Four Reasons For The Eagles' Defensive Resurgence

The Eagles’ defense continues it ascension in the league rankings, climbing into a tie for 17th overall, with a run defense ranked 19th and a pass defense at No. 15.

After back-to-back weeks in which it held the Packers and Lions to a grand total of 16 points. These are two playoff-likely teams, and neither could score more than a touchdown. That sort of stinginess has the Eagles ranked eighth now in points allowed per game at 20.1

The defensive lockdown helped the Eales to win consecutive games despite scoring fewer than 20 points for the first time since Weeks 14-15, 2004, when they went 13-3 and advanced to Super Bowl XXXIX.

“I think we’re slowly stacking each week,” said outside linebacker/edge Jalyx Hunt. “We’re not making the same mistakes we made in the first game, and that’s how you get better progressively during the season. It took a while for the defense to come along last year as well, but that’s what we’re doing right now, we’re finding our stride.”

Here are my four reasons for the resurgence:

1) Nakobe Dean’s return. The linebacker missed the first seven games, and has sacks in back-to-back outings. He had to get past a pair of running backs known for their stout pass protection. Dean didn’t just get past them, he knocked them into tomorrow, starting with Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs and then Detroit’s David Montgomery.

Dean obliterated both, forced a strip-sack fumble from the Packers’ Jordan Love, and leveled the Lions’ Jared Goff for a seven-yard loss after Detroit took over at Philly’s 29 following a failed tush push in the final three minutes.

“We want to play on our terms,” said Dean. “We want to set the tone as a defense. We always want to be physical. We want to be the most physical team out there at all times just imposing our will. That’s how we like to play.”

Three More Reasons For Defensive Resurgence