In Roob's Eagles Stats: Lots of Nakobe and Saquon and, yeah, Jalen too (sorry)
In Roob's Eagles Stats: Lots of Nakobe and Saquon and, yeah, Jalen too (sorry) originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Had enough of the negative stats? Seen enough about mistakes and errors and turnovers and blown leads?
Too bad.You're in the wrong place!
No, just kidding. Thanks to the defense, we were actually able to stay mostly positive in this week's Roob's Eagles Stats, despite the excruciating overtime loss to the Chargers at SoFi Stadium Monday night.
If you really want the Jalen Hurts interception stats - and there is a Bobby Hoying reference in there - you'll have to go all the way to the end. But, honestly, it's worth it.
1A. We're going to start out with the Eagles' defensive tackles because it's not too often you have one interior lineman with more than one sack in a game, and on Monday night the Eagles had two. And that hadn't happened in more than two decades. Jordan Davis and Byron Young each had 1 sacks, and it was the first time since a game against the Packers at the Linc in 2004 that multiple Eagles interior linemen had more than one sack in a game. In that 47-17 win over the Packers, Corey Simon and Darwin Walker each had 2.0 sacks. The only other times it's happened were a 1995 win over the Giants at the Meadowlands, when Andy Harmon and Kevin Johnson each had 2.0 sacks, and a 1991 24-0 win over the Cowboys at Texas Stadium, when Jerome Brown had 2 sacks and Mike Golic had 2.0. The Eagles sacked Troy Aikman 11 times that afternoon.
1B. Staying on the topic of sacks, Nakobe Dean recorded his fourth sack in his last five games, becoming the first Eagles linebacker with four sacks in five games since William Thomas had four in 1997 from Week 8 against the Cards through Week 12 vs. the Ravens. Despite missing the first six games of the season, Dean is the first Eagles linebacker with four sacks in an entire season since Mychal Kendricks had 4.0 in 2014. The last LB with more than 4.0 was Willie T. with 5.0 in that 1997 season.
2. It was a mixed bag for A.J. Brown Monday night, but we're just going to focus on his third straight 100-yard game. Brown now has 23 100-yard games since joining the Eagles, one more than DeSean Jackson and Mike Quick and just one behind Pete Retzlaff for most in Eagles history. Brown set a franchise record with six straight 100-yard games in 2023, and the only other Eagle with two separate streaks of three straight 100-yard games is Quick, who had four straight in 1983 and three straight in 1985. After averaging 39 yards per game through Week 5, Brown is averaging 86 yards per game since Week 6 and for the first time is now on pace for over 1,000 yards this year. In just 3 seasons with the Eagles, Brown is now 11th in franchise history with 4,830 yards, 20 behind DeVonta Smith.
3. With his eight catches Monday, Dallas Goedert increased his career total to 449, and he now needs just five to pass Retzlaff to move into fourth place in franchise history and 11 to pass Brian Westbrook and move into third. That would leave him behind only Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael (618) and former teammate Zach Ertz (612). Goedert's 449 receptions are 6th-most among active players who have never made a Pro Bowl. The only tight end who's caught more passes than Goedert without making a Pro Bowl is Ben Watson, who caught 547 passes in 16 years with the Patriots, Browns, Saints and Ravens.
4. Saquon Barkley's 52-yard touchdown run was the 15th of his career of 50 or more yards including postseason, which trails only Adrian Peterson's 16 in NFL history. Barry Sanders also had 15. Nine of those 15 have come in 33 games with the Eagles. Bosh Pritchard has the 2nd-most in Eagles history with five from 1946 through 1949. Barkley and Pritchard are the only Eagles with two seasons with multiple TD runs of at least 50 yards. Barkley also had six 50-yard TDs with the Giants, including three against the Eagles. He now has the most 50-yard touchdown runs for the Eagles and against the Eagles. Including postseason, Barkley now has 16 100-yard games in less than two years with the Eagles. Only Wilbert Montgomery (26), LeSean McCoy (23), Brian Westbrook (20) and Steve Van Buren (16) have more in Eagles history.
5A. Over the last four weeks, the Eagles have held opposing quarterbacks to 48.9 percent completion percentage. That's Jared Goff (37.8 percent), Dak Prescott (63.9 percent), Caleb Williams (47.2 percent) and Justin Herbert (46.2 percent). That's the lowest completion percentage against the Eagles in a four-game span in 17 years, since Joe Flacco of the Ravens (46 percent), Kurt Warner of the Cards (54 percent), Eli Manning of the Giants (48 percent) and Ken Dorsey of the Browns (39 percent) combined to go 66-for-137 for 48.2 percent in 2008.
5B. The Eagles are allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete just 55.8 percent of their passes, lowest in the NFL. That would be their lowest over a full season since the 2008 team allowed 54.1 percent and the lowest by any NFL team in nine years, since the Broncos allowed 55.4 percent in 2016.
6A. Britain Covey averaged 18.0 yards on three punt returns Monday night and 25.8 yards on five kick returns. He's only the Eagles' fourth returner ever to average at least 18 yards on at least three punt returns and 25 yards on at least three kick returns. Al Pollard did it against the Lions in 1951 (18.7 punts, 28.3 kicks), Wally Henry against the Cards in 1979 (20.0, 28.4) and most recently Brian Mitchell against the 49ers in 2002 (33.0, 35.7).
6B. Covey increased his career punt return average from 11.3 to 11.6 and moved past Darren Sproles with the highest punt return average in Eagles history with a minimum of 75 returns. Sproles averaged 11.6 also, but Covey's 11.6 is 11.587 and Sproles' is 11.573. Covey now has the 9th-highest punt return average in NFL history (minimum 75 returns) and highest ever by an undrafted player, just ahead of Paul Johns, who played for the Seahawks from 1981 through 1984. Johns had an 11.551 average on 78 punt returns.
7. Here's an interesting one on the Eagles' offensive line: The Eagles have gone five straight games without allowing more than one sack for only the second time since sacks became an official stat in 1982. In 2014 they went six straight games. That matches the longest streak by any team since the Steelers went 10 straight games without allowing more than one sack in 2020.
8. The Eagles have allowed only 13 passing touchdowns so far this year, That's the fewest they've allowed through 13 games in 24 years. Back in 2001, they only allowed 11 passing TDs the first 13 games of the season with future NFL head coaches Leslie Frazier, Steve Spagnuolo, Ron Rivera and Sean McDermott on Jim Johnson's defensive staff.
OK ... you've made it this far ... here's the weekly negative section! We kept it short this week.
9. The Lame Offense Stats Section:
9A. The Eagles have scored just 81 points in their last five games, their fewest in a five-game span since 2012, when they had 79 in a five-game span from Week 3 in Arizona through Week 8 against the Falcons.
9B. The Eagles have gone 12 straight games without converting at least 45 percent of their third downs, their 2nd-longest streak since the NFL began tracking 3rd-down stats in 1991 and longest since a 13-game streak in 2005.
9C. The Eagles have gone five straight games without recording at least 20 first downs, their longest streak since a six-game streak at the end of the 2005 season.
10. OK, we put this off long enough. Let's get to the Jalen Hurts stats. This is going to be painful:
10A. Hurts on Monday became the first Eagles quarterback in 28 years to commit five turnovers in a game. In 1997, in a 31-21 loss to the Giants at the Vet, Bobby Hoying was intercepted three times and lost two fumbles. That was Hoying's fourth career start and his first career loss.
10B. Hurts became the first Eagles QB to throw four interceptions in a game since Michael Vick in the 2012 opener in Cleveland, a 17-16 win over the Browns in which Brandon Weeden also threw four interceptions.
10C. Hurts is the first Eagles QB to throw four INTs without a touchdown pass since 1991, when undrafted rookie Brad Goebel did it in a 13-6 loss to the Saints at the Vet. That was his second career start.
10D. Hurts' overtime interception was the Eagles' first overtime turnover since Mike McMahon fumbled when he was sacked by Osi Umenyiora in the Giants' 26-23 win over the Eagles at the Linc in 2005. It was the Eagles' first overtime interception since Tony Parrish picked off Donovan McNabb in the 49ers' 31-28 win at the Linc in 2003. And it was the Eagles' first game-ending turnover in overtime since Michael Strahan's 44-yard pick-6 off Doug Pederson at the Vet in 1999.