backs, Miles Sanders, Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell will play key roles in the playoffs. They need them to be productive, which means getting north and south when they get the football and battling for every yard on every carry. The Birds can’t afford for their ball carriers to put the ball on the ground. These running backs will also play a very important role in the passing game.
Speaking of the passing game, the Birds need their receivers to make plays, when they get opportunities in one-on-one situations. Hurts will get the ball to A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert and Quez Watkins when they’re facing man-to-man coverages and the receivers must come down with the football. There isn’t a defense in the league that can stop them all. The only way the Eagles passing attack can be stopped is if they stop themselves with errant throws, drops and fumbles. I like their chances.
Yes, I agree with defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon that the Birds defense can’t make a habit of giving up big plays, but they also can’t let opposing offenses keep possession of the football for 60% of the game or the Birds will lose. I want to see them be more aggressive and smart. That means playing some press man coverages and not letting quarterbacks feast on those short routes against zone defenses.
They’ve got to get back to forcing turnovers like they were doing in September and October of 2022. Earlier in the season, they were leading the NFL in forcing and recovering fumbles as well as forcing interceptions. It was letting our offense play on a shortened field and that was helping the Birds get big leads quickly on opponents, but the defense have fallen off since then. They must get back to that turnover mentality.
Gannon has got to stress the importance of forcing turnovers to all the Birds defenders. They must be more tenacious in pulling and punching the football out of the hands of ball carriers. They also need to do a much better job of causing and catching interceptions. In the win over the Giants, Darius Slay, T.J. Edwards and another Eagles defender all dropped interceptions. The Birds can’t let that happen in the playoffs against teams like Dallas, Tampa Bay or San Francisco.
Yes, this season the Eagles defense had an amazing accomplishment with four defensive linemen, Haasan Riddick, Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham each sacking the quarterback over ten times in a season, but turnovers are much more valuable to helping them win a Super Bowl than sacks. Every time they’re near the opposing quarterback, they must try to knock that football out of his hands. The defensive players must also include working on properly recovering the fumbles.
The return of safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is a tremendous benefit for the Eagles defense. He’s one of the better ball hawking defensive backs in the league and they could really use his skills during the playoffs. I would also like to see nickel corner Avante Maddox back out there because he has a nose for the football. The combination of Gardner-Johnson and Maddox will give the Eagles their best chance of winning it all.
They’re going to also need Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay to get back to playing at a Pro Bowl level. Their other Pro Bowl level corner James Bradberry needs to make some big plays as well. A timely interception or two by any of these defenders could be the difference but it must be stressed because the teams that force turnovers and take care of the ball are going to win in the playoffs.
If the defense could shorten the field for the offense by forcing some turnovers, there will be another parade in Philadelphia in the near future. I would love to see that defense playing at its best with the home crowd making so much noise the opposing team can’t communicate. A ball hawking defense along with a frenzied Philly crowd at Lincoln Financial Field is the best assurance that the Birds will be celebrating in February.
