5 Impressive Numbers From Eagles Big Win Vs The Commanders

• 8.8

  People made a big deal about how Jalen Hurts would handle the blitz. In fairness, the Eagles passing game seemed to have little answer when the Rams or Packers blitzed in the prior 2 games. With the Commanders being such a blitz-heavy team, it was fair to wonder how Hurts and the Eagles passing game would respond. 

  They blitzed on 17 of his drop backs. He completed 10 of 16 passes for 141 yards. He averaged 8.8 yards per attempt. Only Mahomes handled the blitz better this weekend with a YPA of 12.5, albeit he was blitzed on only 6 drop backs. Josh Allen was blitzed on 10 drop backs and averaged 6.6 YPA, and Jayden Daniels was blitzed 9 times (but never saw more than a 4-man rush) and averaged 4.6 YPA on a 37.5 completion %. 

  Hurts did not set the world on fire when blitzed or anything. But he made quick efficient decisions. He was sacked on one of those blitzes, but mostly because he was given no time at all to react. For the majority of the game, he handled the blitz and delivered a timely pass for positive yards. That is a credit to Hurt, and it is a credit to Kellen Moore for finally giving Hurts options when blitzed. He had that quick pass option to AJ brown, or to Dallas Goedert, or Saquon Barkley. It turns out that when you give Hurts the tools, he can handle the blitz perfectly well. People who paid attention knew that. people who didn’t pay attention got a nice little surprise.

  Dylan MacKinnon on X (formerly Twitter): "Jalen Hurts when blitzed10 for 16 with 141 yards and 8.8 YPAIt turns out that when he has the tools to handle a blitz, he does so very well. But you can't expect someone to beat a blitz when his only option is WRs in long developing routes. / X"

  Jalen Hurts when blitzed10 for 16 with 141 yards and 8.8 YPAIt turns out that when he has the tools to handle a blitz, he does so very well. But you can't expect someone to beat a blitz when his only option is WRs in long developing routes.

   

• 10

  Quinyon Mitchell shut Terry McLaurin down the first time the two teams met. The next time McLaurin beat him for a TD. So who won the 3rd meeting? It is not even close. Quinyon in a landslide.

  Yes, McLaurin did have that 1 long TD. But that came vs Darius Slay. When he floated over to Quinyon’s side, he didn’t have a hope of doing anything. McLaurin had 1 catch for 7 yards. Meaning Scary Terry had as many catches as Quinyon himself did after the interception late in the game. Quinyon also gave up 1 catch to Zach Ertz for 3 yards. Apart from that, the Commanders got nothing done on Quinyon’s side of the field. Quinyonomo Bay was locked down tight. He is a rookie, and went into an NFC Championship game vs one of the more dynamic WRs in the league, and never blinked. 

  Cooper DeJean by the way only gave up 32 yards on 5 catches. Slay had the one slip up, it happens to every corner, but otherwise gave up only 2 catches for 14 yards the rest of the way. The Eagles CB tandem is as good as it gets, despite featuring 2 rookies and 1 34-year-old. They say you can’t trust old corners or rookie corners, but that is all the Eagles have and they are the best in the league at shutting down the passing game.

  Next Gen Stats on X (formerly Twitter): "Quinyon Mitchell lined up against Terry McLaurin on 36 of his 48 routes (75%), aligning in press coverage on half of those matchups.Mitchell allowed just one reception for 7 yards on 4 targets against McLaurin, including a fourth quarter interception.#WASvsPHI | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/umbdPA5yNJ / X"

  Quinyon Mitchell lined up against Terry McLaurin on 36 of his 48 routes (75%), aligning in press coverage on half of those matchups.Mitchell allowed just one reception for 7 yards on 4 targets against McLaurin, including a fourth quarter interception.#WASvsPHI | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/umbdPA5yNJ

• 2.55

  We talked about how good the Eagles’ pass defense is, but how about the run defense? Jayden Daniels escaped a few times, racking up 48 yards on the ground, but the Commanders RBs didn’t have a prayer all game long. Between Brian Robinson and Austin Ekler, they gained just 51 yards on 20 attempts. 2.55 yards per carry.

  This is not a new thing. Opposing RBs average just 4.08 yards per carry this season. It is only 3.9 since the bye week. QBs can run on them a bit, but RBs don’t have a chance. 

  Dylan MacKinnon on X (formerly Twitter): "Since the bye week, the Eagles have held opposing RBs to 3.9 yards per carry. / X"

  Since the bye week, the Eagles have held opposing RBs to 3.9 yards per carry.

• 30

  The Commanders had 58 dropbacks. The Eagles D-Line had 30 pressures. 8 from Jalen Carter, 4 from Milton Williams, Moro Ojomo, and Nolan Smith, 3 from Jordan Davis, 2 from Jalyx Hunt, Josh Sweat, and Bryce Huff, and 1 from Oren Burks. They did that while never sending more than 4 rushers. The few times they blitzed, they compensated by dropping someone else into coverage.

  Jayden Daniels is a tough guy to bring down. He made people miss several times. but he was almost never comfortable in the pocket. And while he was poised for a rookie, it definitely took him off his game a bit. His YPA dropped from 6.1 when in a clean pocket, to 3.3 when under pressure. His QB rating dropped from 82.1 to 47.9. And they mostly did a good job of keeping contained while getting that pressure. They only got 3 sacks, but make no mistake, the Eagles D-Line dominated that game.

  NFL on X (formerly Twitter): "Nolan Smith gets home to sack Daniels for a turnover on downs!📺: #WASvsPHI on FOX📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/KECfzkZnZ5 / X"

  Nolan Smith gets home to sack Daniels for a turnover on downs!📺: #WASvsPHI on FOX📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/KECfzkZnZ5

• 5

  How good is the Eagles rushing game? So good it is more explosive than any team’s passing game. The Eagles have 9 plays on the ground of more than 15 yards. They have 5 total runs, and 4 TD runs of more than 40 yards. There are only 9 pass plays period in this postseason of more than 40 yards. The Eagles run game, is the most explosive part of any offense. You usually don’t talk about a run game being explosive, but the Eagles is. Teams need to leave a saftey back to stop the run. Because if you bring that saftey up, and Saquon gets into the second level, it is over. Same goes for Hurts, and apparently Will Shipley.

  It is why it was always silly when people said the Eagles can’t win by just running the ball. They can and have all season long. They showed on Sunday they can also throw it really well, but they could go in, run the ball, and win. Because sooner or later Saquon Barkley is going to break one and change the game. He did it on the Eagles first play on Sunday.

  Bleacher Report on X (formerly Twitter): "SAQUON BARKLEY 60 YARD TD ON THE EAGLES FIRST PLAY 🤯😱UNREAL. (via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/z1nwtMZhDP / X"

  SAQUON BARKLEY 60 YARD TD ON THE EAGLES FIRST PLAY 🤯😱UNREAL. (via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/z1nwtMZhDP