Eagles snap counts: Eagles curiously play Dexter McDougle a ton, Rasul Douglas none

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The Eagles signed Dexter McDougle off the street Tuesday and on Sunday, he started and played 48 snaps or 81 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps in the Eagles’ 21-17 loss to the Panthers. 

Sidney Jones (hamstring) is out for a little bit, but it’s curious this was the Eagles’ best option. They decided it was better to leave Avonte Maddox at safety and bring a slot corner in and play him on short notice. 

Of course, McDougle had familiarity with the Eagles’ scheme, but it’s still hard to believe they asked him to play that much on that short of notice. 

The Eagles had other options. They could have played Rasul Douglas at safety like they did last week during the game. They could have kept Maddox at safety and made Jalen Mills slide inside in the nickel package and get Douglas on the outside. To me, it would have made more sense to get Douglas on the field in some capacity. I believe he’s their next best player in the secondary. Douglas missed time this week because of a death in his family, but he knows the defense well enough to get out there. 

While McDougle played 48 defensive snaps, Douglas didn’t get on the field on defense. I don’t get it. 

Other defensive snap count notes
- Simply put, Michael Bennett didn’t play enough. He got 32 snaps and some of them came as a defensive tackle. He’s been the Eagles’ best defensive end lately and had another big game against the Panthers. Sometimes, the Eagles need to go with the hot hand. 

Brandon Graham led the DE rotation with 39 snaps, followed by Derek Barnett (37), Bennett (32) and Chris Long (29). Josh Sweat didn’t get on the field on defense. 

- Without Haloti Ngata, Treyvon Hester played 34 snaps (58 percent) and Bruce Hector, just promoted from the practice squad, played 21 (36 percent). Fletcher Cox played 45 (76 percent). 

- Malcolm Jenkins, Jordan Hicks and Nigel Bradham played all 59 snaps. Hicks is now 444/444 on the season. 

Offensive snap count notes

- Jason Peters missed six snaps, while Lane Johnson played all 67. Peters came into the game with a partially torn biceps and Johnson has a high ankle sprain. 

- Wendell Smallwood led the running backs with 35 snaps, followed by Corey Clement (25) and Josh Adams (8). Is this group going to be good enough? 

- Alshon Jeffery (64 of 67 snaps) and Nelson Agholor (57) barely left the field, but the next receiver was Jordan Matthews with 29 snaps. He was not targeted. 

- Zach Ertz played 65 snaps and Dallas Goedert played 37. They both had good games if you’re looking for a nice little silver lining. 

Here’s a look at full snap counts: 

Offense
Isaac Seumalo: 67 snaps (100 percent)
Brandon Brooks: 67 (100)
Lane Johnson: 67 (100)
Jason Kelce: 67 (100)
Carson Wentz: 67 (100)
Zach Ertz: 65 (97)
Alshon Jeffery: 64 (96)
Jason Peters: 61 (91)
Nelson Agholor: 59 (88)
Dallas Goedert: 37 (55)
Wendell Smallwood: 35 (52)
Jordan Matthews: 29 (43)
Corey Clement: 25 (37)
Josh Adams: 8 (12)
Josh Perkins: 7 (10)
Halapoulivaati Vaitai: 7 (10)
DeAndre Carter: 3 (4)
Shelton Gibson: 2 (3)

Defense
Malcolm Jenkins: 59 snaps (100 percent)
Jordan Hicks: 59 (100)
Nigel Bradham: 59 (100)
Jalen Mills: 58 (98)
Avonte Maddox: 58 (98)
Ronald Darby: 58 (98)
Dexter McDougle: 48 (81)
Fletcher Cox: 45 (76)
Brandon Graham: 39 (66)
Derek Barnett: 37 (63)
Treyvon Hester: 34 (58)
Michael Bennett: 32 (54)
Chris Long: 29 (49)
Bruce Hector: 21 (36)
Kamu Grugier-Hill: 9 (15)
Tre Sullivan: 3 (5)
LaRoy Reynolds: 1 (2) 

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