Encouraging stats for the Eagles ahead of Week 12 game versus Giants

Round 12 approaches as Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni would say, and all of you boxing aficionados know that 12th-round knockouts can be just as satisfying as they are when they come early.

The Birds are still alive in the race for a playoff berth, and delivering a knockout shot to an old and familiar foe in Week 12 could place them in an even better position to secure one. No self-respecting lover of Eagles football needs help in getting pumped up for a matchup with the New York Giants, but here are a few that might make you smile anyway.

Here are three stats to ponder as the kickoff of another Eagles game approaches.

Did you notice the Eagles ran the ball 50 times in Week 11?

Coaches know more about what they’re doing than any of us, but that doesn’t mean they don’t miss the mark sometimes. It feels like everyone knew the Philadelphia Eagles needed to run the ball at the beginning of the season except for Philly’s coaches and leadership structure, but they figured it out.

Fans have gotten their wish, and this offense looks much better as a result. Versus the New Orleans Saints, billed as one of the NFL’s better run defenses, Philadelphia racked up 50 totes and wound up with 242 yards rushing. We’d love to see a repeat performance versus New York.

The Giants are getting Daniel Jones beaten up to the tune of two sacks and nine quarterback hits versus the Buccaneers.

Sacking the quarterback and scores by the defense never ceases to get fans out of their seats, and the love for great defense is one of those things that’s just built into the fabric of anyone that cheers for the Eagles. People are just happier when this team’s defense is mean and nasty.

They should be able to get to Daniel Jones with some relative frequency if they stay aggressive. Versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12, Jones was sacked nine times and hit on nine other occasions. Someone get Jonathan Gannon on the phone and tell him to bring the blitz.

Jalen Hurts has the highest QBR of any NFL quarterback since Week 7.

We have to give the guys at JAKIB Media Sports love for this one. No words are necessary. Just give it a look for yourselves.

It’s Philadelphia. We get it. The fans care more, but if you evaluate every single snap of every game that Jalen Hurts appears in, you’re going to drive yourselves crazy. Every highlight-reel play doesn’t catapult him into the area of being elite. Every missed throw doesn’t mean he sucks and is incapable of being a franchise guy.

He’s young. Let him grow and take his lumps, but from where we’re sitting it looks like there’s some potential for greatness. Stay tuned. Chapter 16 of his era as the Philadelphia Eagles’ starting quarterback comes in Week 12. Something tells us something magical is going to take place.