In their Week 16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles played 71 snaps on offense, and 73 on defense. Let's just get right to the snap counts, and some notes.
Quarterback
• 71 snaps: Gardner Minshew
Analysis: Minshew played well, and the Eagles should feel confident that he can get the job done against the Saints next Sunday if Jalen Hurts is not truly ready to return from his shoulder injury.
Running back
• 38 snaps: Miles Sanders
• 30 snaps: Kenny Gainwell
• 3 snaps: Boston Scott
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- 3 pivotal plays from the Eagles' loss to the Cowboys
- Eagles will have a lot to play for next week vs. Saints
Analysis: Hurts' absence seemed to really affect the rushing attack, as the Cowboys didn't have to be anywhere near as mindful of Minshew keeping the ball on zone read plays like they would have with Hurts. Sanders and Gainwell combined for 25 carries for 82 yards. Sanders also had a very untimely fumble, while Boston Scott had a fumbled exchange with Minshew on his only rushing opportunity. It wasn't the best day for the backs.
Wide receiver
• 66 snaps: DeVonta Smith
• 65 snaps: A.J. Brown
• 51 snaps: Quez Watkins
• 12 snaps: Zach Pascal
Analysis: Smith and Brown are now the first Eagles tandem to go over 1,000 receiving yards in a single season. Smith was brilliant in this game, making acrobatic catches, and showing no fear on passes that were leading him into traffic.
Watkins has speed and a lot of appealing skills, but he cannot be on the field if the quarterbacks cannot trust that he's going to be where he is supposed to be on his routes. I don't think Nick Sirianni will yank him from the lineup just yet, because they like his field-stretching speed, but I imagine he'll be on the wrong end of some hard coaching in the film room this week.
Tight end
• 67 snaps: Dallas Goedert
• 16 snaps: Jack Stoll
• 7 snaps: Grant Calcaterra
Analysis: Overall, I thought the Eagles' offensive game plan was good, and there were drives where Shane Steichen was masterful calling plays, but if there is one regret that I think this offensive staff may have in hindsight, it will be that they did not make Goedert a bigger focus of their plan. He only had three targets, even though he was clearly healthy again and playing at a high level. Goedert made good use of those three targets, making three catches for 67 yards.
Offensive line
• 71 snaps each: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, and Isaac Seumalo
• 60 snaps: Lane Johnson
• 11 snaps: Jack Driscoll
Analysis: I thought the offensive line was stellar in pass protection. The Cowboys as a team have 49 sacks this season, third-best in the NFL, and the Eagles' O-line shut them out, despite dropping Minshew back to throw 40 times and often running slow-developing routes down the field.
The biggest worry for the Eagles coming out of this game will be the health of Lane Johnson.
Defensive line
• 55 snaps: Javon Hargrave
• 50 snaps: Josh Sweat
• 50 snaps: Fletcher Cox
• 36 snaps: Linval Joseph
• 29 snaps: Brandon Graham
• 22 snaps: Ndamukong Suh
• 13 snaps: Milton Williams
• 9 snaps: Jordan Davis
Analysis: The defensive line was great, once again. They shut down the Cowboys' rushing attack, and the defense as a whole sacked Dak Prescott six times. The Cowboys as a team had given up 19 sacks all season heading into this matchup, which was best in the NFL. The Eagles' sack leaderboard on the season now looks like this:
• Hasson Reddick: 14
• Josh Sweat: 11
• Javon Hargrave: 10
• Brandon Graham: 9
The Eagles are one Graham sack away from being the first team in NFL history to boast four players with 10+ sacks.
I also thought Williams flashed in this game, and was surprised that he only played 13 snaps.
Linebacker
• 69 snaps: T.J. Edwards
• 59 snaps: Haason Reddick
• 50 snaps: Kyzir White
• 8 snaps: Patrick Johnson
• 1 snap: Nakobe Dean
Analysis: I'll be curious to take a second look at White's overall performance, but he had some notably bad plays in this game in an otherwise solid season.
Cornerback and safety
• 73 snaps: Marcus Epps
• 72 snaps each: Darius Slay and James Bradberry
• 69 snaps: Reed Blankenship
• 42 snaps: Josiah Scott
• 19 snaps: Avonte Maddox
• 5 snaps: K'Von Wallace
Analysis: Bradberry got beaten for a touchdown on a great route by CeeDee Lamb. However, it felt like on the rare occasions in which something went right in the secondary, Bradberry was responsible for those positive moments. Maddox was also having a great game in the first half before he left with a toe injury. He is a tough, aggressive player who throws his body around, but that style of play has also led to injuries that have kept him out of the lineup.
Otherwise, this group really struggled. The Cowboys picked on Maddox's replacement, Scott, who was most responsible for the 3rd and 30 completion, among other big plays by the Cowboys' offense. In every game that Scott has had to play significant snaps, the opposing offense has tried to get their best receivers lined up against him.
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