Eagles Pass Rush Was Worthy Supporting Star To Saquon

The Philadelphia pass rush generated eight sacks in a 28-3 win over the New York Giants.

Oct 20, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean (17) and defensive end Bryce Huff (0) celebrate after a defensive stop during the second half against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - Sacks come in bunches in the NFL and the Eagles' talented front has finally started collecting some bunches in the 2024 season.

While Saquon Barkley was the obvious headliner in the 28-3 win over the New York Giants Sunday, the pass rush was a worthy supporting star.

A week after collecting five sacks against the Cleveland Browns, Vic Fangio's front seven pinned its ears back to the tune of eight takedowns against Daniel Jones and Drew Lock.

"It was just a matter of time," edge rusher Josh Sweat said. "... As a group, we've been taking care of each other, and like I said, the back end has been doing their thing too. Both sides have been improving a lot so like I said we just came together."

Jalen Carter and Nakobe Dean each recorded two sacks, with Dean standing out as a physical, downhill presence as a blitzer and the quarterback of the group that allowed just 119 total yards over 60 minutes of football.

Edge rushers Bryce Huff, Nolan Smith, and Sweat all generated pressure consistently, and each finished with a sack to their credit against a Giants offensive line under siege and working without star left tackle Andrew Thomas.

"I wouldn’t say (anything) changed. We’ve been playing football every week. It’s just our opportunity came today, and it showed," Carter said. "We just gotta move on to next week. It happened. I got two sacks, congratulations, whatever. It’s time to study and watch film for next week."

Rookie edge rusher Jalyx Hunt also got the first sack of his career in the fourth quarter in mop-up duty.

The production was a stark contrast from the six sacks the Eagles generated in the first four games on the season.

“It felt like we captured some mojo in that pass rush,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “There was a game in ‘22 that I remember that kind of went like this, and it was a second game in a row where we’ve really gotten after the passer. And it’s just a credit to the team defense, because that wasn’t just the D-line, there was good coverage in the secondary going on.

"And that’s a really talented group.”

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