The Eagles’ rushing game is tied for third overall in the NFL, with Tampa Bay and San Francisco, at 5.0 yards per carry.
The Eagles are second in the NFL behind only Baltimore in rushing yards, with 1,813 in 10 games.
The Eagles are tied for first in the league with the Washington Commanders with 19 rushing touchdowns. That a big chunk of those are “tush-push” quarterback shoves courtesy of Jalen Hurts and the still-effective – despite Jason Kelce’s retirement into the world of meaningless media – offensive line, still counts just as much on the scoreboard.
“A quarterback sneak, it’s tough to lose yardage there,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “So when you come out, the worst thing you can do in red zone football is move backwards. That’s one the worst things that can happen there and put you behind the sticks. You always want to stay ahead of the sticks because things get harder and tighter down there as you move down in there.”
Sirianni this week found himself answering a question of whether he’d thought of letting the Eagles’ best rusher – season difference maker Saquon Barkley – the option of finishing the job when the ball is on the doorstep as opposed to the pushy quarterback sneak.
“He’s getting us down there, yes,” Sirianni said of Barkley. “He’s got eight touchdowns, and (we’re) excited for him. He’s playing at a high, high level. But I think Saquon is a great teammate.”
While Barkley is second in the NFL behind Baltimore’s Derrick Henry in rushing yards, that would be QB Jalen Hurts second in the NFL in rushing TDs.
“We’ve had a lot of success with the quarterback sneak,” Sirianni said. “Jalen has scored a lot of touchdowns. … Again, I want to be careful how I’m answering this, but I again want to answer your question. That’s probably the best way I can say that. Saquon has done a great job.”
Seems a simple conclusion, no matter who’s sort of answering.
Only Henry, the former Tennessee star allowed to drift to the Ravens, leads the league with 1,185 yards and 13 TDs.
Barkley, the only other running back in the league to clear the 1,000-yard mark, has 1,137 yards with only eight TDs. But since Hurts has 417 yards rushing and 11 running scores, it’s clear the impact that tush-push thing is still having for the Eagles’ offense.
As a result, new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has seemingly found his creative throwing plans altered in favor of the running game that Hurts and the Eagles have completely embraced during the course of what is now a six-game win streak.
“Every year, your team is going to be structured differently,” Moore said. “I think it’s important for us to build how we want to play based off the identity and the players that we have.
“Our guys have done an awesome job. We have run the ball a number of times the last few weeks, and that’s become a big confidence thing for us. But we know we are going to have to play different styles throughout the season. There’s going to come a time when we have to throw the football, and people are going to be very committed to it. We’re going to have a challenge at some point, but it’s something we believe in and want to continue to emphasize.”
• • •
Moore tried to pick his way through a sticky question Monday, essentially asked to explain how he keeps star receivers like A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith happy while the number of playcalls have shifted dramatically to run first … and run second, too.
“The beauty of what we have on offense, we have a lot of really talented players, and they all deserve opportunities in these games,” Moore said. “In the pass game, when you have a game like that where you have a lot of rushing attempts and not as many pass opportunities, naturally those guys are not going to get as many touches as they deserve and have earned.”
That obvious fact stated, Moore tried to illustrate how the receivers still have to be on call as much as ever.
“…Again, like we said, not every game are we going to be able to rush 40, 45 attempts,” he added. “We’d love to, but there will be different games and different styles. And that’s the beauty of the NFL, that every week is a different challenge. And there’s going to come a time when we’re going to have to sling it around and make some plays in some critical situations, and those guys will be ready.”
