A few weeks ago, when the Eagles were struggling to run the ball, Nick Sirianni brushed off questions about declining rushing stats.
At this point, the Eagles started averaging 4.9 and 186 yards per carry in the first three games, but averaged just 102 and just 3.4 yards per carry in the last six games.
During that six-game stretch, the Eagles turned 30.th 21 yards per attempt in the leaguecentYards per game.
The Eagles’ rushing attack is no stranger to anyone.
“I know you’re just asking, but I don’t agree with that,” he said on Nov. 6, a day after the Eagles averaged just 3.3 yards per carry in a win over the Cowboys. Sirianni said. “Because there’s more to the run game than the stats show. … That’s the way we look at it.”
It is no exaggeration to say that Sirianni has changed his attitude.
It’s a big deal.
While they seemed to figure some things out with their running game the previous two weeks, gaining 114 and 4.2 yards in the win over the Chiefs and 5.8 and 185 yards against the Bills, the Eagles also struggled on Sunday. He also struggled, averaging just 2.6 yards per game. In the 42-19 loss to the 49ers, he had just 18 rushing attempts.
Seven of those carries were run by Jalen Hurts, leaving running backs with only 11 carries. D’Andre Swift entered the game on pace for nearly 1,200 rushing yards and 1,500 scrimmage yards, but was not a factor at all. He had just seven carries and no touches from the end of the first quarter to the beginning of the third.
Now, no one is going to run the ball to a 23-point lead in the fourth quarter. However, the game was a one-possession game until the final minutes of the third quarter.
There was also a chance. The Eagles just didn’t try. once again.
“We know we have to establish the run game and we have to get better in the run game,” Sirianni said Monday after the Eagles fell to 10-2. “We have a situation… We have been behind a few times. Even in this situation, it doesn’t mean we can’t run.
“But to take the pressure off everyone, we as coaches have to focus on the run game and get better. So there’s no question that we have to do that, as we discussed yesterday. there is no.”
This certainly sounded like Sirianni questioning offensive coordinator and play-caller Brian Johnson. Johnson has done a lot of good things this year, but there seems to be a tendency to move away from the ground attack if he doesn’t produce big yards on his first few carries.
Swift ranks seventh in the NFL with 4.7 yards per carry, but he has had just 30 carries in the Eagles’ past three games and has had 10 or fewer rushing attempts in three games this year.
On Sunday, Kenny Gainwell took nine more snaps than Swift (39-to-30) and had more scrimmage yards (47-to-27). Gainwell has been good at times this year, but Swift ranks ninth among running backs in yards from scrimmage.Gainwell is 55 years old.th.
Sirianni said the reason for the difference was that the Eagles liked Gainwell in two minutes, and the Eagles ran their final few drives in two minutes.
“Kenny was our two-minute back, third-down back in certain situations,” he said. “I think it’s in those situations that Kenny makes more plays than D’Andre. That’s why we got those numbers because we had a lot of those situations late in the game.”