The Linc - Eagles lead the NFL in sneaks by a wide margin

Dec 1, 2022 - 4:01 PM

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Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Devin McCourty’s HoF Case, Sneaky Eagles, & More - Football Outsiders
It should come as no surprise that the Eagles lead the NFL in quarterback sneaks by a wide margin. Here’s the NFL top five through Week 12, per Sports Info Solutions: Philadelphia Eagles: 24 quarterback sneaks, 21 first downs (three touchdowns). Cleveland Browns: 18 sneaks, 15 first downs (zero touchdowns). San Francisco 49ers: 13 sneaks, 11 first downs (one touchdown). Cincinnati Bengals: 11 sneaks, 11 first downs (three touchdowns). Chicago Bears: nine sneaks, eight first downs (zero touchdowns). The first-down conversion rate for sneaks this season has been 83.5%, not far off the 82.8% rate for fourth-down sneaks over multiple years which Walkthrough discussed in October. The Chiefs and Lions have each attempted just one quarterback sneak so far this season; Noah Gray was the “quarterback” for the Chiefs sneak. Both converted. The Cardinals and Packers have yet to attempt a quarterback sneak. Aaron Rodgers does not believe in them: he has run just three sneaks since 2018. The Eagles lead the NFL with 12 third-down sneaks for 11 first downs. The 49ers are 8-of-9 on third-down sneaks, the Browns 7-of-8. With an 80-plus-percent success rate, the sneak is a logical play call on third-and-1 in many situations. The 2022 Eagles have already smashed the “modern” record (since 2015 in the Sports info Solutions database) for most quarterback sneaks in one season. The 2020 Patriots, with Cam Newton at quarterback for much of the season, went 16-of-22 on sneaks. The 2021 Patriots were 16-of-19.

Eagles Offense All-22 Film Review: Takeaways from the win over the Packers - BGN
I will include Hurts scrambles in the passing section for obvious reasons. This play made me laugh because ‘technically’ you could say that Hurts show throw this to the running back as the linebacker in man coverage leaves his man and charges after Hurts. Hurts makes him miss and then two more defenders miss and picks up a huge first down on third down. When evaluating Hurts’ process, while he does bail from pockets too early, it is absurd to ignore how good of a runner he is in these situations. I learned about the position and grew up watching traditional pocket quarterbacks, so it is hard for me to ignore my bias, but you have to embrace what Hurts can do as a runner when really evaluating his play. He’s been so good this year.

NFC East Mixtape Vol.86: All four teams are currently in the playoffs! - BGN Radio
Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) and RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) discuss the biggest storylines in the division.

Titans at Eagles: Five matchups to watch - PhillyVoice
If you’ve been paying attention to the Eagles’ 2022 season, you know that the biggest nitpick from fans and the media covering the team in a 10-1 season has been their run defense. Last Sunday night, when 6’0, 247-pound A.J. Dillon got opportunities to run the ball, he was effective, carrying 8 times for 65 yards and a TD. Dillon is similar to Henry in that he is a big, physical back, but to compare the two players is like comparing, ohhhh, sayyyyy... Boston Scott to prime Darren Sproles. In Week 12, the Bengals held Henry to 38 yards on 17 carries, and Jonathan Gannon was asked how they did it.

Titans vs. Eagles preview: By the numbers - Music City Miracles
There are a lot of concerns in this one, but one of the biggest concerns I have is the running ability of Jalen Hurts. Patrick Mahomes crushed the Titans with his ability to run when the Titans played the Kansas City Chiefs. Joe Burrow was able to pick up a couple of key first downs with his legs. Neither of those guys runs as well Hurts.

Week 13 NFL Picks Against the Spread - The Ringer
An underrated aspect of Jalen Hurts’s 2022 season: his accuracy as a passer. Next Gen Stats measures the likelihood of a completion on every pass, using tracking data for how long the pass is, how open the receiver is, whether the quarterback is pressured, and other factors. It then measures a quarterback’s actual completion percentage to what’s expected. By this completion percentage above expectation metric, Hurts ranks third among current starters. The Eagles will likely need Hurts to make plays through the air, given that the Titans defense ranks first in rushing DVOA. Tennessee is coming off of a tough loss to the Bengals, but Derrick Henry should find success against an Eagles’ run defense that has had some issues. I think the Titans keep it close and wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled off the upset. The pick: Titans (+5.5)

NFL picks against the spread: Vic Tafur’s Week 13 predictions - The Athletic
The Eagles just ran for 363 yards against the Packers — the eighth-most by any team in the Super Bowl era. They won’t need to do that this week, as while the Titans have seemingly overachieved this season, their secondary has been suspect. They just got torched by Tee Higgins, and here comes A.J. Brown against his former team. But the Titans should be able to run against the Eagles, and if Philadelphia stacks the box, Ryan Tannehill does have some decent targets all of a sudden with the resurgent Treylon Burks, Austin Hooper and Robert Woods — who looks like he might be getting his legs back after offseason knee surgery. Plus, the Eagles’ secondary is vulnerable. Hopefully, Mike Vrabel won’t springboard off this win to Ohio State. The pick: Titans +5.5

Spadaro: A.J. Brown puts Titans showdown in proper perspective - PE.com
The message from wide receiver A.J. Brown throughout the entire 2022 season has been consistent: This is just another game. One day at a time. Stay consistent. As he prepares to play his former Tennessee Titans team on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, Brown is sticking to the message. “That’s my former team. It’s another game on the schedule,” he said Wednesday with, as expected, a throng of reporters crowding his NovaCare Complex locker. “Of course, I’m excited. Of course, it means a lot, but I’ve got to be professional about it, keep my emotions down, and just play. Like I said after the game (on Sunday against Green Bay), my job this week is to be as consistent as possible. So, regardless of who we’re playing, that’s my focus.” In the midst of a terrific first season with the Eagles after he was traded from Tennessee to Philadelphia on the first night of the 2022 NFL Draft, Brown has had a rough week. A battle with food poisoning over Thanksgiving caused him to lose 7 pounds and burst a vessel in his right eye, leaving it bloodshot. Workouts have been tough, although Brown said he had a good one on Wednesday.

2022 NFL Playoff Picture: The Washington Commanders boost playoff chances to 87% with win over New York Giants - PFF
The dream of a perfect season is over for the Eagles. Still, home-field advantage is practically the highest achievable goal in the regular season anyway. Jalen Hurts & Co. still have a good chance of earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC because they already own the tiebreaker against the Minnesota Vikings. The following teams are most likely to finish with the best record in their respective conference: Philadelphia Eagles — 69%, Kansas City Chiefs — 59%, Buffalo Bills — 26%, Dallas Cowboys — 14%, Minnesota Vikings — 13%, Miami Dolphins — 8%.

Even against struggling Colts, Cowboys need to prove they’re contenders on Sunday night - Blogging The Boys
The Sunday after Thanksgiving is always an interesting one for Cowboys fans. You’re finishing up leftovers, checking out a team or two that you haven’t watched much this season, and in case of this past week, staying up late to see if the Packers could help your cause with a win at the Eagles. Though Aaron Rodgers, and later on Jordan Love, kept it close, the Eagles defended home field and won 40-33. With the next Cowboys-Eagles meeting on Christmas Eve now in sight on both team’s schedules, Dallas still has their work cut out for them to catch Philadelphia, but they start a stretch of three games they should be the favorites in before that. The Cowboys have almost everything working for them in this Sunday’s primetime matchup against the Colts, who are still adjusting to new head coach Jeff Saturday and coming off a Monday night loss at home to the Steelers. The Cowboys will be the more rested team with better talent on both sides of the ball, with a pass rush that can go to work against a Colts offense allowing over 3.5 sacks a game - the worst mark in the entire league.

With 6 wins in 7 games, are these the ‘real’ Washington Commanders? - Big Blue View
KyleSmithforGM: I would say the “real” Commanders are more likely the team that has gone 6-1. That’s not to say I think this team is elite, but I do think that, at its core, it’s an excellent defensive team that, if it can minimize offensive errors, can hang in against any team in the league. Another one of our writers at Hogs Haven, Bill Horgan, wrote an excellent piece describing how this current incarnation works. I highly recommend it.

Washington Commanders vs New York Giants Wednesday Injury Report - Hogs Haven
DE Chase Young - He had an illness before last week’s game, but it didn’t look like he would return. If he is inactive again, he gets two weeks off before a ‘welcome back’ game against the Giants at FedEx Field.

Terrell Owens claims he punched a man in self defense - PFT
Hall of Fame receiver Terrell Owens recently went to the CVS in Inglewood, and he exited with a TKO. Owens told the Associated Press that he punched a man in the store’s parking lot in self defense. Owens contends that the man “made offensive gestures and threatening statements” to Owens and to a fan who had approached the former player.

Russell Wilson threw a birthday party and only half the Broncos showed up - SB Nation
Birthday parties are an important part of anyone’s year. The celebration of one’s birth is a momentous occasion, often marked by celebrating with family and friends. Or, if you’re Broncos QB Russell Wilson, it might just be family and a few friends. Denver Broncos beat reporter Mike Klis reported that Wilson had a birthday party hosted by his wife, Ciara. The turnout? Well, about half of the team came out for the birthday boy.

Ryan Clark & Channing Crowder join the show + Best playoff team résumé - The SB Nation NFL Show
The Pivot’s Ryan Clark and Channing Crowder sit down with Rob “Stats” Guerrera to discuss the success of their show, how to get the best out of interviews, and whether it’s okay to call someone inauthentic (2:28). Plus, Kyle Posey and Justis Mosqueda run through all of teams currently in the playoffs and decide which of them has the best résumé (20:53).

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