Are good vibes officially restored in Philadelphia?
The Eagles snapped their two-game losing streak with a 28-22 win over the Carson Wentz-led Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, largely thanks to Jalen Hurts and his perfect passer rating.
Plus, sources say that Chief Vibes Officer Brandon Graham is on his way back to the Eagles, too, to bolster an edge rusher corps that is navigating the surprise retirement of Za’Darius Smith last week.
But to enter the bye week on a high note, the Eagles must face the New York Giants, their division rivals who handed them a blowout loss two weeks ago. The Giants will try to bounce back after a fourth-quarter collapse against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, leading to a 33-32 loss.
Here’s what we know (and what we don’t) about the Eagles entering their Week 8 matchup against the Giants:
Lights, camera, play-action
The Eagles came out of the mini-bye week wanting to establish the running game. That didn’t work. Brian Flores’ defense limited Saquon Barkley to just 44 yards on 18 carries, good for a 2.4 yards per attempt (his second-lowest clip this season).
Still, the Eagles utilized the threat of the running game successfully against the Vikings, which is a step in the right direction. The offense incorporated play-action passes from under center on Sunday more frequently than in the previous six weeks of the season.
In Weeks 1-6, the Eagles had five under-center play-action drop backs, according to Next Gen Stats. One of them resulted in a scramble. Another went for 1 yard. The others resulted in incompletions or penalties.
Sunday was different. Hurts had four play-action dropbacks from under center, which resulted in four completions for 121 yards and a touchdown. Why was it so effective? For one, the Eagles had established a tendency of running the ball when Hurts is lined up under center before the snap. Entering Sunday’s game, 42 of the Eagles’ 48 plays from under center were carries (87.5%).
By establishing that tendency (and continuing to do so with 15 under-center runs on Sunday), the Vikings aligned a safety in the box in anticipation of the run, especially when the Eagles utilized Fred Johnson as an extra offensive lineman. The Eagles made them pay by occasionally breaking that tendency, especially on the 79-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith, which occurred when the offense was in that jumbo package.
“We had an answer for it,” Barkley said of Smith’s touchdown play. “We called it at the right time. That’s the beauty of this game. They can do whatever they want, but we should always have answers. I think that’s the mentality we’ve got to continue to get back to.”
Could we see more play-action passes from under center? And could the Eagles’ success in doing so on Sunday thwart defenses from loading up the box when Hurts lines up under center? That would benefit Barkley, who is averaging just 3.3 yards per carry this season, far behind the league’s average of 4.3.
Nick Sirianni noted Monday that the uptick in under-center plays was a byproduct of the self-scout from the mini-bye week. He emphasized the importance of meshing the running and play-action passing games seamlessly, as it challenges the defense to convert from run to pass on the fly.
“We will see how things move forward as far as the ways we want to attack,” Sirianni said. “Every game calls for different things. This is what this game called for, and these are some of the things that came off our self-scout. We’ll continue to work and find ways to get better.”
Feel the Burns
Barkley hasn’t been getting a consistent boost in the running game from the Eagles’ offensive line this year. The group has been reeling from injuries. Cam Jurgens suffered the latest, exiting Sunday’s game after the second drive with a knee injury.
With Jurgens’ status in question for the rematch against the Giants, the Eagles could turn to a backup at center, which could present all sorts of challenges against a formidable defensive front.
The Giants exploited the Eagles’ weaknesses on the offensive line in their last matchup. Brett Toth started at left guard in place of the injured Landon Dickerson (ankle). Brian Burns notched two sacks against the left side of the offensive line, once on a stunt and another from 3 yards off the line of scrimmage.
Burns has four sacks in his last two games, after adding two more in their loss to the Broncos. The good news for the Eagles is that Dickerson started and finished Sunday’s game against the Vikings. His presence against the Giants would help stabilize the left side of the line and minimize Burns’ impact when he lines up on that side.
But if Jurgens can’t play, the Eagles could turn to Toth at center. He would be tasked with keeping Dexter Lawrence, the three-time Pro Bowler, at bay.
Lawrence hasn’t been as disruptive as a pass rusher as he was last season and hasn’t posted a sack this year. Still, Lawrence is an important part of the Giants’ defensive front, ranking fourth on the team with 15 “stops,” which Next Gen Stats defines as tackles that result in a successful play for the defense.
Scramblin’ man
The last time the Eagles faced the Giants, rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart got his legs going. He scrambled five times for 42 yards and a touchdown, which helped him reach career highs of 58 rushing yards and 13 attempts.
Vic Fangio’s defense has struggled at times to prevent quarterbacks from breaking loose. Unsurprisingly, Patrick Mahomes did the most damage against the Eagles this year (seven scrambles for 66 yards), but even Wentz, 32, had a couple of long third-down scrambles totaling 28 yards late Sunday as the Vikings attempted a comeback.
Improved tackling would be a good place for the Eagles to start. Dart forced three missed tackles against the Eagles, according to Pro Football Focus. That was a new achievement for Dart, who didn’t force a missed tackle in any of his three other starts this season.
The rookie quarterback did not scramble against the Broncos, although he made passing plays on the move. According to Next Gen Stats, Dart completed four of six passes for 101 yards and a touchdown when running over 8 mph. Keeping Dart contained will take a group effort from the Eagles, in terms of the pass rush and coverage.
Carter’s return
Speaking of keeping Dart contained, Jalen Carter returned to action Sunday after missing the Week 6 game against the Giants with a heel injury.
Wentz certainly felt his presence. In the second quarter, a simulated pressure left Carter one-on-one with Blake Brandel, the third-string center. Carter breezed past Brandel and launched himself toward Wentz, forcing the quarterback to make an ill-advised throw over the middle to Jalyx Hunt, who snagged the ball and returned it for a pick-six.
Even though Carter has been banged up this season, between heel and shoulder injuries, the Eagles could have used his talent and physicality against the Giants. In his absence, the group finished with a 26.5% pressure rate against New York two weeks ago, its lowest of the season, according to Next Gen Stats.
Carter attempted to make up for lost time on Sunday. He led the team with six pressures against the Vikings, according to Next Gen Stats. His fourth-quarter stunt with Jordan Davis provided the initial pressure on Wentz that helped Joshua Uche register his first sack with the Eagles.
