Inside the Iggles
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What’s going on with the Philadelphia Eagles run defense?

By Justin Grasso

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 21: Running back Christian McCaffrey #22 of the Carolina Panthers runs with the ball after a catch and is tackled by defensive tackle Fletcher Cox #91 of the Philadelphia Eagles during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on October 21, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Carolina Panthers won 21-17. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 21: Running back Christian McCaffrey #22 of the Carolina Panthers runs with the ball after a catch and is tackled by defensive tackle Fletcher Cox #91 of the Philadelphia Eagles during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on October 21, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Carolina Panthers won 21-17. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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The Philadelphia Eagles secondary may be banged up, but what happened to the unstoppable run defense as of late?

Last season, the Philadelphia Eagles had a stingy defense that wouldn’t go out easily. This season, it’s an entirely different story. Granted, there are a ton of injuries everywhere, and especially in the secondary, but now even with most of their defensive line still intact, the team has struggled even to stop opposing offense’s ground games as well.

Before, teams had to pretty much throw on the Eagles quickly all day since the run was pretty much eliminated from offenses. But nowadays, there are multiple ways you can beat the Eagles. On the ground? Check. In the air? Check. Hey, want to run a trick play? Go for it! You can pretty much have your way with the Eagles defense because once they seem to bend a little bit now, they break entirely.

If you ask Eagles defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz about it, he doesn’t really have much of an answer about it right now. But one thing is for sure, he’s been very disappointed with the run game just like the rest of us. The weird thing about it though is that this hasn’t been a problem all season. Recently, the Eagles seem lost in the run game, and it doesn’t really make much sense.

The Numbers are disappointing

In 2017, the Eagles rushing defense held opposing backfields to well under 100 yards on a weekly basis. The trend continued in 2018, but as of late it has gone downhill. After Week 11, the Eagles are ranked 12th in total yards given up in the run game. They are averaging about 101 yards-per-game on the ground, and have allowed eight touchdowns.

Schwartz found himself being extra frustrated with how the Eagles performed against the Saints. Between Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram, they combined 29 carries for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Just last week, the Eagles allowed the Dallas Cowboys to have their running back Ezekiel Elliott to become a one-person show. Elliott rushed for 151 yards and a touchdown off of 19 carries, while averaging 7.9 yards-per-carry.

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The struggles to stop the run couldn’t come at a tougher time when the Eagles will host the New York Giants on Sunday. For the second time this year, the Eagles will face Saquon Barkley, who averaged ten yards-per-carry against the Eagles and totaled for 130 yards.

With the way things have been going, the Eagles are really going to have their hands tied with the Giants offense. If Jim Schwartz doesn’t have an answer for the rushing attacks this week, the Eagles could realistically find themselves eliminated from the playoff hunt a lot sooner than expected.

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