Eagles Film Review: Jordan Davis among defensive standouts from Week 1
Week 1 is always a funky time to analyse a defense. Last year, Vic Fangio opened with spot-drop Cover 3 in Week 1 and the defense looked completely different for the rest of the season. This year was even more challenging to judge because the Eagles played the whole game without Jalen Carter, and that obviously made a huge impact. (Previously: Offense film review.)
Defense
The opening play summed up the problems with Adoreeā Jackson this week. The Eagles moved Jihaad Campbell down to the edge and rushed five, playing three-under, three-deep coverage. Jalyx Hunt nearly got home with a strong rush, but CeeDee Lamb destroyed Jackson. Jackson had outside leverage and safety help inside, yet still gave up the sideline without competing. Losing to Lamb happens, but Jackson wasnāt even close. This wasnāt a rookie making mistakes. Jackson is a veteran. He knows that with this coverage he needs to force Lamb inside to his safety and other defenders. He just canāt give up the outsideā¦ which is exactly what he does!
On the positive side, Hunt almost produced a strip sack, and the pass rush overall looked better than I feared post-Carter. Iāll get into that more later!
The run defense was disappointing early, especially in short-yardage against heavy personnel. Fangio often matched with three defensive tackles, but Byron Young and Moro Ojomo both struggled at the point of attack. Ojomo was particularly disappointing against the run throughout the game. On this play Young was driven off the ball. Across the first half the Eagles just looked light and a bit soft up front. Luckily for the Eagles, Jordan Davis had a fantastic second half and made some critical plays. But I thought the Cowboysā offensive line was simply more physical to start.
I know Fangio asks his outside corners to play soft, and sometimes you just have to live with those short completions. But this was too much. On 2nd-and-7, Jackson gave up five yards of cushion and allowed KaVontae Turpin to break at the sticks for an easy 16 yards. You canāt give that away this easily, especially not from a veteran corner. 16 yards! It doesnāt get any easier for an offense. The Eagles have to find another solution for outside cornerback unless Jackson is going to get better, quickly.
Iām going to ignore the taunting penalty because it was a joke. Iāve got nothing to say about it. The important thing here was Nolan Smith continuing his progress from last year. He set the edge brilliantly and made a fantastic play against the run. He had multiple strong reps like this one and deserved to celebrate! I thought he had a good game and is in line to have a big season for this defense.
This was a night where coverage stood out, and I thought Cooper DeJean looked superb. Heās just an awesome player. On this rep, he flowed effortlessly, gained depth, and flew out to the flat with perfect timing to prevent any gain at all. Everything about his movement looks easy, and his understanding of leverage is outstanding. His understanding of zone depth is as good as any veteranās. I had to include this clip too because it shows Andrew Mukuba covering Lamb downfield! Mukuba wasnāt perfect and made a few errors, but thatās to be expected from a rookie safety playing in a Fangio defense. I thought he showed enough to be excited about moving forward. You could see the coverage ability and he also made a few nice tackles in and around the box.
Jakorian Bennett only played seven snaps, but they were eventful! He was beaten twice and flagged for pass interference, yet he competed at the line and pressed with a lot more intent than I saw from Adoreeā Jackson. He didnāt do enough to force Fangio to start him, but he showed enough to stay in the conversation for CB2 down the line. I worry Bennett is a little too grabby and aggressive, and Iām not sure that Fangio will trust him for a while. For now, the Eagles still donāt have a clear answer opposite Quinyon Mitchell. Iām worried about the position, as I have been for a while!
One of the most interesting wrinkles was Fangio breaking out Tampa-2 in this one! Who saw that coming?! He barely touched it last season, yet here he ran it three times in the span of six plays. Tampa-2 can be an incredibly risky coverage because you are essentially asking your linebacker to cover the deep middle of the field. It is quite a boom/bust coverage which we donāt always associate with Vic Fangio! I am fascinated to see if this will continue over the season. I think it might! The first was this one, with Campbell carrying the seam and making a terrific pass breakup. This is just outstanding. I thought Campbell was awesome in coverage. Baunās reaction is cool too, he knows how difficult this is. Whilst he wasnāt perfect against the run, you canāt teach this kind of coverage ability. Pairing him with Baun gives the Eagles two linebackers who can run Tampa-2, and thatās a rarity in this league. Iām so excited to see this duo this year.
Well, this was rough. On this run snap Reed Blankenship was washed out, Campbell was late setting the edge (which shows you how hard it is for an off-ball linebacker to set the EDGE and how impressive Baun is), and Jackson had another awful rep. Iāve got nothing else to say on Jackson. But then you see Baun flying across the field to save a touchdown. His hustle was extraordinary and it summed up why he was the best defenders on the field. This saved the Eagles 7 points.
The Eagles even ran drop-eight Tampa-2. Wow! This time it was Baunās turn to carry the seam and break up the pass. Having Campbell and Baun both capable of playing this coverage is such a luxury. Not many teams have one linebacker who can do it, let alone two. Itās unbelievable to see. Am I dreaming?!
Here Fangio went even funkier: drop-eight Tampa-2 out of big nickel. He was definitely trying some stuff this week. Mukuba didnāt hold up as well as the linebackers, letting the tight end get open. Blankenship made it a tough catch and was flagged, but I thought he did everything right. Sometimes defenders just canāt win against modern passing rules.
As the game went on, the run defense improved and it was led by Jordan Davis. In the second half he was dominant, blowing up double teams and playing nearly 80% of the snaps. Here he bulldozed the center into the backfield. Iāve never been fully sold on Jordan Davis but this was the best I have ever seen him look. Iām jumping on the āJordan Davis breakout seasonā train before itās too late. This was a top performance. Nolan Smith also deserves credit. Nobody enjoys taking on pulling guards more than him!
Davis was consistently excellent. He not only clogged lanes but penetrated into the backfield, stacking run stops and even producing some pass-rush push. This was as dominant a half as Iāve seen him play.
Itās never popular to criticise Quinyon Mitchell, but he didnāt have his best game. He missed an interception that would have sealed it and was too passive on a couple of other reps. If he wants to be considered among the very best corners, he needs to start the catch the ball. He needs some splash plays on his resume. On the positive side, the pass rush was better than expected. The Eagles pressured Dak Prescott on 37% of his dropbacks even without Carter. They didnāt sack him, but Hunt, Smith, and Josh Uche each had four pressures, and Davis added three. Add Carter to that mix and the rush looks much stronger than the box score suggests.
Honestly, I could write a book about Zack Baun in this game. My goodness. He was absolutely phenomenal in coverage. He was flying all over the field, leaving his zones as he knew where the ball was going, and breaking on the ball like a safety. His tackling was textbook, his effort was relentless, and his zone awareness was outrageously good. I had to pinch myself watching the film at times. On this play he sprinted from a hook-curl drop to the sideline to break up a corner route. Who the hell does that?! I actually wonder if DeJean would have picked it off if Baun wasnāt there. When do you see the hook/curl defender and the flat defender breaking on a corner route at the same time?! Itās absurd. His performance was Defensive Player of the Year calibre, even if that award never goes to linebackers. I think heās that good.
The final play. Fangio gambled with man coverage, and DeJean just disrupted the timing enough for Blankenship to get over and help. This could have easily been completed though and then it would have got very tense! The real standout here, though, was Campbell. He faked a rush, dropped into coverage, and erased the shallow route with freakish quickness. Campbellās range makes him invaluable in modern football. I absolutely loved what Nakobe Dean did last year, and hope he comes back strong because we could do with him as a run defender in certain situations, but I think this is Campbellās role to lose. Some of his coverage reps were simply awesome.
The run game was shaky early and CB2 remains unsettled. But there were plenty of positives: Davis was a monster in the second half, DeJean looked awesome and Baun played out of his mind. Campbell still has things to clean up against the run, but his coverage ability is rare. This wasnāt a perfect showing, but the ceiling is extremely high if Carter comes back healthy.
Thank you for reading! Iād love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here.
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