ATLANTA — After a season in which the Eagles used 13 different offensive line combinations in 16 games, the snap counts from Sunday’s season-opening 32-6 win against the Falcons were a welcome sign.
Jalen Hurts and all five starting offensive linemen played all 71 snaps at Mercedes Benz Stadium.
Last season there were just five games in which all five linemen who started played every snap and the first time didn’t happen until Week 8 against Dallas.
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This starting group of Jordan Mailata, Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson has the potential to be very good if those guys can stay healthy.
There was one point during the game where it looked like Kelce was going to miss a snap. During a TV timeout, Kelce was on the bench getting checked out by a trainer or an equipment guy and Nate Herbig was on the field. But Kelce got his issue squared away in time and ran back onto the field. Kelce hasn’t missed a snap since 2018.
Other offensive notes
• Rookie running back Kenny Gainwell got 25 snaps, while Boston Scott didn’t get on the field on offense. Gainwell was still behind Miles Sanders (47 snaps) but it appears the fifth-round pick has already taken Scott’s No. 2 position.
NFL
• DeVonta Smith (62 snaps) led the way for the receivers, followed by Jalen Reagor (50), Quez Watkins (34), J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (16) and Greg Ward (16). No surprise, but Smith is already WR1. Reagor didn’t start the game but was clearly No. 2.
• Dallas Goedert ended up with 52 snaps to Zach Ertz’s 41, but Ertz was dealing with a hamstring injury. They likely would have been more even without it. Meanwhile, Jack Stoll got out there for 12 snaps (17 percent).
Here’s a full look at the offense:
Defensive notes
• Pretty even snap distribution for the defensive line with 10 players seeing some time. Derek Barnett got the start but Josh Sweat saw more playing time. This was a very healthy rotation.
• Marcus Epps started the game in place of Rodney McLeod but lasted just eight snaps before suffering a concussion. That opened the door for K’Von Wallace to play 64 snaps. Just three players saw more time. This was a new career-high for Wallace.
• We spent a lot of time talking about the SAM linebacker position this summer. Genard Avery (22) and Patrick Johnson (7) split snaps there, but Avery was clearly up first.
• Anthony Harris and Steven Nelson played all 72 snaps and Darius Slay was right behind them with 70.
Here’s a full look at the defense:
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