October 29, 2018

Eagles snap count analysis: Week 8 vs. Jaguars

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

For seemingly the eighth straight week, the Philadelphia Eagles had to adjust to a variety of injuries, as they are perhaps the most banged-up team in the NFL. Here's a look at the snap counts, and how the Birds adjusted to injuries Sunday in London against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Quarterback and offensive line

• 62 snaps each: Carson Wentz, Isaac Seumalo, and Brandon Brooks

• 61 snaps: Jason Kelce

• 55 snaps: Halapouivaati Vaitai

• 43 snaps: Jason Peters

• 21 snaps: Stefen Wisniewski

• 7 snaps: Lane Johnson

Analysis: For the second time this season, the Eagles lost both starting offensive tackles in the same game, and they reacted the same way they did last time. The OL's alignment was as follows:

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
Halapoulivaati Vaitai	Stefen Wisniewski	Jason Kelce	Brandon Brooks	Isaac Seumalo

Obviously, that is not ideal. Johnson should be out for an extended period of time if reports that he has a Grade 2 MCL sprain are correct. Credit Seumalo for holding down the fort twice this season when he has been asked to play multiple positions in a game.

Running back

• 31 snaps: Wendell Smallwood

• 18 snaps: Josh Adams

• 13 snaps: Corey Clement

Analysis: An interesting development this season has been the team's usage of Smallwood over Clement. Smallwood had some huge moments against the Jags, as he caught a screen that he took to the house, and he had a 10-yard game-sealing run on 2nd and 9. I'll have to wait for the re-watch to see if he was responsible for a missed blitz pickup in which Wentz was sacked by Myles Jack.

Wide receiver

• 57 snaps: Nelson Agholor

• 54 snaps: Alshon Jeffery

• 34 snaps: Jordan Matthews

• 6 snaps: DeAndre Carter

• 2 snaps: Shelton Gibson

Analysis: Matthews made the most of his 34 snaps, catching 4 passes for 93 yards against a banged-up Jags secondary.

Tight end

• 57 snaps: Zach Ertz

• 30 snaps: Dallas Goedert

• 7 snaps: Josh Perkins

Analysis: All three tight ends had roles in this game. Ertz and Goedert both had touchdowns, obviously.

Defensive line

• 55 snaps: Michael Bennett

• 53 snaps: Fletcher Cox

• 51 snaps: Brandon Graham

• 40 snaps: Chris Long

• 26 snaps: Haloti Ngata

• 15 snaps: Treyvon Hester

• 12 snaps: Bruce Hector

• 4 snaps: Josh Sweat

Analysis: If there was any concern that Fletcher Cox would be wearing down at the end of games because of his heavy usage this season, he disproved that theory Sunday, when he had a monster final series, when he was able to bat a pass on third down, and cause a bad throw on fourth down to all but seal the game.

Linebackers

• 64 snaps: Jordan Hicks

• 62 snaps: Nigel Bradham

• 6 snaps: Kamu Grugier-Hill

• 1 snap: LaRoy Reynolds

Analysis: Grugier-Hill suffered a thumb injury Sunday. He had a "thumbs up" cast on in the locker room after the game. If he has to miss time, the backup WILL would be Nate Gerry, who has missed the last three games with ankle and knee injuries.

Cornerback and safety

• 64 snaps each: Malcolm Jenkins and Avonte Maddox

• 62 snaps: Ronald Darby

• 58 snaps: Dexter McDougle

• 42 snaps: Rasul Douglas

• 23 snaps: Jalen Mills

• 2 snaps: Tre Sullivan

Analysis: For the first time this season, Rasul Douglas got significant snaps after Jalen Mills left with a foot injury, and without having re-watched the game yet, he seemed to play well. I don't need to re-watch the game to know that slot corner Dexter McDougle had a really rough outing. The Eagles will have to evaluate that spot if Sidney Jones' return is still a ways away, because opponents are surely going to attack McDougle going forward.

Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | @thePhillyVoice

Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports

Add Jimmy's RSS feed to your feed reader