With all the questions surrounding the Eagles coming into Sunday’s game against the Saints, there was none bigger than the one about the offensive line.
Would they ever get it together?
They did on Sunday. The offensive line helped the Eagles pile up 519 total yards, 39 points and didn’t let up a sack in a 39-17 win.
But, maybe even more importantly, the O-line stayed healthy.
All five starters on the offensive line (Jason Peters, Allen Babre, Jason Kelce, Matt Tobin and Lane Johnson, from left to right) played all 84 offensive snaps, along with quarterback Sam Bradford.
Peters (quad) and Johnson (knee) came into the game banged up but pushed through it to play. After the game, Peters said he thought the unit was starting to jell (see story).
A week after barely playing, Josh Huff played 41 offensive snaps (49 percent) against the Saints and made his impact felt with four catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. There were extra wideout snaps when Nelson Agholor left the game early with a leg injury. Agholor got in 34 offensive snaps before the injury.
The tight ends combined for 104 yards and played a ton. Ertz had 56 snaps and Celek had 49.
DeMarco Murray led the running backs with 43 snaps, but Ryan Mathews really took advantage of his. He had just 20 offensive plays, but ran eight times for 73 yards and caught three passes for 23 yards. He touched the ball on 11 of his 20 snaps.
On defense, Nolan Carroll, Malcolm Jenkins and Walter Thurmond played all 69 defensive snaps against Drew Brees and the Saints.
Second-year player Marcus Smith played 22 snaps (32 percent) a week after being inactive. Sunday was his second time active this season. He picked up an assist on a tackle and delivered a quarterback hit. He provided the pressure on Thurmond’s interception.
Backup Bryan Braman didn’t play on defense until the end of the game but picked up a sack on one of his seven plays.
Here are full snap counts from Sunday:
Offense
Allen Barbre, 84 snaps — 100 percent
Matt Tobin, 84 — 100
Jason Kelce, 84 — 100
Lane Johnson, 84 — 100
Jason Peters, 84 — 100
Sam Bradford, 84 — 100
Jordan Matthews, 59 — 70
Zach Ertz, 56 — 67
Brent Celek, 49 — 58
Riley Cooper, 47 — 56
Miles Austin, 46 — 55
DeMarco Murray, 43 — 51
Josh Huff, 41 — 49
Nelson Agholor, 34 — 40
Darren Sproles, 25 — 30
Ryan Mathews, 20 — 24
Defense
Nolan Carroll, 69 snaps — 100 percent
Malcolm Jenkins, 69 — 100
Walter Thurmond, 69 — 100
Jordan Hicks, 55 — 80
Byron Maxwell, 55 — 80
Connor Barwin, 54 — 78
Fletcher Cox, 46 — 67
Brandon Graham, 44 — 64
Chris Maragos, 43 — 62
DeMeco Ryans, 40 — 58
Bennie Logan, 31 — 45
E.J. Biggers, 29 — 42
Cedric Thornton, 28 — 41
Taylor Hart, 27 — 39
Marcus Smith, 22 — 32
Vinny Curry, 22 — 32
Beau Allen, 21 — 30
Najee Goode, 14 — 20
Eric Rowe, 14 — 20
Bryan Braman, 7 — 10
