In the Philadelphia Eagles' Week 7 loss to the Cowboys, the offense was on the field for 61 snaps, while the defense was on the field for 70. Let's see how those snaps were distributed, with analysis.
Quarterback and offensive line
• 61 snaps each: Carson Wentz, Andre Dillard, Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson
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- Final observations: Cowboys 37, Eagles 10
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Analysis: None of the offensive linemen had to come out, mid-game, so there's that! Unfortunately, this was not the O-line's best showing. Dillard got his first ever NFL start, and on consecutive plays he gave up a sack on a bull rush by Robert Quinn, who then beat him around the edge and nearly caused a sack-fumble on the next play. Otherwise, without the benefit of rewatching the game, it felt like he was OK.
It took a long time, but DeMarcus Lawrence finally beat Lane Johnson for a sack, and it was a big one.
Running back
• 33 snaps: Miles Sanders
• 23 snaps: Jordan Howard
• 8 snaps: Boston Scott
Analysis: Howard is better right now, and should be getting more snaps than Sanders, who has not shown good vision early in his career.
Wide receiver
• 57 snaps each: Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor
• 30 snaps: Mack Hollins
• 12 snaps: J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
Analysis: This unit is absolutely killing the offense. The following are the Eagles' updated yards per target numbers, keeping in mind that a good yards per attempt number for a quarterback is around 8.0, with receivers almost always having the highest yards per target:
- Jeffery: 6.2
- Agholor: 5.9
- Hollins: 6.3
- Arcega-Whiteside: 2.0
TOTAL: 5.8.
To note, DeSean Jackson averaged 17.1 yards per target in the two games he played.
Tight end
• 49 snaps: Zach Ertz
• 36 snaps: Dallas Goedert
Analysis: Ertz didn't get targeted until the third quarter of this game. He is getting added attention this season, but his play has still pretty clearly fallen off, just on the old eye test, in my view. Meanwhile, Goedert looks like the real deal as a tight end in this league, but he has to cut out the big mistakes, such as his bad TD drop earlier this season, and the devastating fumble on the Eagles' first possession Sunday night.
Defensive line
• 53 snaps: Derek Barnett
• 51 snaps: Fletcher Cox
• 50 Brandon Graham
• 47 snaps: Akeem Spence
• 26 snaps: Vinny Curry
• 23 snaps each: Josh Sweat and Hassan Ridgeway
• 9 snaps: Daeshon Hall
Analysis: Cox, Barnett, and Ridgeway all had sacks, while Sweat and Curry each forced holding calls, and yet, the Eagles' defensive line was largely dominated all night, despite Tyron Smith, La'el Collins, and Zack Martin all dealing with injuries. The Eagles needed to win this matchup, and they did not.
Linebacker
• 70 snaps: Nate Gerry
• 59 snaps: Kamu Grugier-Hill
• 22 snaps: T.J. Edwards
• 5 snaps: Duke Riley
Analysis: The Eagles cut Zach Brown this week, and Nigel Bradham was out with an injury. Again, without having the benefit of rewatching the game just yet, I'll go out on a limb here and guess that the linebackers didn't have their best game. Undrafted rookie T.J. Edwards got his first noteworthy action of the season.
Secondary
• 70 snaps each: Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod
• 64 snaps: Jalen Mills
• 63 snaps: Rasul Douglas
• 46 snaps: Orlando Scandrick
• 24 snaps: Andrew Sendejo
• 4 snaps: Craig James
• 1 snap: Rudy Ford
Analysis: Ronald Darby was listed as questionable heading into this game, but he didn't play. The more noteworthy player who sat on the sidelines all night, however, was Sidney Jones, who did not appear on the injury report at all. Guys who played ahead of him:
- Jalen Mills, who hasn't played football in almost a year, played 64 snaps over him.
- Orlando Scandrick, who was unemployed a few weeks ago, played 46 snaps over him in the slot, even though Jones has been cross-training there for a couple years now.
- Hell, even Craig James got in ahead of him for 4 snaps.
Obviously, that's not good. Jones is beginning to cement his status as a draft bust.
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