Philadelphia Eagles: Fantasy football patience with Miles Sanders paid off

A career day by Miles Sanders came at the perfect time for the Philadelphia Eagles, and fantasy football owners with the rookie running back on their roster.

No one needs to explain to fantasy football owners just how frustrating the 2019 season has been at times waiting for Miles Sanders to put up monster numbers during his rookie campaign with the Philadelphia Eagles, although the team still being in the NFC East race is most important.

After the Eagles decided to use a second-round pick on the former Penn State star back in April, the offense seemed to be in great shape at running back since there was plenty of excitement surrounding the new duo in Sanders and Jordan Howard.

Throughout the course of the 2019 season, Philadelphia’s offense has benefitted in a big way with these two carrying the load in the backfield, and if Howard were to return next year to keep this duo alive, the fan base would be more than excited.

With that being said, Howard’s future with the team seems to be up in the air since he hasn’t been able to make a case over the last five games due to a shoulder injury, which has also resulted in Sanders receiving an increased workload.

Prior to the team’s Week 15 meeting with the Washington Redskins, Eagles fans were pleased to see Sanders’ numbers slightly increase game-by-game, but some concerns as a runner were obviously still there.

While there have been a few games over the months in which Sanders has finished with more than 100 yards from scrimmage, it was still crazy to think how the rookie was still in search of that first 100-yard rushing game of his career entering Week 15.

Obviously if Howard weren’t part of the picture before his shoulder injury, chances are this already would have happened by now for Sanders, but at least the accomplishment finally took place on Sunday to help take down the Redskins.

Not only did Sanders finally break the 100-yard rushing mark for the first time (122 rushing yards on 19 carries), but he also caught six passes for 50 yards to give him 172 scrimmage yards on the day.

And if these numbers weren’t impressive enough, it should also be noted that Sanders found the end zone twice as well, which was also the running back’s first multi-touchdown game of his career.

Sanders helping the Eagles get back to .500 to keep the NFC East race with the Dallas Cowboys close will always be considered the most important factor from Sunday’s win, but at least fantasy football owners have an extra reason to celebrate.

Chances are, fantasy football participants with Sanders in their starting lineup this weekend most likely advanced in the playoffs, and if the rookie comes through with another strong outing against the Cowboys in Week 16, these same participants could be in for a championship.

But most importantly for Eagles fans as previously mentioned, if Sanders helps Philadelphia inch closer to a second NFC East title in three years, this is the most important factor of all.