Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon may not deserve all the criticism

Despite blitzing 21.5% of the time, the Eagles own the National Football League’s second-highest sack total.

Somewhere Buddy Ryan, Bud Carson, and Jim Johnson are turning over in their graves, but the NFL has changed. The game is about limiting explosive plays, and even though Philly has fallen victim to a few, they’ve also come up big at important moments. Call it the ‘bend but don’t break approach’.

Despite blitzing 23% of the time, the Philadelphia Eagles have the second-highest sack total with 42 quarterback takedowns. Only the Dallas Cowboys (48) have more.

The Eagles and Cowboys have both played 12 games this season. They walked into Week 13 tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (36). The Eagles are also ranked eighth in total quarterback pressures. They’ve racked up 110 of those. They’ve sent the blitz 100 times this season.15 teams have sent extra rushers more often. 14 of those teams have fewer sacks than Jonthan Gannon’s guys.

In total, the Eagles tallied 32 additional QB knockdowns in the first 11 games thanks to 110 pressures. Their pressure rate sits at 23.7%. That’s seventh-best in the NFL. Maybe Gannon isn’t doing as badly as some are saying.