6. Philadelphia Eagles fans watch Sanders top 20 miles per hour.
Let’s just make something clear that shouldn’t have to be said. At the end of the 2019 regular season and heading into the most recent offseason, when we were spending all of that time discussing the need for speed in the Eagles offense, those comments were, in no way, directed at Miles Sanders.
Again, it seems as though that shouldn’t have to be said, but just in case it does, let’s just clear that up right now.
Despite ending the year as the owner of the franchise records for rushing yards and all-purpose yards by a rookie, Sanders had his growing pains. There’s nothing wrong with that. He was a rookie.
Sure, there were times, early on, when “26” could have hit the hole a little faster. There were times you looked at him and saw some hesitation, but he figured it out. During Week 8’s game versus the Buffalo Bills, there would be no hesitation as Sanders torched the home team with three catches for 44 yards and 74 additional yards on just three carries.
The highlight was a 66 yard bolt of lightning on second-and-eight from just past Philly’s 34-yard line. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Sanders reached speeds of just under 21 miles per hour on the play. Take a look.
Miles Sanders reached 20.90 MPH on his 65-yard TD run, the fastest speed reached on any play by an Eagles RB in the past 2 seasons.#PHIvsBUF | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/xjVZm3p4MD
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 27, 2019
Before that point of the season, Jordan Howard was still getting the bulk of the carries, and Sanders was being worked into the gameplan as the “change of pace”. After week eight, especially after Howard had his injury concerns, “26” didn’t have any problem getting the ball more after this one.