The Eagles’ most urgent problem right now is the one that keeps snowballing on them: stopping the run.
That’s the ugly truth of this stretch, and it’s hard to pin on attrition. Up front on the defensive line, the Eagles have been relatively healthy this season, and the linebacker group has mostly been intact too.
So this isn’t a case of patchwork personnel. With the players available, this defense simply hasn’t been good enough against the run.
“We’ve got to stop the run,” Zack Baun said. “That's first and foremost. When you don't stop the run, it's just an avalanche of other bad stuff that can happen.”
The numbers back up the frustration. Philadelphia has given up at least 100 rushing yards in all seven games this season, which matches its longest such streak to start a year since 1968. The Eagles are surrendering 131 rushing yards per game, sixth-most in the league and their second-most since 1998.
It’s getting worse in chunks, too. They’ve allowed back-to-back 120-yard rushers, with Chuba Hubbard going for 120 against them and Javonte Williams piling up 155 last week for Dallas. The last time that happened to the Eagles was in 2006, when Travis Henry and Joseph Addai both cleared that mark in consecutive games.
The damage has shown up in the red zone and on key downs as well. Philadelphia has given up 55 rushing touchdowns, fourth-most in the NFL. On third down, when opponents choose to run, they’re averaging 5.0 yards per carry and converting half the time.
Monday night was the low point. Dallas ran for 204 yards in its 38-21 win over the Eagles at the Linc, the most rushing yards the Cowboys have had against Philadelphia in 33 years.
“It's never just one thing and particularly in the run game,” Nick Sirianni said. “It starts with us: How do we put them in positions to succeed?
Then it goes to execution. Within execution, it's about how you defeat blocks and how you put your hands on somebody and shed that blocker, and then how you tackle.
“It's a team sport. It's not just a team sport when you win, it's a team sport when you lose. You win together, you lose together, you give up the rushing yards together fully as a whole - coaches, players, everybody together.”
Now comes Washington, a team that has been productive on the ground in its own right. The Commanders rank ninth in rushing yards per game at 125 and 10th in yards per carry at 4.6. They also just ran for 202 yards against the Giants a couple weeks ago.
There is, at least, one piece of good news for Philadelphia: Washington will be without its lead back, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who tops the team with 236 rushing yards. He carried 16 times for 63 yards and a touchdown in the opener against the Eagles.
Jayden Daniels is Washington’s next-leading rusher with 213 yards and an 8.5 average. The only other back they’ve leaned on much is former Buccaneer Rachaad White, who has 145 yards and a 4.0 average.
The Commanders ran for 132 yards in the season opener against Philadelphia, but they haven’t rushed for 100 yards twice in a season against the Eagles since 2016.
“It’s very, very fixable,” Cooper DeJean said. “We'll get it fixed.
(It’s going to take) just everybody working together. Tackling guys up front and then guys in the second level and third level playing fast downhill to get the ball carrier down.
“We can't stop the run when we're struggling on first down. You know, then you’ve got to try different things on defense and do things that we don't usually do, which makes it tough.”
The Eagles beat Washington 24-22 on opening day at the Linc, and the rematch is set for 8:20 p.m. Sunday night at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
Philadelphia has had success on the road in this series, winning seven of its last nine road games against Washington’s franchise and 18 of the last 26 dating back to 2000. The Eagles are also trying to complete their 14th sweep in the last 25 years.
And maybe, just as important, they’re trying to flush what happened against Dallas.
“It was a bad night,” Baun said. “You have to play consistent football and give everything you've got, not just one game if you have a good game or not just two games but every game.”
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