January 07, 2019
The Philadelphia Eagles are now into the second round of "the tournament," after surviving a last second field goal attempt by the Chicago Bears. Before we look ahead, let's first take a quick look back at the Eagles' snap count distribution in the wildcard round.
• 68 snaps each: Nick Foles, Jason Peters, Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson
Analysis: The quarterback and all five offensive linemen played every snap. I'm not sure if that has happened once this season in an Eagles game (I'm not going back to look), but obviously, that is ideal.
• 38 snaps: Darren Sproles
• 28 snaps: Wendell Smallwood
• 1 snap each: Josh Adams and Boston Scott
Analysis: I was getting a lot of questions during the game asking why Josh Adams didn't see the field more than he did. Why? At this point in the season, Sproles and Smallwood are more dependable options, in my view.
• 66 snaps: Alshon Jeffery
• 61 snaps: Nelson Agholor
• 42 snaps: Golden Tate
• 11 snaps: Jordan Matthews
Analysis: Though none of them put up huge numbers, all four receivers made big plays in this game, including Matthews, who didn't have any catches, but drew a long pass interference penalty.
• 61 snaps: Zach Ertz
• 30 snaps: Dallas Goedert
• 1 snap: Richard Rodgers
Analysis: Over the last month and a half, Goedert has gotten about 60 percent of the snaps. His snaps were down against the Bears (44 percent), but he was still productive, catching a TD pass and a crucial first down conversion in which he broke a couple tackles.
• 58 snaps: Brandon Graham
• 54 snaps each: Michael Bennett and Fletcher Cox
• 38 snaps: Chris Long
• 22 snaps: Timmy Jernigan
• 17 snaps: Haloti Ngata
• 12 snaps: Treyvon Hester
Analysis: Hester made the biggest play of his life on special teams, when he deflected Cody Parkey's field goal attempt that double-doinked off the upright, and then the crossbar, before falling harmlessly to the Soldier Field turf.
• 64 snaps: Nigel Bradham
• 23 snaps: Jordan Hicks
• 7 snaps: Kamu Grugier-Hill
Analysis: Hicks was once again used sporadically, as he continued to work back to 100 percent health. The Eagles have also had a lot of success with their various dime sets, so it makes sense to stick with them. Hicks' snaps are essentially going to Tre Sullivan.
• 64 snaps: Avonte Maddox, Rasul Douglas, Malcolm Jenkins, and Corey Graham
• 51 snaps: Cre'Von LeBlanc
• 48 snaps: Tre Sullivan
Analysis: The Bears attacked Maddox successfully, using his over-aggressiveness against him by hitting him with double moves. He'll have to correct that. Otherwise, it's interesting how Sullivan's usage has ramped up down the stretch.
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