The Philadelphia Eagles have all the tools they need to defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII…and most of them are concentrated on the defensive line.
In the Philadelphia Eagles’ NFC divisional round game against the Atlanta Falcons, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz put on a pass-rushing clinic, consistently finding success by rushing four and showing an occasional nickel blitz (one instance of which netted safety Rodney McLeod a sack).
Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox registered a season-high five total tackles (two for loss), a sack and two QB hits as Philadelphia’s front seven swarmed Matt Ryan en route to a 15-10 victory.
Though Cox was the unit’s headliner, the supporting acts were the key to the Eagles’ success. Defensive end Brandon Graham added another two tackles and QB hits; Chris Long and Derek Barnett each landed a hit on Ryan, as well.
Schwartz’s gameplan made the most of the Eagles’ front seven depth, constantly rotating in personnel and mixing things up with three and four-man stunts.
Under Schwartz, the Eagles defense hasn’t had to blitz to bring the heat up front. And that’s the key to Philadelphia defeating New England on Sunday.
It’s not a new concept. The New York Giants were able to pressure Brady in both Super Bowls XLVI and XLII on more than 40 percent of his dropbacks while blitzing on less than 20 percent of rushes, per Pro Football Focus.
In Super Bowl XLIX, the Seattle Seahawks tried to replicate that same formula against New England. The same goes for the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI and the Jacksonville Jaguars in this year’s AFC Championship Game.
None of those teams were successful. The Patriots defeated the Seahawks 28-24, the Falcons 34-28 and the Jaguars 24-20.
And there’s no question that even a rattled Brady is still an effective Brady; the Patriots signal-caller put up a passer rating under pressure of 96.6 this season, best in the NFL.
So how can the Eagles succeed where other teams have recently failed — and do so not with Russell Wilson or Ryan under center, but Nick Foles?
To start, Philadelphia’s defense generated more pressures this season than any other team, leading the league with 295. That’s 27 more than the next team, the Cincinnati Bengals (268):
Unlike other teams that blitz frequently, leaving the secondary vulnerable to the big play, the Eagles are the best in the league at making opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable without it.
Per PFF, the Eagles’ blitz rate this season was the 10th-lowest in the NFL, but they were able to get pressure on 38 percent of the plays where they didn’t bring an extra rusher.
So if the Eagles are only rushing four on the majority of defensive snaps, Schwartz has a full arsenal of bodies to rotate in and throw at New England.
In the Eagles’ base wide 9 variation of a 4-3 front, Timmy Jernigan and Cox are flanked by ends Vinny Curry and Graham, who line up in 9-technique:
Inside, Schwartz can sub in Beau Allen. At the end spots, he has Barnett and Long to work with.
It’s virtually unheard of to have that level of talent and depth in the front seven, but the Eagles have it in spades. And while teams like the Falcons and the Jaguars get gassed in the second half thanks to their lack of depth, the Eagles can keep their foot on the gas for a full 60 minutes.
That’s what makes this Eagles team more like the Giants of 10 years ago than the Falcons of today. Those Giants were starting Jason Pierre-Paul and Justin Tuck at defensive end, with Osi Umenyiora in the wings; like Philadelphia, New York had a rare combination of talent and depth.
And while the other teams that have taken the Patriots on in high-profile games as of late may only have two or three exceptional pass-rushers, seven Eagles players had at least 20 pressures in 2017 per PFF, an NFL-best mark.
Not convinced? Consider that the Patriots’ offensive line is going to be vulnerable after the team placed starting right tackle Marcus Cannon on injured reserve in December.
Next-man-up LaAdrian Waddle suffered a knee injury against the Tennessee Titans, so the Patriots had to go with Cameron Fleming at right tackle in the AFC Championship Game. Even if Waddle is a go for Super Bowl LII, the Eagles are going to relentlessly exploit that area of the line.
Now, even with all that defensive starpower, the Eagles can only hope to slow Brady and the Patriots down. By no means will this be a blowout; even if the Eagles jump ahead in the scoring, no lead is safe around Brady.
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But the Eagles offense — yes, even behind Foles — is nothing to sneeze at when it comes to putting points on the board. Philadelphia embarrassed one of the league’s best defenses in the Minnesota Vikings 38-7 in the NFC Championship Game. Minnesota allowed a league-best 15.8 points per game in the regular season.
If Foles has one more in him, there’s no question his defense has his back. Expect the Eagles to take this one in a nail-biter.