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How the Eagles have kept secondary together despite rash of injuries originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Darius Slay, Reed Blankenship, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson.
That’s a heck of a secondary.
It’s also a secondary that hasn’t been together all that much.
Only twice in 13 games have the Eagles had those five guys together for an entire game – the Giants and the Commanders.
And despite the lack of consistency in personnel, the Eagles have the No. 2 pass defense in the NFL, they haven’t allowed a 300-yard passer since Baker Mayfield Week 4 in Tampa, they’ve allowed only two 100-yard receivers since opening day – Puka Nacua and Adam Thielen – and they’ve allowed just 14 passing touchdowns – less than half as many as this time last year and the fewest they’ve given up after 13 games since 2004.
“We trust everybody in this room,” Slay said. “When I went down, Isaiah stepped up. Reed goes down, Tristin (McCollum) stepped up. We’ve got a strong group that’s got a lot of talent in that room and we’ve got guys that’s very versatile that can switch positions and play anywhere so that’s a good thing about our group and that’s what makes it special.
“Coach C.P. (Christian Parker), he does a great job preparing everyone to be ready. Everybody knows this game is always next-man-up, and guys are always ready for the opportunity, and everybody has been capitalizing on the opportunity.
The Eagles are allowing only 179 passing yards per game, their fewest since 1998, which wasn’t a very good year overall – the Eagles went 3-13 – but the pass defense, led by Brian Dawkins, Troy Vincent, Michael Zordich and Bobby Taylor, was No. 1 in the NFL at 170 yards per game.
What makes all of this so impressive is that of the eight Eagles defensive backs who’ve played at least 150 snaps, five either weren’t even on the team last year or didn’t play – Mitchell, DeJean, Gardner-Johnson, Isaiah Rodgers and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/eagles-kept-secondary-together-despite-143618240.html
Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia
Publish date : 2024-12-12 14:38:00
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