The Eagles look as though they are headed for a year without a postseason for the first time since 2016, Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz’s first season together in Philadelphia.
The offense is atrocious, its worst season statistically since 1999, Andy Reid’s first season with the Eagles.
And that’s a shame because the defense is having a pretty darn good season.
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Take Monday’s game for example. The Seahawks entered the game averaging 400 yards a game and they didn’t break 300 until their final offensive play, a 4-yard run by Carlos Hyde with 2:00 left.
Consider this: Russell Wilson threw 13 passes to DK Metcalf, connecting 10 times for 177 yards. That’s an unbelievable game from a great player. Seattle ran 50 other offensive plays and gained 124 yards, less than 2.5 yards per play. Ten of those plays went for losses.
Looking at the season as a whole, the Eagles lead the league in sacks with 46, eight more than the next-best team. Only three teams allow fewer yards per play (5.0). They rank 8th in passing yards allowed per game (210.7), and just two teams have allowed fewer passing touchdowns than their 14.
Though it may feel like the defense gets beaten by the deep ball a lot, it isn’t as much as you think when compared to the rest of the league. Opponents have hit for 27 pass plays of 20 yards or more. Only the Ravens and Rams have allowed fewer.
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It may not seem like it, but they’re also among the best at getting off the field on third down, holding opponents to less than 37% efficiency, fifth in the league.
Individually, Brandon Graham leads the team with seven sacks and is fifth in the NFL with 12 tackles for loss. He has a chance to make his first career Pro Bowl at the age of 32.
I’m not saying this is the Gang Green days or anything like that. But if the offense had even played at the league average this season, the Eagles would have walked away with the division.
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