Any Philadelphia Eagles decision to bench Alex Singleton is unwise

We’ve all been harping on the Philadelphia Eagles’ loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3, so hopefully, another week of football gives us something else to talk about.

In looking forward to the future, why not discuss a more optimistic topic? Jalen Hurts’ upside, DeVonta Smith’s fantasy outlook, another Miles Sanders appreciation post, any will do.

But we’re going down the dark path to determine if any Eagles players should be benched based on their performances this season.

Alex Kay of Bleacher Report recently released a list detailing one player every NFL team should bench. For Philly, linebacker Alex Singleton made the list.

Kay’s reasoning is as follows:

"The blame can’t be pinned on any one player, but Alex Singleton logged a team-high 57 snaps at the linebacker spot during Monday night’s shellacking in Dallas. Considering Philly let Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard combine for 155 yards and two scores on the ground, it was an embarrassing effort at the point of attack."

Philly has a well-known rush defense problem by now. They’ve allowed 133.7 rushing yards per game, and they still haven’t faced the top running backs in the league.

Philadelphia Eagles’ Alex Singleton shouldn’t be benched just yet

Ezekiel Elliott looked elite for Dallas versus the Eagles in Week 3. He and Tony Pollard obliterated Philly’s defensive line, but as Kay writes himself, the blame doesn’t fall on any single player.

Yes, Singleton has struggled in three starts, despite recording 29 combined tackles in three games and playing 72 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps.

Kay claims backup Davion Taylor deserves a shot at Singleton’s starting spot, believing Taylor to be the more ‘aggressive’ linebacker though he’s never shown that, and he’s only played nine defensive snaps in 2021.

Aggressive doesn’t always mean better, and Singleton still has the extra year of experience and the more efficient track record. He had a semi-breakout year in 2020, finishing the season as the team’s tackle leader with 120.

In 2021, Singleton continued to dominate in training camp and preseason, and a measly start to the season shouldn’t be too much cause for concern.

Besides, Taylor is coming off a training camp calf injury, and we just don’t think he’s outshined Singleton enough to take his place. Taylor will get his chance eventually, but Singleton doesn’t yet deserve to lose his.