December 02, 2024

Game ball, three stars, and snap count analysis: Week 13, Eagles at Ravens

The Eagles' defensive line rotation is finding its footing in Brandon Graham's absence.

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Tommy Gilligan/Imagn Images

Rookie Jalyx Hunt is now a regular in the edge defender rotation with Brandon Graham done for the season.

In their Week 13 win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Philadelphia Eagles played 56 snaps on offense and 72 on defense. Let's just get right to the snap counts, and some notes.

Quarterback

• 56 snaps: Jalen Hurts

Notes: Heading into this matchup, my belief was that Hurts would have to be special to outscore the Ravens on the road. As it turned out, the defense was stellar, and Hurts heroics weren't needed. He was 11 of 19 for 118 yards, a TD, and 0 INTs. He also added 9 carries for 29 yards, and as usual, some of those were shoves. Hurts wasn't special, but he has avoided turnovers in 8 of the Eagles' last 9 games.

Running back

• 49 snaps: Saquon Barkley

• 7 snaps: Kenny Gainwell

• 1 snap: Will Shipley

• 1 snap: Cooper DeJean

Notes: Barkley finished with 23 carries for 107 yards and, as usual, an explosive run for a TD:

DON'T LET SAQUON GET HOT.

📺: #PHIvsBAL on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/RxqsLUp7cc
— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2024

He "only" averaged 4.7 YPC, which was below his season average of 6.2 YPC heading into this matchup, but the Ravens were allowing just 3.5 YPC this season, which was best in the NFL.

With Reed Blankenship having left the game early with a concussion, DeJean filled in as the deep guy in the Eagles' "victory formation."

Wide receiver

• 54 snaps: A.J. Brown

• 36 snaps: Jahan Dotson

• 28 snaps: Parris Campbell

• 8 snaps: Britain Covey

Notes: It's hard to find gripes with an emphatic win over one of the NFL's best teams on the road, but I didn't think a couple of the Ravens' corners — Brandon Stevens and Nate Wiggins — had any chance of covering Brown, and when the Eagles went his way good things happened. Brown had 5 catches on 6 targets for 66 yards.

Tight end

• 40 snaps: Dallas Goedert

• 27 snaps: Grant Calcaterra

• 20 snaps: C.J. Uzomah

Notes: Goedert opened up the Eagles' scoring with a 17-yard TD catch and run.

Hurts to Goedert! Eagles on the board.

📺: #PHIvsBAL on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/hgsNwx0NsO
— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2024

On a side note, kudos to Brown for blocking down the field, but that is offensive pass interference. The Eagles were lucky that wasn't flagged.

Offensive line

• 56 snaps each: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Mekhi Becton, and Lane Johnson

• 9 snaps: Tyler Steen

Notes: Here's another look at the Barkley TD run, from Fran Duffy. As Fran points out, the Eagles' offensive line can do so many creative things because the entire line has incredible athleticism.

Another explosive TD run for Saquon Barkley - this time off a Gap Scheme concept called 'Tackle Power'#Eagles had run this with Saquon twice all year before Sunday's game (for a combined 18 yards). This one goes for 25 and a TD

Here's how it happened #FlyEaglesFly

🔊🔊 pic.twitter.com/EAE2jIl8FN
— Fran Duffy (@FDuffyNFL) December 2, 2024

Watch Lane raise his hand in celebration early in the play, basically as soon as Barkley breaks into the second level.

Edge defenders

• 58 snaps: Nolan Smith

• 51 snaps: Josh Sweat

• 35 snaps: Jalyx Hunt

Notes: Sweat led the Eagles' edge defenders in snaps in 9 out of the first 10 games (Brandon Graham led them in the 10th), but Smith has led the edges in snaps in each of the last two games. With Graham out, Smith and Hunt both saw a big bump in snaps, as expected. Smith had a sack on a speed rush around the edge:

Sweat played 51 snaps, which was his highest total of the season, but the defense as a whole played significantly more snaps than usual so I don't think his usage changed all that drastically. He too had a sack, but it got wiped out by a penalty in the secondary.

I'm curious to get a closer look at Hunt's play, but he didn't seem overwhelmed by a big game against a physical team.

The Eagles' defensive line got good pressure on Lamar Jackson for most of the evening, which was an encouraging sign in this post-BG world.

Interior defensive line

• 71 snaps: Jalen Carter

• 41 snaps: Milton Williams

• 24 snaps: Jordan Davis

• 20 snaps: Moro Ojomo

• 4 snaps: Thomas Booker

Notes: Carter played all but one defensive snap. He was doubled and held the entire game, and he kept bringing it for four quarters. 4 tackles, a sack, and a ton of pressures.

Linebacker

• 72 snaps: Zack Baun

• 69 snaps: Nakobe Dean

• 1 snap: Oren Burks

Notes: Baun had 13 tackles, a half sack, and a forced fumble. In the locker room after the game, he did not know that he was credited with a forced fumble.

Dean had 10 tackles.

Burks — and not Jeremiah Trotter Jr. — is the first off-ball linebacker off the bench.

Cornerback and safety

• 72 snaps: Isaiah Rodgers and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson

• 70 snaps: Quinyon Mitchell

• 56 snaps: Cooper DeJean

• 51 snaps: Reed Blankenship

• 21 snaps: Tristin McCollum

• 2 snaps each: Kelee Ringo and Avonte Maddox

Notes: Blankenship left with a concussion. He also suffered a concussion in December last year, against the Cowboys. McCollum — not Sydney Brown — filled in.

Rodgers filled in for an injured Darius Slay, and seemed to play well enough. The Eagles have impressive depth at corner.

Brown didn't play in the regular defense, but he downed a punt inside the 1. Ringo downed a punt at the 5.

CJGJ was physical all game and finished a number of Derrick Henry runs with hits.

And, of course, DeJean planted Henry.

Cooper DeJean takes down Derrick Henry 💪

📺: #PHIvsBAL on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/Lwq9S0PfZo
— NFL (@NFL) December 2, 2024

Maddox was at one time one of the better slot corners in the NFL, but bad things happen whenever he enters games this season, He was called for a defensive hold on a key Ravens third down.

Three stars 🤩

I've always liked the hockey tradition of awarding "stars" to each of the three best players in a game, so let's apply that to Eagles games.

⭐⭐⭐: DT Jalen Carter

🌟🌟: RB Saquon Barkley

✨: EDGE Nolan Smith

Eagles game ball 🏈

🏈: Vic Fangio: This time last year, Eagles defenders didn't even know where they were supposed to be lining up. Fangio has this group playing as a cohesive unit that we haven't seen in quite some time.