Philadelphia Eagles: We need to give some major props to Chris Long
After the Philadelphia Eagles nail-biting victory over the Atlanta Falcons, we need to show tons of respect to the defensive line.
This past Thursday, the Philadelphia Eagles unveiled their Super Bowl LII banner and moved onto the new season. The game was far from perfect on both sides of the ball, but the Eagles ultimately got the job done. Had it not been for a dominant performance put on by the defense, we would’ve probably been staring at a week one blowout by the revengeful Atlanta Falcons. Instead, the Eagles worked with everything that they had and came away with a huge win to kick things off in 2018.
By now, you’ve probably heard that Eagles cornerback Ronald Darby was a major star in the secondary. Aside from a play or two, he pretty much had Julio Jones locked down on his side. Then, we also saw a great comeback game from middle linebacker Jordan Hicks, and the usual dominance of defensive tackle, Fletcher Cox. There’s no denying that these three defenders played an integral part to the Eagles success on Thursday.
There is one unsung hero who might’ve flew under the radar behind all of the big names, though. The eleven-season veteran, Chris Long might’ve been contemplating retirement in the offseason, but we can tell after one week that it wasn’t due to a lack of skill for the game anymore. The 33-year-old defensive end can still get it done, and he was quietly a vast part of the Eagles defensive success against the Falcons.
Props for Long:
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The Eagles defensive line was almost at full strength the other night, excluding Timmy Jernigan. And even though Brandon Graham was back in action, it was apparent that he wasn’t ready to take on a full workload immediately. Although he had seven more snaps than Long did, it seemed as though the backup made more of the opportunities as he was fully healthy after the offseason.
The big joke amongst the Eagles fan base is the dominant combination of “Long-Cox” consisting of well, you know, Fletcher Cox and Chris Long. While the phrase can be a bit funny, it’s even funnier when the two have a dominant night in the opposing offense’s backfield just like they did against the Falcons.
The two combined for 2.5 sacks, with Long being responsible for the one and a half sacks. We were also reminded of Long’s knack for forcing fumbles, as the Eagles almost snagged another turnover off of one. The standard fan might’ve been fascinated with Cox’s dominance up front, but after multiple looks, Long’s performance definitely flew under the radar.
Next. 3 Eagles that shined against the Falcons. dark
At least Pro Football Focus picked up on Long’s big game, by giving him the second-best grade (79.6) from the Eagles as a whole, right behind Cox (91.9). Now, imagine a fully healthy Brandon Graham, and a near-flawless Derek Barnett thrown into the mix with this duo. The Eagles could legitimately have the best pass rushing defense in all of football. If Chris Long continues to play the way he did against Atlanta, it is going to be a long offseason for the opposing team’s quarterbacks, that’s for sure.