6 Numbers That Tell The Story of Eagles Crushing The Rams

• 7.9

  In the first half of games, Saquon Barkley is decent. He averages 4.4 yards per carry and has 3 TDs. Not spectacular, but quality production. In the second half of games, he is unstoppable though. He has 922 yards and 7 TDS on 116 carries. That is 7.9 yards per carry. 

  By the way, that 920 yards is the 3rd most in the league. Not the 3rd most in the second half, the third most period. Only Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs have more than 920 rushing yards this season. In the second half alone, he is the 3rd best running back in the league. Add in his first-half numbers, he has 207 more rushing yards than the next guy, Henry, and his 126.7  rushing yards per game is nearly 20 yards higher than Henry at 107.7.

  This speaks to the Eagles’ basic game plan. They wear teams down.  They beat you up, and eventually the dam breaks. And once it breaks, there is a flood. It is why they lead the NFL in 2nd half-points per game at 16.8. They play old-school physical Football. And most modern defenses are not built for that, as teams went smaller to try to counteract the explosive offenses of the modern era.

  Philadelphia Eagles on X (formerly Twitter): "Like this if you love Saquon Barkley.RT this if you love Saquon Barkley.Reply that you love Saquon Barkley.@saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/0h0Whzyn49 / X"

  Like this if you love Saquon Barkley.RT this if you love Saquon Barkley.Reply that you love Saquon Barkley.@saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/0h0Whzyn49

• 16.9

  The Rams gave the Eagles’ defense a little bit more trouble than most teams have. Not too much. They still held them to just 14 points before a garbage-time TD. But we are talking in relation to the past several games, where they just completely shut other offenses down. The Rams were able to move the ball a bit on the Eagles.

  But no one could have expected the Eagles’ defense to never give up yards. What matters is how you adjust. And after not forcing a third down in the entire first quarter, they were much better the rest of the game. In the next 7 drives, they gave up just 118 yards. That is 16.9 yards per drive. I took the final drive where they scored a garbage time TD out because at the point the game was over. But in the drives where the pressure was on, the defense was great. They were particularly great in the 2nd quarter.

  Dave Zangaro on X (formerly Twitter): "The Eagles' defense gave up 117 yards in the first quarter and -6 in the second. / X"

  The Eagles' defense gave up 117 yards in the first quarter and -6 in the second.

  Puka Nacua had his way a little bit, and the Darius Slay concussion is something to monitor as they were picking on Isaiah Rodgers a ton. But they faced the tough test of the Rams passing attack and mostly passed with flying colors.

• 6.6

  Jalen Hurts is not putting up huge pass numbers. partly because the Eagles have the most balanced attack in the league, and run the ball more than any other team. So he is throwing less, and therefore, has fewer yards than a lot of other top QBs. But look a little deeper, and you will see just how efficient he is.

  For one, he has just 1 interception in the last 7 games. A big deal given his penchant for throwing them last year and in the first 4 games this year. But more than that, he is not even throwing many incompletions. In those 7 games, he averages just 6.6 incompletions per game. His completion rate was over 70% in 4 of the 7 games. Most of his incompletions by the way are throwaways.

  Hurts might not blow anyone away in the box score. But he is playing very well, and giving this Eagles offense exactly what they need. Oh and for what it is worth, he was a perfect 5 for 5 over the middle of the field.

  Jeff Kerr on X (formerly Twitter): "Jalen Hurts -- #NFL ranksCompletion rate -- 69.1% (6th)Yards per attempt -- 8.3 (4th)TD/INT ratio --2.6 (11th)Passer rating -- 102.3 (7th)Total TD -- 24 (4th)#Eagles / X"

  Jalen Hurts -- #NFL ranksCompletion rate -- 69.1% (6th)Yards per attempt -- 8.3 (4th)TD/INT ratio --2.6 (11th)Passer rating -- 102.3 (7th)Total TD -- 24 (4th)#Eagles

• 11

  We saw Quinyon get his toughest matchup last week with having to stick to Terry McLaurin all game long. He passed that test with flying colors. This week it was Cooper DeJean’s chance. Cooper Kupp spent most of his time in the slot, that was where he lined up 65.9% of the time. So DeJean saw him more often than anyone.

  Dejean was targeted 4 times and gave up just 11 yards when covering Kupp, per PFF. He also wound up on Puka Nucua a few times. And while he did give up 1 18-yard gain, he also had a tremendous play where he broke up a pass to Nacua. By the end, he had given up just 38 yards to Nucua, better than most of the Eagles’ secondary did.

  Now Mitchell did get beat once and gave up his 1st TD of the season to Cooper Kupp. But 1, it was in garbage time when the Eagles switched to a soft zone, so it is hard to blame him fully. And also, Quinyon gave up just 21 yards before that drive, including only 14 when covering Nacua.

  The two rookie corners faced another tough test, and they looked fantastic. It is time to stop saying they are being tested, and just acknowledge they are fantastic players. Even if they do hit a speed bump at some point, there is no reason to doubt them going forward.

  Shane Haff on X (formerly Twitter): "That's fantastic by Cooper DeJean on 3rd down pic.twitter.com/86HcoafWBw / X"

  That's fantastic by Cooper DeJean on 3rd down pic.twitter.com/86HcoafWBw

• .719

  Nick Sirianni takes a lot of heat, often deserved. But you have to give the guy credit, all he does is win. He had 1 awful 1-6 stretch last year, but outside that the dude rarely ever loses. He has his team 9-2 this year. But even more impressive is what he does on the road. He is 5-1 this season, but 23-9 since taking over as the Eagles Coach. That is a road winning % of (.719). Only Andy Reid has a better road record during that span.

  It was actually pointed out to Sirianni last week heading into the game, and this was his response.

  “We take pride in that. I just think that speaks volumes of our players and coaches that they handle that. I didn’t know that stat. That’s a cool stat, and we take pride in that. That’s just another opportunity to lock arms, and go at it together, and try to battle all game and win.”

  Flaws and all, we need to acknowledge the guy knows how to win. He has his finger on the pulse of that team. The locker room loves him. He may occasionally baffle us, but if it leads to wins, who cares?

  Bill Colarulo on X (formerly Twitter): "With the Eagles 9th win of the season they are guaranteed a winning season.Nick Sirianni is now the only coach in franchise history to start his career with 4 straight winning seasons.Such a clown. / X"

  With the Eagles 9th win of the season they are guaranteed a winning season.Nick Sirianni is now the only coach in franchise history to start his career with 4 straight winning seasons.Such a clown.

• 79%

  The Rams blocking plan was simple. Don’t let Jalen Carter beat you. They double-teamed him 62.9% of the time on pass-rushing snaps per Next Gen Stats. At one point in the game, that rate was 79%. And he was still disrupting the game, and the Rams still probably got away with some holds against him.

  Sunday Night Football on NBC on X (formerly Twitter): "Jalen Carter has been double teamed on a career-high 79% of the snaps that he's taken for the Eagles. 😲#NextGenStats powered by @AWSCloud. pic.twitter.com/5onijRD0pI / X"

  Jalen Carter has been double teamed on a career-high 79% of the snaps that he's taken for the Eagles. 😲#NextGenStats powered by @AWSCloud. pic.twitter.com/5onijRD0pI

  The guy is playing nearly every snap right now, and he gets double-teamed on the vast majority of them. Yet you will still notice him making an impact. He is not exactly stuffing the stat sheet, but anyone who watches the game knows how much of a game-wrecker he is. What Carter is doing directly leads to sacks and pressures for his teammates.