First and foremost, the Eagles' defense wants to stop the run. That has been defensive coordinator Bill Davis' mantra since the day he got to Philly, and that will likely continue until the day he is no longer coaching the Eagles' defense.
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When asked after the Jets game if the Eagles defense keyed on a specific player like WR Brandon Marshall, safety Walter Thurmond parroted back Davis' mantra. "The first thing is stopping the run," said Thurmond. "We knew they had a very physical running game and we were able to stop the run."
The Eagles feel like they can stop anybody in the run game.
"The technique that the D‑Line is playing with -- it starts with the D‑Line," said Davis. "You watch these guys hit the sled every day, every day without exception, and it shows up on Sundays. They are striking with their hands, they are reading their keys, they are doing a great job with it and it's real tough to run on us right now because of the consistency of the technique that the inside guys are playing, and then behind them, you are looking at some real disciplined linebackers that are playing patiently behind the two‑gappers. Right now technique and fundamentally pretty sound."
Through three games this season, the Eagles lead the NFL in the following run-stopping categories:
• They are allowing 3.1 yards per carry, best in the NFL.
• They have not yet allowed a rushing touchdown.
• They have allowed just 11 rushing first downs, best in the NFL.
• When opposing teams run the ball they get first downs on 13.1% of those carries, which is the lowest percentage in the NFL.
Additionally, when you look the Eagles' opponents through three games, they have all had more success running the football against other teams than they've had against the Eagles.
| Falcons | Rushes | Yards | YPC | TD |
| Eagles | 35 | 105 | 3.0 | 0 |
| Giants | 22 | 56 | 2.2 | 2 |
| Cowboys | 32 | 158 | 4.9 | 3 |
| Cowboys | Rushes | Yards | YPC | TD |
| Giants | 23 | 80 | 3.5 | 0 |
| Eagles | 33 | 109 | 3.3 | 0 |
| Falcons | 21 | 127 | 6.0 | 4 |
| Jets | Rushes | Yards | YPC | TD |
| Browns | 36 | 154 | 4.3 | 2 |
| Colts | 27 | 101 | 3.7 | 0 |
| Eagles | 16 | 47 | 2.9 | 0 |
More impressively, the Eagles are doing it with a pair of former cornerbacks at safety, and three injured starters (or quasi-starters) in Cedric Thornton, Mychal Kendricks, and Kiko Alonso.
When you stop the run on first down, you put teams in difficult passing situations on 2nd and 3rd down. Against the Jets, while the Eagles only had one sack in the stat sheet, they pressured Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick into bad decisions.
"One of the things, and I say this over and over again, sacks and interceptions are attached, and it's the quarterback's choice," said Davis. "We are pressuring the quarterback and he either chooses to eat it and take the sack or he gets rid of it. Fitzpatrick was getting rid of it, and they were turning into interceptions. It won't be long until we have a five‑ or six‑sack game because the quarterback chooses to eat it instead of force it."
So far this season, the Eagles have forced eight turnovers. Only two teams have forced more. All of them have occurred on pass plays, but it starts with shutting down the run.
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