Eagles run all over Saints defense

PHILADELPHIA – Who could have guessed that the Eagles would be a running team? 

That’s exactly what they are. Since the team’s philosophical change on Halloween, the Eagles have won three of four games and run for more than 200 yards per game in the last four. 

Sunday against the NFL’s top-ranked rushing defense, the Eagles ran for 242 net yards with three players topping the 40-yard mark on the day.    

“We’ve got three running backs back there,” Eagles running back Miles Sanders said. “It’s all-around complimentary football. We can all run in the same plays. When we come to the sideline, we all give our feedback. Not just to a coach, but if Jordan of Boston is in, we just let them so they can see what we see. The have (242) rushing yards on the ground, you have to give a lot of credit to the O-line.” 

Sanders ran for 94 yards on 16 carries. Jordan Howard had 10 carries for 63 yards before leaving the game with an injury. Boston Scott chipped in with 16 yards on six carries.  

Then there was quarterback Jalen Hurts. The second-year starter had 18 carries for 69 yards and three touchdowns, including a 24-yard highlight reel run that put the final touch on the Eagles fifth win of the season.  

“It was incredible seeing it on the big screen,” tight end Dallas Goedert said. “I wish I could see that in person but I was on the backside not really sure what was going on. Or how it got all the way back there. I was just trying to make sure the corner couldn't make the tackle on him.” 

The Eagles ran for 152 first-half yards, more than double the Saints league-leading per-game total coming into the game. 

Things settled down a bit in the second half for a number of reasons.  

Sanders had a fumble inside the Eagles 10 that led to the Saints first points, then had another apparent fumble nullified by a ruling that his forward progress had stopped. Howard left the game after his only carry of the second half. Scott didn’t get his first carry until after halftime.  

Coach Nick Sirianni pinpointed another root cause of the second-half slowdown. 

“I got too conservative,” Sirianni said. “I'll say that right now. I got a little bit too conservative with play calling. That kind of allowed them to work their way back in it. So that's on me.” 

It’s no coincidence that the Eagles offense has stabilized in the five games since Johnson returned from a three-game absence. For the first time in nearly three years, the team has real continuity on the offensive line.  

The impact of that stability has been clear. 

“We’re just trying to keep steady with what we’re doing,” Johnson said. “Keep running. That sets it up for play action. When you point your finger on something isn't just having that extra threat of the quarterback running the football.” 

It does help, though. Hurts leads the team with 616 yards rushing and eight touchdowns. That one shy of the Eagles record by a quarterback for a season, held by Randall Cunningham.  

Success for Hurts spreads to every Eagles runner. 

“It's opening the holes up a lot for all of us, and especially Jordan,” Sanders said. “Jordan played a heck of a game before he got hurt. Having Jalen back there makes it 10 times easier. But you really have to give credit to the line.” 

The Eagles are finding success doing something they haven’t exactly been known for in nearly two decades.  Heck, they weren’t known for it at all a month ago. The play of the Eagles quarterback is changing the way the team thinks about the game. 

Even when you are facing the best run defense in the league. 

“Jalen is a special player that forces defenses to play differently,” Sirianni said. “You look at the tape. You look at the stats, look at where they are, you look at their defense. You also want to do what you do well. We know we've been running the ball well. It's just a little different when Jalen is in there.” 

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