Why the Philadelphia Eagles Need to Salvage Their Season Through Darren Sproles

The 2016 Philadelphia Eagles have become your regular golf buddy who gets plenty of birdie opportunities and is beaming with pride as he walks up to the green each time.

Then a familiar sequence of despair begins; his short putt lips out, and a skyward gaze follows.

The Eagles had an unblemished 3-0 record after their first three games. That wasn’t supposed to happen after rookie quarterback Carson Wentz took all of 38 snaps during the preseason.

Since then, they’ve lost four of their last five games, as Wentz has begun to scale the rookie wall. That wasn’t supposed to happen, either, and the pain cuts deeper than what the loss column reads. The Eagles have yet to lose a game by more than a touchdown, with 4.75 points the average margin of defeat in their four losses.

Their performances may sometimes lack a certain sex appeal, like in Week 6, when the Eagles allowed 493 yards to the Washington Redskins and still somehow lost by only seven points. But they’re still consistently close, which is a victory in itself during what was assumed to be a rebuilding year.

The Eagles are thirsting for a savior to salvage a once promising season and help resurrect an offense that ranks 25th in average yards per game (333.4). The climb ahead is steep for a 4-4 team, but a wild-card playoff berth is still possible.

They need a reliable source of burst and offensive life. And they may have already found it, even amid the rubble of losing.

You know Darren Sproles as the dynamic running back who continues to defy the conventional wisdom of NFL size and aging. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson knows him as the guy he suddenly can’t keep off the field.

The wise decision is to let that organic movement roll forward because Sproles has had spark-plug potential throughout his entire career. Thankfully, logic seems to be prevailing, and Pederson is heading in that direction.

"By stats and by what you're seeing, I would say that Darren is the No. 1 back right now," Pederson said Monday following Philadelphia's 28-23 loss to the New York Giants, per Tim McManus of ESPN.com. "Obviously, we haven't hung our hat on one guy, but we tend to lean more toward Darren Sproles."

The Eagles' lead back headwear was unofficially placed on Ryan Mathews to begin the season. But when it was crucial to provide support for a rookie quarterback, he morphed into a plodding mess.

Mathews still gets much of the goal-line work, which is clear from his five rushing touchdowns. But he’s averaged only 3.8 yards per carry.

That's led to the natural shift toward Sproles, who’s ageless and still the most threatening running back the Eagles can trot out. Pederson only recently called Sproles the lead man in his running back platoon, but his actions and snap distribution have told the tale for a few weeks.

Week	Matthews' snap count	Sproles' snap count
Week 5	25	34
Week 6	11	23
Week 7	26	26
Week 8	8	62
Week 9	8	60
Total	78	205

The shift came after the Eagles’ Week 4 bye. Slowly, an adjustment was made, with Sproles rightfully becoming a priority.

There were many potential paths for Pederson’s first season as a head coach. Needing to emphasize a 33-year-old running back who’s still a tiny house running among skyscrapers at 5’6” and 190 pounds likely wasn’t high on his list of scenarios. But that’s where a stagnant offense finds itself, and continuing to feed Sproles is its best (or only) option moving forward.

The Eagles are averaging just 5.3 yards per play (25th), and their passing offense is grasping for chunk plays while recording a lowly 24 receptions for 20-plus yards (20th). Sproles, meanwhile, has produced plenty of chunks despite his still overall limited playing time.

He recently topped the 80 percent snap plateau in a game for the first time in his career, according to Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus. Sproles has reached that mark in two straight games, but overall in 2016, his snap percentage sits at a still modest 57.6 percent, per PFF.

His workload offers context for Sproles’ efficiency. He’s among a group of 10 running backs who have reeled off five runs for 15-plus yards, again per PFF.

Please note the lack of carries for Sproles compared to, well, pretty much everyone else.

Running back	15-plus yard runs	Carries
Carlos Hyde	5	108
Duke Johnson	5	47
Jordan Howard	5	99
Lamar Miller	5	153
Mike Gillislee	5	42
LeGarrette Blount	5	161
Latavius Murray	5	89
Spencer Ware	5	102
Darren Sproles	5	59
Jeremy Hill	5	104

Sporles has sprung forward for at least one 15-plus-yard play in seven of the Eagles’ eight games so far. That is impressive considering his light workload until recently. A 73-yard catch-and-run in Week 3, when Sproles created several open-field missed tackles, highlights his long gains.

He’s topped the 15-touch mark in each of Philadelphia’s past two games. The two-time Pro Bowler has rewarded his coaching staff with 174 yards from scrimmage, which accounted for nearly 25 percent of the Eagles’ offensive output during that stretch.

It all translates to a statement that even a divided United States can agree on: The Eagles have a better offense and are a better team when the ball is in Sproles’ hands more often.

Pederson certainly seems to be nodding his head in agreement, knowing any playoff chances are boosted by his tiny running back’s increased role, especially when Sproles is inserted into space as a pass-catcher. Since he entered the NFL in 2005, he leads all running backs in receiving yards, with 4,397, according to Pro Football Reference.

As ESPN’s Ed Werder noted, Sproles also recently made history by passing LaDainian Tomlinson for eighth all time in career all-purpose yards:

Much of that yardage has come as a receiver, and his passing-game presence should be leaned on heavily over the next few weeks. In Week 10, the Eagles host the Atlanta Falcons. Sproles offers the best (only?) avenue to keep pace with the Falcons’ aerial bombardment.

Skilled and shifty receivers out of the backfield are a weakness for the Falcons defense. Atlanta is allowing an average of 62.1 receiving yards per game to running backs, according to Football Outsiders. The Seattle Seahawks, the Eagles’ Week 11 opponent, are better in that area but still give up 40.0 receiving yards per game to the position.

Since he’s so undersized, Sproles’ touches have always needed to be managed to some degree. That’s why minimizing his punishment by using him as a pass-catcher is key. It also puts him in the best position to succeed. But he needs to have the ball in his hands a whole lot going forward regardless of how it gets there.

Sproles is on pace to gain 1,000-plus yards from scrimmage for the second time in his 11-year career. He’s only two yards behind Mathews for the team's rushing lead despite having 17 fewer carries. His 25 receptions are tied for second behind wide receiver Jordan Matthews—the same Matthews who’s averaging only 12.1 yards per catch, showing this Eagles offense is desperate for a consistent playmaking threat.

They have one in Sproles, and Pederson seems to be realizing it now at midseason. He’s always been the Eagles' best option for offensive explosiveness. Now he could also be the difference between a floundering season and one that’s plucked from its death spiral.