Sanders, Brown hit 1,000 yards in style
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. » From Miles Sanders to A.J. Brown, the Eagles were on the right side of a record-setting day Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Sanders rushed for a career-high 144 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 1,065 yards on the season and the Eagles a 48-22 decision on the rainy, slippery afternoon at MetLife Stadium.
Brown caught four passes for 70 yards and a score, giving him 1,020 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
In addition to hitting 1,000 yards for the first time in four NFL seasons, Sanders scored his 10th TD of the season after a 2021 campaign with zero.
Add it up and it’s the first time the Eagles (12-1) have had a running back and receiver go over 1,000 yards in the same season since LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin got it done in 2014 and the earliest the Birds have clinched a playoff berth since the 2017 Super Bowl season.
The one-two punch of Sanders and Brown has been overpowering for the Eagles, who gained ground in their bid for the No. 1 seed in the conference after the Minnesota Vikings (10-3) were beaten, 34-23, by the Detroit Lions. Though the Dallas Cowboys (10-3) are alive in the race for the NFC East pennant, they don’t have the firepower of the Eagles, who oh by the way, got two touchdown passes and a rushing score from Jalen Hurts, now the only quarterback in NFL history to run for 10 or more touchdowns in consecutive seasons.
“It’s a pretty big deal,” Sanders said. “It’s a good thing for the team, for the organization. It’s a key to us winning all these games. As long as everybody keeps doing their job, I don’t think
anybody can beat us. As long as we can control what we control and not beat ourselves, like I said, nobody can beat us.”
Sanders’ second score was a 40-yard sprint down the sideline giving the Eagles a 41-14 lead with 6:01 remaining.
The Giants threw in the towel on the next series by replacing quarterback Daniel Jones, who was sacked four times, with Tyrod Taylor. Eagles veteran Brandon Graham promptly dropped Taylor for his third sack, tying a career-high, and forcing a fumble that Kyron Johnson recovered at the 23-yard line of the Giants.
“Yeah, he’ll get a game ball. Miles, you’ll get a game ball,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “He knows he’ll already get one of those. So, he’ll get one for that and it’s good. First time he went over 1,000, and he’s been great all year. He’s run the ball hard, he’s protected his butt off, he’s protected the football and he’s just playing really good football right now.”
Timing is everything for Sanders, who credited the offensive line and its coach Jeff Stoutland for securing 1,000 yards. He insists there’s a lot of work to be done by the Eagles before worrying about playing out the rest of his contract this season.
“I ain’t worried about that,” Sanders said. “That’s going to come. I don’t want to talk about it. It’s big, but we’re not done. We still have more stuff we want to do and have four more games to show it.”
Brown is so used to 1,000yard receiving seasons he considers it a bad season when he comes up short, as he did last year due to injuries. That said, Brown knows what it must feel like for Sanders.
“It means a lot for him,” Brown said. “We see how hard he works for it. He still has a lot more to go. That’s not where he’s going to end but I know we’re all proud of him. We see the work he puts in.”
Sanders, Brown and Hurts can all say that. The mindset of the Eagles’ offense is simply to throw the first punch. The Eagles have scored on the first possession in six of their last seven starts.
“It’s about setting the tone,” Brown said. “You’re setting the tone, being physical. When you score the first drive, you are telling the defenders it’s going to be a long day.”