Boston the Backup Needs to Find Success with Fewer Touches

The Eagles have won two in a row with Miles Sanders out and Boston Scott producing, but it will be back to a backup role for Scott with Sanders expected to return vs. the Giants

PHILADELPHIA - It probably has more to do with the competition than Boston Scott but the Eagles are riding a two-game winning streak with the backup running back carrying the load as Miles Sanders rehabbed a knee injury.

Sanders, however, is expected to return against the New York Giants on Sunday, something that will diminish Scott's workload against the very team the third-year back seems to dominate.

“That's above my pay grade,” Scott said on Monday when asked about his playing time being scaled back after two solid performances against the Giants on Oct. 22 and the Dallas Cowboys prior to the bye week.

“But I am ready for whatever role Doug P (coach Doug Pederson) wants me in. I'm ready to contribute any way I can, and I will be ready for that opportunity.”

Scott's game seems to perk up when he sees Big Blue. In Week 17 last season he earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors with 138 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns as the Eagles clinched the NFC East.

In Week 7 this season, Scott hauled in a brilliant 18-yard touchdown reception from Carson Wentz with 40 seconds left in the game to essentially win a 22-21 game for Philadelphia, amassing a season-high with 92 scrimmage yards.

Scott followed that with a career-high 70 rushing yards in a 23-9 drubbing of Dallas.

The trick now is finding a way to maintain that production when Sanders does return and Scott is less involved, something that wasn't easy earlier this season.

Seeing the Giants for the second time in essentially three weeks could help in some ways and hinder in others, and Scott expects a physical game.

"Man, playing a team twice, doesn’t matter who they are," he said. "Doesn’t matter how the first result went. You always expect their best. No matter what. That’s our mindset. That’s how we approach every week. Doesn’t matter who they are. Doesn’t matter how many times we play them, how many times we’ve beaten them, how many times we’ve lost to them. We’re going to give them our best effort.

"They’re going to get our best punch. It’s the NFL. We know they’re going to be able to make adjustments. We’re going to make adjustments too. I’m looking forward to a physical game. It’s going to be a physical game."

A physical game in which Scott will likely going back to being the change-up, not a featured player.

From Weeks 2 through 6, Scott got just 12 rushing attempts for 32 yards and added five receptions for 29 yards.

He's hardly the first RB to feel more comfortable with more traffic, but the key to being a backup is often coming in cold and producing.

“I think of it as a well-oiled machine," Scott said of the running game. "There are multiple components to it. There are multiple parts to it. So you can never really look at just one thing.

"In order for the machine to go, everyone has to work in unison. We have to have that chemistry. There are definitely things we can all work on fundamentally. And I know that going into the second half of the season, we’re going to address those things and continue to work."

John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Tuesday and Thursday on "The Middle" with Eytan Shander, Harry Mayes, and Barrett Brooks on SportsMap Radio and PhillyVoice.com. He’s also the host of Extending the Play on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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