3 Ways to refocus the Eagles defense in Week 2 on Monday Night Football

The Eagles need to contain Minnesota’s explosive running back, Dalvin Cook, on MNF.

It was only one game, the first game of the season no less, but Philly’s rushing defense is looking a little leaky as  D’Andre Swift carved them up to the tune of 144 rushing yards on 15 carries.

Every time you look at that stat line, it seemingly looks worse than it did the last time. Yes, that’s 9.6 yards per carry. You read that right… 9.6 yards per carry! As a team, The Lions ran for 6.5 yards per rush, which doesn’t soften the blow much, but that would have been forgotten to a degree had Philadelphia kept them out of the end zone. They didn’t. The Lions reached the end zone three times on the ground.

In Week 2, as mentioned earlier, things won’t get any easier for Philadelphia. One of the best running backs in the league when healthy is coming to town, Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook. The three-time Pro Bowler feasted on the Green Bay Packers rushing defense by scampering for 90 yards on 20 carries in their 23-7 win.

Philadelphia’s defense gave up the ninth-lowest total in rushing yards last season, but if they hope to see similar numbers at the end of this season, they have to control the line of scrimmage. The good news is they have 16 games remaining on the regular season, and a nice showing in Week 2 versus one of the game’s best could be exactly what the doctor ordered to get a promising-looking unit on track.