Things have not gone smoothly for the Eagles this season. Former Pro
Bowlers Malik Jackson, Jordan Howard, Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson
have all spent extensive time on the injured list, the cornerback position
continues to be a revolving door, the defense hasn’t traveled well on the
road, Pederson and his offensive staff have turned to accepting Craigslist
listings at wide receiver, former players have blasted the team on national
television, and they even managed to squeeze in a loss to the hapless
Dolphins in a surprising shootout in Miami.
Still, in spite of the surplus of obstacles along the way, the Eagles
managed to secure the NFC East title- finishing with a 9-7 record,
respectively- and have punched their ticket to the postseason for the third
consecutive trip. While the entire organization- players, staff, and front
office- deserve praise for persevering and making weekly improvements to
make the unit stronger, the veteran players especially stand out as the
pillars of success in Philly.
On the offensive side of the ball, veteran players Jason Peters, Jason
Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, and Zach Ertz have given Eagles HC
Doug Pederson a consistent cast of players to gameplan around
week-to-week. In a season in which the Birds were forced to make a few
more roster moves than normal, the consistent play of the aforementioned
veterans has been a sweet reprieve for Philly.
Possessing 40 years of experience between them, Peters, Kelce,
Brooks, and Johnson continue to outclass rival counterparts at their position
and prove that their names should be among the first uttered whenever top
offensive lines are mentioned. Displaying the same impressive technique and
efficiency that has led to massive success over the years, Jeff Stoutland’s
unit continues to be the anchor of the team- even when the storm rages the
hardest in Philly.
Despite Peters and Johnson being hobbled at times this season, the
offensive line has been able to hold firm and allocate Wentz and the offense
time to extend and make plays.
“It’s kind of always ‘us versus the world’ and I think that’s the mentality you take as a team and in this league,” said outspoken center Jason Kelce. “The closer you come together, the closer you come as a group, that’s how you survive in this thing. It’s us versus everybody else every single week. The opponent is faceless. We just have the drive and the passion to continue to win, continue to execute.”
Holding firm to the chip-on-our-shoulder mentality they adopted during their notorious ‘Underdog’ championship season, Philly has pulled off the highly improbable for the second straight campaign. A month ago, this Eagles team was reeling at 5-7, coming off an embarrassing loss to the Dolphins and accumulated more injuries than there are cheesesteaks in Philadelphia. Most teams would’ve folded under the circumstances, without having to dig too deep through the excuse pile, either.
Philly, however, simply remained composed under the immense
pressure and rattled off four straight divisional game victories to secure the
NFC East title- largely due to the play and leadership of their veteran
players.
While beating the uninspired Eli Manning-led Giants and rookie
Dwayne Haskins-led Washington were hugely important victories, they didn’t
quite hold the weight the final two weeks did for the Birds. For starters,
Philly was widely expected to trump the aforementioned units considering
how poor the opponents ranked offensively. Secondly, the previous division
matchups didn’t have the inflated revenge element that the Week 16 game
versus Dallas had.
After being routed in their first go-round with Dallas, the Eagles
wanted to ensure they imposed their will on them this time around. And,
more importantly, prevent the Cowboys from clinching the division and
eliminating Philly from playoff contention.
With revenge on their minds, the defense played four quarters of inspired ball in the win over the Cowboys. Despite losing incumbent starter Ronald Darby halfway through the contest, the defense was able to keep their wits about them and pitch a near shutout- finishing the game without surrendering a single touchdown. They accomplished this in large part due to the play of the veterans of the defense. Per usual, the Brandom Graham-Fletcher Cox- Malcolm Jenkins-led defense completely stifled the opponents rushing attack. The veteran trio combined for 13 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PBU, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery, doing so in addition to limiting Ezekiel Elliott to a measly 47 yards on the ground.
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Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
“Oh, man, defense, hats off to these guys,” Doug Pederson said of his
defense following the win. “Listen, they took this game I think personal from
the standpoint of what happened to us the first time. Having all our guys out
there, they had a great week of preparation obviously, and we knew coming
in here that Dallas, they were coming off a great win last week against the
Rams. 250 something yards rushing, and they knew that was coming.”
10-year veteran pass rusher Brandon Graham echoed his head coach’s
sentiment that the Philly defense was well-prepared for the Dallas rushing
attack.
“We had to stop the run. We had to stop. We knew that we
had to stop. You know that was number one.”
Known for his tireless motor and fierce competitiveness, Graham also
expressed the pride Pederson alluded to that the defense felt coming into
this game.
“I feel good. I feel like we hit him. I feel like we didn’t let him get
going. We didn’t let him do his little signature eat move, whatever he does.
We said we wouldn’t let him do that on this field today. That was our main
goal - stopping the run.”
In the all-important regular-season finale against the Saquon Barkley-led Giants, it was more of the same stingy Philly defense. Save for a 68-yard touchdown sprint by the generational halfback, the defense was able to smother Barkley and the Giants ground game. Against the gritty Philly defense, Barkley could only muster 24 yards across his 16 rushes sans the scoring play- averaging a lowly 1.5 per tote.
The stingy efforts by the defense was a welcome sight to see and played a large role in carrying Philly to a division-title-clinching victory. Unfortunately, like most Eagles games so far this season, the team could hardly finish celebrating before more injury news made its way down the pipeline.
This time, it was perennial Pro Bowl guard and Comeback Player of the Year candidate Brandon Brooks stricken by injury. Carted off halfway through the ballgame, the talented offensive linemen suffered a separated shoulder and will be unavailable in the playoffs, according to HC Doug Pederson.
As devastating as the news is- and losing a player of Brooks’ caliber is
devastating, truly- plugging in the next man up is run of the mill for Philly
and they will be forced to wage war in the postseason without him.
“Whatever happens in a game, happens in a game,” Brandon
Graham stated following the win when discussing the team’s bout with injury
this season. “But we don’t ever flinch. We just keep going.”
The resiliency and toughness this Eagles group possesses
honestly can’t be overstated. Routinely faced with some of the more severe,
harsh circumstances seen around the league, the Eagles continue to dig
deep and push through it all- a feat that would otherwise be impossible
without the play and leadership of the team veterans.
Down a few more soldiers than they would like heading into the postseason, the Eagles will continue to rely on their seasoned group of vets when they host the Seahawks at home next Sunday. Hosting their first playoff game at the Linc since the NFC Championship beatdown of the Vikings, the Eagles- on the backs of their veterans- look to once again overcome a slew of injuries and advance in the postseason.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
