It cannot be overstated just how much the Philadelphia Eagles' defense is carrying the team at this point in the 2025 NFL season. At one point, there was cause for concern with this unit, but Vic Fangio and Co. have made an immense turnaround at the perfect time.
All season long, however, the Eagles have been trying to find a third cornerback to supplement the Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. Philadelphia was confident it would find one when it released Darius Slay and James Bradberry this offseason, but it's been a bit of a crapshoot.
Adoree' Jackson and Kelee Ringo have been abysmal, Jakorian Bennett hasn't been healthy, and trade deadline acquisitions like Michael Carter II and Jaire Alexander didn't exactly pan out either, for one reason or another.
Adoree' Jackson actually locked down Amon-Ra St. Brown
With a Detroit Lions offense that has tons of firepower on the horizon in Week 11, there was some cause for concern. But luckily, Fangio somehow found the antidote to slow down the Lions' passing attack and shut down All-Pro Amon-Ra St. Brown, specifically.
Putting a fast cornerback like Mitchell on Detroit speedster Jameson Williams felt like an obvious matchup, but keeping track of St. Brown wasn't so cut-and-dry. St. Brown splits his alignment between the slot and out wide, which makes it harder to find a single matchup for him.
Given his versatility, many thought that DeJean would be the primary on St. Brown. But, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, it was actually Adoree' Jackson who lined up across from St. Brown the most. Despite his season-long struggles, Jackson seemingly had the secret sauce to shutting him down.
Jackson covered St. Brown for 11 plays and was targeted five times, but he relinquished just one catch for eight yards. He also had a massive pass breakup on a crucial third-and-long during the fourth quarter that forced Detroit to punt.
Eagles fans, although initially excited about the signing of Jackson, had their expectations quickly tempered after some early-season struggles. Although he's been a bit better lately, nobody expected him to have this kind of game against St. Brown, of all players.
Read more: Two games later and Jaelan Phillips continues to be the savior for Eagles' defense
Fangio continues to impress not only with the defense's overall production but also with his adeptness in making in-game adjustments. Perhaps it was just a flash in the pan, but being optimistic, the Eagles may have found their third cornerback. If only they could have some of those picks bad from the trade deadline.