No Reason To Be Worried About the Eagles Passing Game, Yet
The Eagles’ passing attack has not looked quite as efficient as it was all of last season. While they did not put up big passing numbers in 2022, everyone who actually watched them knew the Eagles’ passing attack was as good as it gets. To the point, they could often stop passing in the second half of games because they had built up such a huge lead. Through two games this season, however, things have not quite worked. They have a few big plays to Devonta Smith but have struggled to really get things going so far.
But there is a reason for that. And it plays into why the Eagles running game was so deadly last Thursday Night. Tim McManus joined The Best Show Ever and talked about how teams have been defending the Eagles in the first two weeks.
“The Vikings approach was what was slowing down the aerial attack. What they were doing was rushing 3 and dropping 8 on a really heavy basis. The backend was flooded with players. They were begging the Eagles to run the ball. So that is what they did.”
The Patriots did something very similar. Teams are selling out to stop the pass. For some reason, it took the Eagles 5 quarters to figure out to just run the ball instead. But once Brian Johnson started calling an endless onslaught of inside runs, the Eagles offense became unstoppable. They put up 259 rushing yards and scored 34 points.
Does that mean Brian Johnson and Jalen Hurts are off the hook for the passing game’s struggles? Not necessarily. But it speaks to why they are struggling a bit through the air. Both teams have done everything they can to prevent the Eagles from getting going through the air.
It explains why every time the Eagles ran a screen, there were 3 defenders there ready to blow it up. And by extension, that also helped prevent Hurts from getting to the edge and taking off. And Tim McManus went on to say eventually, teams will have to defend the run, especially after what the Eagles did to the Vikings.
“The answer to me, is just run the hell out of the ball. If they are giving you six man boxes, with that offensive line. All day. Eventually defenses will be like we can’t do this anymore, we are going to have to dedicate more to the running game. That will open up things for the passing game, and it will take off.”
We will see if the Bucs take a similar approach on Monday Night. Thus far the Bucs’ defense has been very leaky through the air, but pretty stout vs. the run game. So it is possible they trust their guys, including Vita Vea, upfront to stop the run and sell out to stop the pass like both the Patriots and Vikings did. And if they do that again, the Eagles should be running nonstop. Not because you don’t trust Hurts, but because you take what the defense gives you. Make them respect the run game, and then once they bring an extra guy up into the box, let loose through the air.
You can listen to the full conversation with Tim McManus below:
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