Has Eagles' Vaunted Defensive Line Lived Up To Expectations?

Has Eagles' vaunted defensive line lived up to expectations? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

They’re supposed to be the heart and soul of the roster, a defensive line built to terrorize opposing quarterbacks, stuff the run with a vengeance and shut down opposing offenses on a weekly basis.

So far?

They’ve been OK. 

Just OK.

After the dust had settled on the demoralizing loss to the Bears Friday, the Eagles’ defense found itself ranked 23^rd in yards allowed, 24^th in rushing yards allowed, 25^th on third down and 26^th in sacks per pass play.

I’m not sure how to evaluate a defensive line other than by how it stops the run and how it pressures the quarterback. And the Eagles are bottom-10 in both.

Now, it hasn’t been a disaster. Not like the offense. And at times this has been an extraordinary defense. 

They held the Cowboys to one touchdown in the opener. They went into Kansas City and held Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to 17 points. In consecutive wins, they held the Packers to seven points and the Lions to nine. 

The dee is still 2^nd-best in the league on fourth down, 4^th-best in the red zone, 5^th-best in goal-to-go. 

Because of that they’ve been able to keep the points down for the most part. The Eagles are allowing 20.8 points per game, which is middle of the pack – 15^th in the league. And good enough for the Eagles to find their way to 8-4.

But the domination we expected hasn’t been there, at least not consistently.

If you want to single out the single most disappointing position group on the roster, you have a few choices.

The offensive line has been a shadow of its normal self. And it’s not all injuries. The quarterback has been frustratingly ineffective the last few weeks. The highest-paid running back in NFL history is mired in a miserable season.

But the d-line was supposed to be one of the best in the league. Maybe the best.

And it just hasn’t been.

Jalen Carter, 2^nd-team all-pro last year. Nolan Smith, 10 ½ sacks the last 16 games a year ago. Jordan Davis, in the best shape of his life. Moro Ojomo and Jalyx Hunt, ready to take a big step in their first year as full-time starters.

That’s quite a nucleus of young talent. Now add Jaelan Phillips and Brandon Graham and this should be a dominating bunch.

Instead, they’ve been … not bad, not great.

Individually, there have been some fine performances.

Davis is having the best season of his four-year career, Ojomo is seventh among interior linemen with 4.0 sacks. Hunt is one of only four players in the NFL with two sacks and two interceptions. Carter has played better after a rocky start. It’s been fun getting B.G. back. Nolan Smith always brings a ton of energy. And Phillips got off to a hot start, although he’s leveled off the last two weeks.

But as a group, it hasn’t been good enough.

The edge rushers have just 8 ½ sacks in 12 games. The Eagles’ 24 total sacks are their 4^th-fewest through 12 games since sacks became an official stat in 1982. And only 17 ½ from the d-line. This is the first time ever no Eagles edge rusher has had more than two sacks after 12 games.

The run defense was starting to look better, but after getting gashed for nearly 300 yards by the Bears Friday the Eagles are allowing 129 rushing yards per game and 4.5 yards per carry, their worst run defense numbers since 1998. Both bottom-10 in the league.

The only other time since 1982 that the Eagles were this unproductive generating sacks and also this poor against the run through 12 games was 1993, a miserable season under Rich Kotite marked by a 1-8 stretch from Week 6 through Week 15.

That’s a reflection of the defensive line, and its lack of consistency.

The strength of this defense through Week 13 has been the elite linebacker play of Zac Baun and Nakobe Dean and the lights-out secondary play of Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Reed Blankenship and, until he got hurt, Drew Mukuba.

The defensive line? They haven’t been terrible and at times they’ve been very good.

But considering the personnel and considering the assets Howie Roseman has devoted to the defensive front – five 1^st-round picks – you expect dominance. You expect ferocious hits on quarterbacks. You expect running backs getting stuffed after getting the football. You expect opposing teams so concerned about the guys up front that they can’t run their offense.

You definitely expect more.