NFL standings ordered by team sacks: Eagles have tons of room for improvement

We can complicate the game we love with Next Gen Stats, analytics, and Pro Football Focus grades (Sorry PFF! We love you!). Still, if broken down, football can be simple to understand. That's true even if it's hard to understand what our Philadelphia Eagles sometimes think.

You run the ball to set up the play-action pass. You pass to set up draw plays. Screen passes are thrown to take advantage of overly aggressive defenses who make their money and a name for themselves by blitzing.

Well, that's how it's supposed to work.

The Eagles throw screen passes regardless of the situation. There's no rhyme or reason to it. You get the idea though. In short, there are rules to this.

Here's what we do know and understand about the Eagles' business model. They buil from the trenches. Everything begins and ends with the franchise quarterback and by strengthening offensive and defensive lines.

Most NFL franchises seem to share that theory: Find your quarterback. Find guys to protect him. Then, find guys on defense to harass the other team's offensive signal-caller. The goal of doing that is to force turnovers and sacks.

The Eagles rank near the bottom of the NFL in sacks. There's an area for improvement.

Sacks aren't everything, but they help the cause. They're also exciting. They're like the defensive equivalent of a slam dunk in basketball.

The problem is this. Philly isn't racking up the sacks like we thought they might. Only Zack Baun, Milton Williams, and Jordan Davis have registered one this season.

Four sacks... That's the tally heading into Week 4.

We're talking 1.3 sacks per contest so far during the 2024-25 NFL season. Philly's defense was impressive in Week 3. Imagine how we'd discuss them if they introduced Derek Carr to the turf a few more times.

There is certainly room for improvement. Only two teams have fewer sacks than the Birds. Here's how each team ranks heading into another week of action.

1. Minnesota Vikings - 16
2. New York Giants - 14
2. New York Jets - 14
4. Houston Texans - 13
5. Denver Broncos - 11
5. Seattle Seahawks - 11
5. Buffalo Bills - 11
5. Green Bay Packers - 11
5. New Orleans Saints - 11
10. Baltimore Ravens - 10
11. Cleveland Browns - 9
11. Arizona Cardinals - 9
11. Pittsburgh Steelers - 9
14. Detroit Lions - 8
14. San Francisco 49ers - 8
14. New England Patriots - 8
14. Indianapolis Colts - 8
14. Los Angeles Chargers - 8
19. Dallas Cowboys - 7
19. Chicago Bears - 7
19. Tennessee Titans - 7
22. Miami Dolphins - 6
22. Kansas City Chiefs - 6
24. Las Vegas Raiders - 5
24. Cincinnati Bengals - 5
24. Jacksonville Jaguars - 5
24. Carolina Panthers - 5
28. Los Angeles Rams - 4
28. Philadelphia Eagles - 4
28. Washington Commanders - 4
31. Atlanta Falcons - 3
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 2

Philly's defense has come under fire this season. Hey, that's what happens when you go all-in to hire Vic Fangio and sell the public that he's going to fix things, but again, Philly was lights out in New Orleans versus the Saints.

We also forget they held the Falcons to 15 points until that final go-ahead drive for Atlanta in Week 2. Keep an eye on Fangio and company.

Sacks aren't everything. Jalen Carter wrecked the Saints in Week 3 and didn't register a single sack, but they help. If Philly can get this pass rush going, this defensive unit might roll a few squads.

They held a red-hot Saints offense to 12 points on Sunday. Now, they need consistency, and a few splash plays might boost the morale.

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