Philadelphia Eagles: Another stat demonstrating Miles Sanders brilliance

Attention all Philadelphia Eagles fans: this is a Miles Sanders appreciation post. If for some insane reason you don’t like the man, turn back now.

Now, in his third NFL season, Philly’s running back will continue to be a leader in the Birds’ backfield and running game this season, but even though he figures to share some snaps with rookie Kenneth Gainwell, he figures to remain just as productive as he’s always been.

Sanders still has been no stranger to putting up big numbers, but you may have missed just how good he’s been. Here’s something that we came across while hanging out on John Gonoude’s Twitter timeline. Check it out.

Sanders may have gotten his name in Philly’s history books, but he’s not done yet.

In the Philadelphia Eagles’ Week 1 victory against the Falcons, he recorded 74 rushing yards on 15 carries and 39 receiving yards on six catches, playing in 66 percent of snaps.

Sanders finished his two previous seasons with 800-plus rushing yards each year, and that was counting 2020 when he missed five games due to injury. Who’s to say this year won’t be his crowning jewel, his 1,000-yard rushing season?

Especially since Sanders told reporters after Sunday’s game that “every offensive play is a run play”. With that being said, we can bump it up to 1,200 yards. We have high expectations for you, Miles.

Philadelphia Eagles RB Miles Sanders will dominate the running game in 2021

Sanders isn’t viewed as being in the upper echelon of NFL running backs. He isn’t mentioned in the same breath as Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, or Alvin Kamara, nor does he belong there. Sanders’ value to Philly is that he’s the perfect running back for this Eagles franchise.

Even with a relatively lighter workload than we’re used to, Sanders has already managed to place first in the most scrimmage yards in his first 29 career games. He’s also the owner of the Eagles franchise records for the most rushing yards by a rookie and the most all-purpose yards by a rookie in franchise history, respectively.

With dual-threat Jalen Hurts by his side, the sky may be the limit for him and this new and improved Eagles team. Sanders saw limited minutes in college since he was playing behind Saquon Barkley (you can’t really argue with that), but this is his time to shine in the NFL. If only they would give him a few more touches per game…

Come Week 2, we’ll see if Nick Sirianni’s upgraded offense is as good as Eagles PR says it is. Win or lose, we’re just happy to have you here, Miles Sanders. Stay awhile.