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Sep 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jalyx Hunt (58) in a game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Eagles Finding Sacks Hard To Come By

Originally posted on Philadelphia Eagles on SI
By Ed Kracz | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 7:16 PM ET

The Lions sacked Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson seven times in their Monday night win in Baltimore. The Eagles have three sacks. All season, so far. That’s one per game.

Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt, their two starting edge rushers, have 0’s next to their names. Smith had 6.5 in the regular season and another 4.0 in the playoffs last year to reach double digits. He doesn’t have a QB hit and only six pressures.

Hunt had 1.5 sacks last year and was the pick of at least one reporter (me) to be a breakout star who could threaten 10 of them. He has one QB hit and six pressures.

Yeah, yeah, it’s early, and, yeah, yeah, the Eagles are 3-0 with 14 games remaining in a long season, but it goes without saying they need to do better than one per game, because history is not kind to teams who finish last in that category.

The Cincinnati Bengals had the fewest number of sacks in the last six years, getting just 17 in 2019 and went 2-14. The Patriots reached a league-low 28 last year and went 4-13.

Brandon Graham and Flether Cox combined to get 146.5 in their stellar careers and went to three Super Bowls together. Both players with Hall of Fame credentials used to talk about how sacks come in bunches, and they were usually right.

The Eagles could use them to come in bunches and soon, perhaps as early as Sunday, when they face a scrambling Baker Mayfield and a team that has beaten them four out of their last five trips to their backyard.

Sacks matter

It was the same old chestnut - he got the ball out quickly – as to why the Eagles’ only sack on Sunday came from defensive tackle Jordan Davis. It was a notion a reporter tossed to Vic Fangio during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

“I didn't think the lack of pass rush was an issue in the game,” said the Eagles’ defensive coordinator. “Like you said, he gets it out fairly quickly. We had some good heat at times. We could have run a stunt or two better than we did. But yeah, we didn't have any - well, we had one, but I don't think that's reflective of the pass rush overall.”

After being shutout in the sack department against Dak Prescott and the Cowboys in the opener, the Eagles got two on the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, with Moro Ojomo notching the first of his career and newcomer Za’Darius Smith and rookie safety Drew Mukuba sharing one.

Both Smith and Hunt are strong against the run, but they need to find a way to up their pressure and bring the quarterback down.

The Eagles have stockpiled edge rushers that they don’t even use. Azeez Ojulari and Ogo Okoronkwo have been in active for all three games and Patrick Johnson joined them on the inactive list last Sunday. Maybe they should try one.

“To me, that's one that's always going to be fluid, either having four or five (active),” said Fangio. “If we go down to three, then you have got a valid question. Although we played an entire season once when I was in San Francisco with just three active.”

The Eagles are tied for 30th with the fewest sacks in the league with Ravens at three. Behind them are the Titans at 2 and Panthers with one.

Here’s the odd thing, though. The Eagles are tied for third for the lowest completion percentage allowed at 57.7 percent, behind only the Commanders at 56.7 and the Falcons at 57.1. That speaks to a strong secondary, but maybe also a rush that may be better than the stats show. Still, pressure needs to lead to sacks.

This article first appeared on Philadelphia Eagles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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