October 23, 2023
Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports
Eagles rookie CB Eli Ricks may have earned more playing time after his performance Sunday night against Tyreek Hill and the Dolphins.
In their Week 7 win over the Miami Dolphins, the Philadelphia Eagles played 72 snaps on offense and just 49 on defense. Let's just get right to the snap counts, and some notes.
• 72 snaps: Jalen Hurts
Analysis: Hurts obviously wasn't perfect in this game, but he had decent numbers (23 of 31 for 279, 2 TDs, and a weird INT), and he made a lot of clutch plays while playing through a lower-body injury.
• 49 snaps: D'Andre Swift
• 23 snaps: Kenny Gainwell
Analysis: Swift had 15 carries for 62 yards, and a couple of Shady McCoy-esque jukes. Gainwell had 8 carries for 16 yards, and one really nice TD run.
Kenneth Gainwell spins his way into the end zone 💪 @KENNETHGAINWEL
— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2023
📺: #MIAvsPHI on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/0rIJPFKW6L pic.twitter.com/ZoXFdNEqeW
Still, in an offense with talents like Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, and Swift, opposing defenses will welcome all Gainwell carries in high-leverage moments.
• 69 snaps: DeVonta Smith
• 59 snaps: A.J. Brown
• 41 snaps: Olamide Zaccheaus
• 16 snaps: Julio Jones
• 7 snaps: Britain Covey
Analysis: As noted in our "10 awards," here are A.J. Brown's last five games:
Titans fans must cringe whenever the Eagles play in primetime.
Jones had his first catch as an Eagle, and got a pretty big ovation. It was for 3 yards, lol.
• 57 snaps: Dallas Goedert
• 24 snaps: Jack Stoll
• 15 snaps: Grant Calcaterra
Analysis: As we've often noted here, Goedert led the NFL in yards per target from 2021-2022. In 2023, his yards per target have been way down, but on Sunday night he had an ultra-efficient game, catching all five of his targets for 77 yards and a TD.
Goedert usually plays close to 100 percent of the Eagles' offensive snaps, but he was not on the field in several moments throughout the game. He was on the injury report this week with a groin injury, so the Eagles were likely managing that.
• 72 snaps: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Sua Opeta, Lane Johnson
Analysis: It's a huge positive that Johnson was able to play the entirety of the game after suffering a sprained ankle last week against the Jets. He was flexing throughout the Eagles' "big boy" drive late in the game, an indication that he was still feeling good after playing a game's worth of snaps.
• 38 snaps: Josh Sweat
• 37 snaps: Haason Reddick
• 12 snaps: Brandon Graham
• 7 snaps: Derek Barnett
• 4 snaps: Nolan Smith
Analysis: After his 2-sack performance, Sweat is now tied with Reddick with 5.5 apiece on the season. That puts them each on pace for 13. Nolan Smith also had his first career sack, though he was unblocked.
• 37 snaps: Fletcher Cox
• 28 snaps: Jordan Davis
• 24 snaps: Milton Williams
• 19 snaps: Jalen Carter
• 4 snaps: Marlon Tuipulotu
• 3 snaps: Kentavius Street
Analysis: Davis made an impact in this game, as the Dolphins' No. 1 ranked rushing attack was shut down early and mostly abandoned thereafter.
Carter only played 19 snaps after returning from his Week 6 absence against the Jets, and he too was disruptive on the interior.
• 49 snaps: Zach Cunningham
• 30 snaps: Nakobe Dean
• 15 snaps: Nicholas Morrow
Analysis: Cunningham's role as the linebacker who never left the field was a bit of a surprise to me, given the Dolphins' ability to win in the passing game in the middle of the field. Maybe it shouldn't have been, as he has proven to be a very good run defender, and as noted above this was the No. 1 rushing attack in the league.
• 49 snaps: Darius Slay, James Bradberry, Terrell Edmunds
• 46 snaps: Sydney Brown
• 17 snaps: Josiah Scott
• 14 snaps: Eli Ricks
• 4 snaps: Mekhi Garner
Analysis: Slay made the big play, but I'll be curious to rewatch Ricks' snaps, as he seemed to be up to the challenge of covering Tyreek Hill out of the slot.
Brown made his first-ever start at safety, and because of his aggressive style of play I expected him to stand out, whether that was in a good way or a bad way. However, he was surprisingly quiet, which I actually think isn't the worst thing.
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