Short on corners, stopping Murray is a big challenge
For the first time in a month, the Eagles are relevant.
Just when it was time to say game up, rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts has sparked the Eagles, turning Sunday’s showdown with the Arizona Cardinals into must-see TV (4:05, FOX, WIP 94.1FM). Both teams are in the playoff hunt.
Former Eagles cornerback Eric Allen, a semifinalist in the Pro Football Hall of Fame voting, likes the underdog mentality the team has adopted with Hurts. Allen, the best defensive back without a Canton bust, outlined the defense that Jim Schwartz — who never reveals his game plan — almost certainly will use with a depleted secondary to deal with Cardinals receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Larry Fitzgerald.
Allen, 55, still is active reviewing film as a broadcaster for the Las Vegas Raiders. The late Buddy Ryan took Allen off the board in the second round of the 1988 draft, No. 30 overall.
Allen knows the Eagles lost Darius Slay (concussion), Avonte Maddox (knee) and Rodney McLeod (knee) in the second half against the Saints. He realizes only the Pittsburgh Steelers have more sacks than the Eagles. The pass rush and a Cover 4 defense can make it difficult for Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.
“It’s extremely difficult when you’re lining up with your fourthand fifth-string type of cornerback against all-stars, particularly with the Arizona Cardinals, who have just a devastating quarterback-receiver combination,” Allen said on Pro Football Report with Merrill Reese. “They can give anyone fits let alone your thirdor fourth-string defensive backs. Simplification is the easiest way to go. Whenever you go simple, you can play fast particularly up front.
And the Eagles up front have always shown that they can get after the quarterback with Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham and those guys.”
Cover 4 is the right coverage for the Eagles because it allows the cornerback on the wide side of the field to “lock up with that outside receiver while the rush does the heavy work.”
“You don’t have to put a tremendous amount of pressure on your linebackers having to cover man to man,” Allen said. “Those safeties are deep. They can have their eyes toward the quarterback and always be thinking about tips and overthrows. It’s a great defense to be able to change up with different looks and disguises.”
The key to defeating the Cardinals, who have lost three of four, is neutralizing the ground game.
That includes Murray, who has rushed for 712 yards and guided the Cardinals to a 6-2 record in games he’s run for touchdowns. He ranks fifth in the NFL with 10 rushing TDs. The Cardinals have 20, second in the league. Kenyan Drake has nine scores and 849 rushing yards.
The Eagles probably won’t need to spy Murray, more scrambler than runner. It will be an entertaining chess match because the Eagles have struggled against mobile quarterbacks this season.
“He’s not like Lamar Jackson where Lamar wants to actually run,” Allen said. “You need a super spy for Lamar. Kyler wants to win from inside the pocket. So, you want to make sure you’re disciplined in your rush lanes and not allow him outside. You want to make sure that pocket collapses from outside in and you get that great pressure from the middle with Fletcher Cox. Get your hands up because he’s a smaller guy. You’re focusing on trying to make sure he’s not able to be accurate in those middle throws.”
When the Eagles have the ball, it’s up to Hurts and running back Miles Sanders to move the chains and shorten the game with the rushing attack they showed against the Saints. Both rushed for 100 yards, Sanders scoring twice.
It’s hard to believe Hurts has turned franchise quarterback Carson Wentz into a scout-team footnote in just a week. At the same time, Hurts spent last week lamenting how the Eagles left too many plays on the field. The vets believe he’s just the guy to deliver.
“I’ve always seen the confidence in him, even before all this happened,” Brandon Graham said of Hurts. “You can tell he’s ready to go out there and show what he can do, and everybody’s excited for him because it’s an opportunity for somebody. The way we’re handling it as a team has been good, both parties, Carson Wentz and him, supporting each other.
I can’t ask for a better situation right now, especially with the confidence he has.”
The Eagles (4-8-1) are back in the playoff chase, though they need help to make it four straight postseason trips. Washington (67), who the Eagles face in the finale at the Linc, is atop the NFC East with the New York Giants (58) right behind. If the Eagles finish with the same amount of wins as either or both of those teams, they win the division.
That would put an exclamation point on this unprecedented season.
“It’s been a lot of ups and down this season,” Sanders said. “All I can really say is it’s the NFL, man. It’s hard to win. I feel like we’ve been beating ourselves. But there’s a time where you can just turn this stuff all around. Better late than never. This is a perfect time to really turn everything around, get on a run and hopefully get a playoff berth.”