In their Week 8 loss to the Washington Commanders, the Philadelphia Eagles played 69 snaps on offense and 60 on defense. Let’s get straight to the number of shots, some notes and some special recognition.
Strategist
• 69 shots: Tanner McKee
Notes: McKee primarily plays in the same backfield as the RB6 and throws an assortment of backup receivers behind a makeshift offensive line. He was not prepared for success, to put it mildly. But also, his style of play isn’t going to elevate the players around him, and it’s questionable whether he would succeed even if everything around him was impeccable.
Run back
• 39 shots: Elijah Mitchell
• 22 shots: Saquon Barkley
• 8 shots: Jaydon Blue
Notes: If the Eagles don’t trade Barkley, then he’s obviously part of their long-term plans. He has made it clear that his body is not where it should be. It would be professional misconduct not to protect an unhealthy star player during a losing season.
Wide receiver
• 66 shots: Darius Cooper
• 65 photos: Makai Citron
• 32 photos: Hollywood Brown
• 18 shots: Elijah Moore
Notes: Lemon had 6 catches for 57 yards. Otherwise, the Eagles receivers didn’t do much. Lemon has some toughness, and when he gains confidence, I don’t think we’ll see him drop passes often. He can be a good role player from the slot in a functional offense. But as I noted previously, I just don’t see any explosiveness in it.
Tight end
• 55 shots: Dallas Goedert
• 13 shots each: Johnny Mundt, Eli Stowers
• 12 photos: Grant Calcaterra
Notes: Stowers made his first NFL catch in this game. In fact, he had three for 53 yards, although two of them went for 46 yards on the final two plays of the game, deep in the clock. Still, there will be a time when the Eagles should give their young, developing players much more playing time, and Stowers will be at the top of that list.
Offensive line
• 69 shots each: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Drew Kendall, Tyler Steen, Markel Bell
• 1 shot each: Fred Johnson, Willie Lampkin
Notes: This offensive line was torn apart all night by poor passing from Commanders, as McKee was sacked five times and was under pressure on most of his passes.
Edge defenders
• 47 shots: Nolan Smith
• 28 shots: Jonathan Greenard
• 24 photos: Arnold Ebiketie
• 21 shots: Jalyx Hunt
Notes: The Eagles pass rush continues to be non-existent. There are players who are still playing and giving high level efforts despite the circumstances. One of them is Nolan Smith. I can’t say the same about Jonathan Greenard.
It’s simply not enough.
Interior defensive line
• 49 shots: Jalen Carter
• 37 shots: Jordan Davis
• 36 photos: Moro Ojomo
• 15 photos: Byron Young
• 9 shots: Ty Robinson
Notes: As noted in our “10 Awards” article, Ojomo gave a postgame speech, urging his teammates not to give up. This is not a speech you want a player to feel like they have to give.
Linebacker
• 60 photos: Zack Baun
• 54 photos: Jérémie Trotter
Notes: Jihaad Campbell was out with hamstring and quad injuries.
Trotter had 10 tackles. He’s clearly a better player than Campbell right now and it will be interesting to see if Trotter simply remains the starter whenever Campbell is healthy enough to play again.
Cornerback and safety
• 60 shots each: Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean
• 59 photos: Andrew Mukuba
• 58 snaps: Riq Woolen
• 29 shots: Kenny Moore
• 13 shots: Marcus Epps
• 1 photo: Michael Carter
Notes: Quinyon Mitchell is probably the only player on the team who made a strong case for the Pro Bowl this season, and even he was ultimately roasted.
I think Andrew Mukuba finally had a good match. He had a nice INT that didn’t count because Greenard jumped offside. He also forced a Chig Okonkwo fumble that the Eagles recovered.
Three stars 🤩
⭐⭐⭐: Andrew Mukuba
🌟🌟: Jérémie Trotter
✨: Zack Baun
(This part gets harder and harder to do each week.)
Ball game 🏈
Andrew Mukuba
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