Malcolm Jenkins stood in front of his locker after another down-to-the-wire win at Lincoln Financial Field, and laughing, he made a point about the Eagles’ defense that is becoming more difficult to argue with every passing home game.
“I think we’re more comfortable in the red zone than anywhere else, to be honest,” he said.
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More specifically, they are remarkably comfortable in the red zone with the game on the line. The last time that the Eagles’ defense allowed points in the final two minutes of a regular-season or playoff game was Dec. 11, 2016 against Washington. And now in three of the Eagles’ last four home games, the opposing offense had a late red-zone opportunity to take the lead.
As Doug Pederson put it, “They understand the sense of urgency down there. They understand that things can happen faster.”
Carson Wentz and the Eagles’ offense were inconsistent in soggy conditions on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, giving Andrew Luck a couple of short fields via turnovers. But the Eagles’ defense has proven to be resilient when their backs are up against the wall. Both times, they limited the Colts to field goals.
Indianapolis finished the game with one touchdown on five red-zone opportunities, a major reason the Eagles improved to 2-1 with a 20-16 win. And while the Eagles don’t appear to be a finished product — Wentz looked rusty at times in his debut, playing with a group of skill players that has been decimated by injuries — the biggest reason for the successful start has probably been the defense’s stingy work near its own goal line.
“I think the biggest thing is when we have our back to the wall, that’s when we really rise to the occasion,” Fletcher Cox said. “Especially when it’s our turn, I think always that this defense wants to be the reason why we win.”
Some of that success stems from obvious things like winning one-on-one matchups. Jalen Mills broke up a jump ball that Luck threw up to Eric Ebron on a third down when the Colts tried to catch the Eagles off guard with tempo. Sidney Jones had an outstanding effort shedding a block and blowing up a wide receiver screen on another drive, humorously tackling an offensive lineman in the process.
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Other parts of that success admittedly come down to quarterback play that is out of the defense’s hands. Although Luck threw a beautiful pass on a fade route to Ryan Grant for a score that Ronald Darby seemed to have solid coverage on in the first quarter, the Colts’ quarterback also misfired on a potential touchdown to Chester Rogers in the third quarter.
When the individuals on the Eagles’ defense are asked about that success in the red zone, the one common theme that seems to emerge is a sense of calm when they’re backed up.
“So many people start buckling up, start strapping up,” Brandon Graham said. “Ain’t nobody out there like ‘Fuck! Get Up!’ You know, going off on each other.”
Experience might be the best teacher. When Luck had a first down at the Eagles’ 11-yard line needing a touchdown with 1:35 left in the game, the Eagles could think back to the playoff game against Atlanta, this year’s opener, and even the Super Bowl.
“I wouldn’t say confidence, I would say comfortable,” Mills said. “We practice those throughout OTAs, throughout camp, and we’ve been in them so many times. … I just think we’re comfortable with, if it comes down to that, trusting the guy next to you and playing great technique.”
Preparation is also important, and as Mills mentioned, the Eagles practice red-zone situations often in training camp. After the stand against the Falcons in January’s divisional playoff game, Jenkins and Rodney McLeod said that they knew Matt Ryan was going to sprint to the right as soon as the Falcons lined up.
Jenkins has said on multiple occasions that the Eagles’ defensive success by the goal line is due to the simplicity of the scheme. From that base, Jenkins indicated that the Eagles can make smaller tweaks in the coverages depending on the opponent.
“Usually, you know where teams want to go with the ball,” Jenkins said. “In the red zone, the advantage is (the defense’s) because there’s not much space so they got to try and fit the ball into tight windows. And so you know which spots they like to hit. You can take that away.”
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If that coverage holds up in tighter quarters, the Eagles’ defensive line has more time. That can be a pretty dangerous thing for opposing quarterbacks. Even though the front four hadn’t gotten much pressure on that final drive as Luck was getting rid of the ball quickly, Derek Barnett said the focus of the lineman chatter is to stay positive.
And Barnett made the play of the game, beating Le’Raven Clark off the snap on 4th and 3 from the Eagles’ 4-yard-line with 1:19 left, and getting just enough of Luck to bring him down.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 23, 2018
“If we get close, just keep it going because the time you take a play off is the one you’re going to miss,” Barnett said. “Our mentality up front is to keep going.”
The Eagles’ defense was coming off a down performance in Tampa, which isn’t completely out of character. While Jim Schwartz’s group was a top-five unit by DVOA a season ago, they also finished 31st in variance according to Football Outsiders. Basically, they were more prone to up-and-down play than most teams.
But thinking back to the 75-yard touchdown receptions they surrendered to DeSean Jackson and O.J. Howard, you do wonder what would’ve happened if the Eagles were just able to get them on the ground somewhere shy of the goal line.
“We can live with a field goal,” Barnett said.
(Top photo: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)