EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — You’ve heard the saying before: Sacks come in bunches.
That was definitely true for the Eagles on Sunday when they had eight in their 28-3 win over the Giants.
It’s something they think they can build on.
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“Yeah, for sure,” Josh Sweat said. “Now that’s what we expect.”
After four games this season, the Eagles had just six sacks as a team. But in their last two games — against the Browns and Giants — they’ve had 13. On Sunday, the pass rush exploded for eight sacks, the most the Eagles have had since Week 3 of the 2022 season.
This is just the fourth time the Eagles have had 8+ sacks in a game in the last 10 years.
“Yeah, it’s a great feeling, knowing that the whole D-line is getting back there, that the whole D-line is producing,” Bryce Huff said. “Even the linebackers are getting back there and affecting the quarterback, it’s a great feeling.”
NFL
Here’s how those sacks broke down on Sunday at MetLife Stadium:
Jalen Carter: 2
Nakobe Dean: 2
Josh Sweat: 1
Nolan Smith: 1
Bryce Huff: 1
Jalyx Hunt: 1
Even though two came from a linebacker, all eight of the sacks were recorded with a four-man rush, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. That’s the most sacks and the highest sack rate (21.6%) with a four-man rush in a game league-wide this season.
The front four and the secondary seemed to work well in harmony against the Giants. There were some clean wins from pass rushers but also some plays that ended up being coverage sacks.
And what made Sunday even more special is that there have been concerns about some of those pass rushers, especially Smith and Huff — a former first-round pick and a big free agent pickup. So it was good for the Eagles to see them get on the board on Sunday.
“All the guys that people have been questioning got a piece in there,” Brandon Graham said. “ … I’m just happy for all them guys because I know what that feels like to finally get that off your back and finally have a game together.”
For the second straight week, the Eagles’ defense has kept the opposing offense out of the end zone. Sure, the Browns and Giants have two of the worst offenses in the NFL but it’s still an impressive feat.
Last week against the Browns, Huff finally got on the board with a half sack and said he thought it could give him some momentum. He was right. Because in addition to his first full sack as an Eagle on Sunday, Huff generated a bunch of pressure.
According to Next Gen Stats, Huff had five pressures on 18 rushes against the Giants. It’s his first game with multiple pressure all season and his highest pressure rate (27.8%) as an Eagle.
Huff thinks this game is giving him even more to build on.
“Definitely,” he said. “We’re going to look and see what we did today and look for ways to improve it.”
Sweat got the Eagles started on Sunday with the first sack of the afternoon on the Giants’ second possession. He fought through a chip and beat backup left tackle Joshua Ezeudu to get to Daniel Jones on third down to force a punt. Sweat said he knew he was going to get chipped a ton on Sunday and he did.
But with his first-quarter sack, Sweat now has one in three consecutive games after going without one in the first three games of the season.
“Man, I’m going to be real. I’ve just been rushing well anyways,” Sweat said. “It was just a matter of time before I get there. I’ve been rushing the same. I ain’t doing nothing different. But as a group, we’ve been taking care of each other.”
Earlier in the season, when the sacks weren’t coming, how did Sweat prevent growing frustrated?
“Stay away from cliffs,” he joked.
Sweat said the camaraderie between the defensive linemen continues to grow and that’s helping them with group rush, which wasn’t as strong earlier in the season. He said it's important they all want each other to succeed.
Group rush has been an emphasis all season and that’s finally paying off.
“They come in bunches, man,” Graham said. “Sweaty started it and they came in bunches. Shoot, everybody got a little bit. I was just happy to see it. What we did this week, we can’t be satisfied. We got so much ball left. “
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