O-line changes pave way for big ground game
The headlines will go to LeGarrette Blount, and deservedly so.
The so-called short yardage back showed he still has game. Blount rushed for 136 yards on 16 carries Sunday, including a 68-yard jaunt where he stiffarmed some poor, outmuscled soul into oblivion, sparking the Eagles to a 26-24 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Not bad for a 30-year-old journeyman back who weighs 250 on a light day.
Truth be told, running backs coach Duce Staley could have rushed for 100 yards behind that Eagles’ offensive line we watched Sunday.
The foundation for this win was laid long before Eagles fans who took over the StubHub Center began chanting “defense,” infuriating Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and forcing him to go to the silent count on the first play of the game.
That’s largely because the Eagles discreetly but definitively moved on from Isaac Seumalo, the bust at left guard. He didn’t dress for the game.
While no one publicly blamed Seumalo for the Eagles’ abject failure against the Chiefs (the second-year man gave up
up 3 of the 6 sacks of Carson Wentz), it’s clear they’re in a better place without him.
It’s no coincidence that Blount, Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement combined for the bulk of 40 rushes worth 216 yards and one touchdown before the victory kneel-downs behind left guard Stefen Wisniewski, left tackle Jason Peters and center Jason Kelce. The trio opened up freeway-sized holes with combination blocking so precise it was like watching the U.S. Army precision drill team swing those rifles in unison.
Wisniewski started. Though the offense was more efficient and balanced than it’s been in the Pederson era, Wiz gave way to Chance Warmack after 19 plays. The Eagles rotated the guards before wisely playing Wiz for what turned into an incredible fourth-quarter finish. Note to Coach Doug: What are you thinking rotating Wiz?
The finish wasn’t incredible in terms of a dramatic ending. Rather, it was amazing because the Eagles ran the ball so well they burned all of the drama out of the ending.
The Eagles killed the last 6-minutes, 44-seconds of clock with 13 plays, including 10 runs. That swelled their time of possession edge to almost 19 minutes more than the Chargers and Rivers, who threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns, and at one point was so frustrated with his lack of a run game he slammed his mouthpiece on the ground, ripped off his helmet and screamed into the microphone inside.
“To finish a game like that in victory formation,” Wentz said, applauding the run game, “that’s a hard-fought win. We’re just finding ways to win.”
In back-to-back victories by three points or less over the Giants and the Chargers, the Eagles have totaled 79 rushes and 62 passes.
Sure, those teams are a combined 0-8. But the Eagles – who played without All-Pro defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, and it showed in an ineffective pass rush – proved to themselves that they can win with the run game.
And it sure helps to have a kicker like Jake Elliott, who drilled field goals of 45, 40, 53 and 47 yards.
The passing game had its moments Sunday, no thanks to Torrey Smith and two disappointing dropped passes.
It just didn’t compare to the high-functioning run game. Smallwood had 10 rushes for 34 yards. Clement got 30 yards on 10 lugs.
The red zone-challenged Eagles even figured how to punch it in after earning themselves a goal-to-goal situation.
Blount got the Birds to the three-yard line on a 68-yard run through a gaping hole in the middle made by Peters, Wiz and Kelce. Picture a locomotive taking out the car that beat the crossing gate.
It took seven snaps – and two half-the-distance penalties on the Chargers – but the Eagles punched it in with Smallwood diving through a crease in the middle created by Wisniewski and Kelce.
Then there was Clement, the rookie out of Glassboro, N.J., rushing for first downs on two huge third downs on the final clock-killing possession. On third-and-one with 2:22 remaining, Clement got four yards.
The bottom line is the Eagles (3-1), with a run game, are dangerous.