1. The Eagles’ pass defense has come under a lot of criticism this year, much of it warranted. With injuries riddling the secondary, players coming and going from the practice squad to the playing field, guys being put in positions they never practiced and rookies getting high-leverage reps they never expected, it’s not surprising the Eagles are 28th in the league in passing yards allowed. But here’s an interesting corollary to that: The Eagles are also 9th in the league in passing yards allowed per play. How do you account for the disparity? Two big reasons. First of all, the Eagles are best in the NFL against the run, which encourages teams to throw. A lot. Eagles opponents are running only 19 times per game –which over a full season would be the lowest in NFL history. Second of all, the Eagles are usually in the lead, which also encourages teams to throw more often. But the Chiefs game illustrates how teams are passing a ton against the Eagles but not for a lot of yards. Patrick Mahomes’ 4.1 yards per attempt last Monday night was lowest of his career and 3rd-lowest ever against the Eagles by a quarterback throwing at least 40 passes (Phil Simms in 1980, Jay Cutler in 2009). And overall this year, the Eagles are allowing 6.1 yards per pass attempt – the same figure as the 2017 Super Bowl-championship team allowed. Total yards are important. But if you’re top 10 in the league in limiting yards per pass, that’s definitely encouraging. 2. Also encouraging is the way Kevin Byard and Bradley Roby played Monday night, and if they can continue to play at that level it’s going to help the entire secondary big-time. Remember, that was the first time they’ve been on the field together. You saw Darius Slay and James Bradberry play better Monday night and Reed Blankenship continue to do his thing. This was the first time this year the Eagles had what should be their strongest secondary together, and with each passing week – if they can stay healthy – they’ll continue to grow together, get used to each other and develop better chemistry. Secondary play is all about communication. When you look over at the slot and know it’s going to be Roby and not, oh, maybe Mario Goodrich, Mekhi Garner, Sydney Brown, Eli Ricks or Josiah Scott, you can play faster and freer. It’s remarkable that the Eagles got to 9-1 using 15 different defensive backs. Pass defense should only continue to get better as this group learns to play together.
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