January 07, 2023
With all the guff that defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon's unit gets, the Eagles are turning in one of the best pass-rushing seasons ever. In Week 17, they smashed the franchise's single-season record of 61 sacks from 1989, as they're now up to 68. That mark is tied for fourth all time and the Birds are striking distance of the top spot (per StatMuse):
| Rank | Year | Team | Sacks |
| 1st | 1984 | Bears | 72 |
| 2nd | 1989 | Vikings | 71 |
| 3rd | 1987 | Bears | 70 |
| t-4th | 2022 | Eagles | 68 |
| t-4th | 1985 | Giants | 68 |
Going against a Giants team that the Eagles sacked seven times back in early December, breaking that NFL team record is certainly on the table.
With that big mark looming, here's a look at four over/unders I'm setting for the Eagles' Week 18 home matchup with New York.
To note: over/unders are my own lines that I've come up with unless otherwise noted from a given sportsbook.
So, getting back to what I wrote above: will the Eagles break the NFL's single-season team sack record? I'm saying yes!
The Eagles are averaging 4.25 sacks per game this season. They'll be playing a team that will likely be using reserve offensive linemen. The Birds as a whole should be in a position to build an early lead, giving way for the Eagles to go hard after the opposing QB late in the game.
Whether it's Daniel Jones or Tyrod Taylor out there, this record is in the Birds' front's sightline.
It's happening.
OVER.
Is this cheating since I'm already talking sacks numbers? Maybe! Haason Reddick, however, has a chance to take over the NFL lead in sacks this season. 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa has 17.5 sacks. Reddick is second right behind him with 16. As I wrote earlier in the week, Reddick has a sneaky good Defensive Player of the Year argument and leaping Bosa would go along way to building his case.
I can't predict what Bosa will do against the Cardinals on Sunday, but I'll say that Reddick gets exactly 1.5, perhaps tying Bosa overall.
Worth remembering: "If Reddick's last name was Watt or Bosa, the media would be rallying around his Defensive Player of the Year cause."
PUSH.
I'll keep with the record theme here. Miles Sanders' 1,236 rushing yards are currently the 10th most ever in a season by an Eagle (per StatMuse). He should be able to move up that leaderboard against New York. If he hits at least 98 yards, he could move into the top 5, knocking down Brian Westbrook's 2007 All-Pro campaign.
Sanders has topped 98 yards in a game three times this season. This is asking a lot, sure. On a normal regular season game, I could see Sanders hitting this, but what I wonder is that if the Eagles take a big lead, especially with Sanders dealing with some injury issues as of late, they remove him from the game to rest up for the postseason.
With that caveat in mind, I'll say Sanders falls a bit short.
UNDER.
Now, that mark could easily be hit if quarterback Jalen Hurts is a no-go on Sunday, but there's another wrinkle: the Eagles get out to a lead and come the fourth quarter with the game no longer in doubt, Gardner Minshew comes in relief for Hurts so the true QB1 can rest up.
That feels likely.
OVER.
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