Eagles' Troubling Trend Gets Exposed by Texans, and NFC Contenders Must Take Note

The Philadelphia Eagles outlasted the one-win Houston Texans on Thursday night, and they remain the only undefeated team in the NFL. However, even the lowly Texans were able to take advantage of perhaps Philadelphia's only glaring weakness.

The Eagles continue to struggle against the run.

To be fair, Texans rookie Dameon Pierce is shaping up to be a special back, and it didn't help matters that Eagles rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis was on injured reserve with an ankle injury. This made for a mismatch that favored Houston, and the Texans repeatedly exploited Philadelphia's soft underbelly.

They ran it 32 times for 168 yards with Pierce averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Houston held the ball for 31:47 of game clock.

While the Eagles pulled away late, Thursday's 29-17 win wasn't as decisive as many expected.

Struggles against the run, though, aren't new for the Eagles.

Coming into Thursday night, Philadelphia ranked 29th in yards per carry surrendered (5.1). It hasn't been a major issue too often because the Eagles' fourth-ranked offense and playmaking pass defense have been good enough to keep games from regularly being close.

Philadelphia came into Thursday's game ranked fourth in pass defense and second in yards per pass (5.4) allowed.

The offense—led by Jalen Hurts and skill-position players Miles Sanders, Dallas Goedert, DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown—has frequently allowed the Eagles to play with a lead. Defensive stalwarts like C.J. Gardner-Johnson, James Bradberry, Darius Slay, Haason Reddick and Brandon Graham have made passing on the Philadelphia defense difficult.

And with opponents regularly trailing, they've often abandoned the run.

Coming into Week 9, opponents attempted 269 passes (fourth-most) against Philadelphia and only 156 runs (third-fewest). The result was that despite allowing 5.1 yards per carry, the Eagles ranked a respectable 15th in rushing yards allowed. They had allowed just 45 first downs on the ground, tied for eighth-fewest in the NFL.

The Texans, however, stuck with the run (32 runs, 25 non-runs), and the game was tied well into the third quarter until a Gardner-Johnson interception shifted the momentum, and Hurts quickly responded with a touchdown pass.

We'll get into the turnover factor shortly, but for now, let's dive into the Houston game a little deeper.

As previously stated, Davis' presence was sorely missed. Houston found some success attacking the perimeter but even more success running into the teeth of the Eagles defense.

No matter where Houston ran the ball, though, poor angles and bad tackling were problems for Philadelphia.

We'll reiterate that Pierce is a special player and perhaps a front-runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year, but he shouldn't get past multiple defenders when they're touching his jersey.

Again, this is not a new problem for Philadelphia. The Eagles had 41 missed tackles coming into Week 9. That was the 12th-most in the NFL, even though 14 teams with fewer missed tackles had played one more game.

Poor run defense isn't a problem of which the Eagles are unaware. Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon addressed the run defense before the Week 6 game against the rival Dallas Cowboys.

"I think we can always clean up," Gannon said, per Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia. "We probably got a little leaky at times Sunday, which you would like to think that three-yard run that's going for six, you would like to get it down for three, but that's always a work in progress."

The run defense hasn't progressed since then, even before the Davis injury. The Cowboys rushed for 134 yards against the Eagles. The Arizona Cardinals rushed for 124 the week before, and the Pittsburgh Steelers rushed for 144 last week.

The big difference in most games has been the turnovers. The Detroit Lions and the Cardinals were the only two teams to rush for 120 yards or more and commit one or fewer turnovers against Philadelphia Eagles this season. Both teams lost by a field goal.

Had the Texans not turned the ball over, they might have pulled off the upset of the year. They turned it over twice and lost by 12.

While it's entirely unfair to say that Houston has provided a blueprint for beating the Eagles, Thursday was another example of how teams can beat the league's last unbeaten.

If a team can keep the score close enough to stick with the run, actually do that, and take care of the football, it can knock off Philadelphia. Looking ahead at the remaining schedule, a couple of teams could do exactly that.

Dallas (Week 16) will have quarterback Dak Prescott for the rematch. The Cowboys relied on backup Cooper Rush in the first meeting, and he tossed a trio of interceptions. The Eagles still have two games against the New York Giants (Week 14 and 18), and they could be a problem too.

New York has a star running back in Saquon Barkley, it ranks fourth in rushing yards and has played three games (all wins) without committing a turnover.

In Week 13, the Eagles will face the Tennessee Titans and running back Derrick Henry, who rumbled for 219 yards last week against Houston.

And potential playoff opponents like the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks could give Philadelphia trouble too. The 49ers recently acquired star back Christian McCaffrey, who should jump-start their 16th-ranked rushing attack.

The Seahawks have their own budding rookie star in Ken Walker III and are averaging 5.3 yards per carry as a team.

With all due respect to the Texans, the Cowboys, Giants, Titans, 49ers and Seahawks are all better teams who may be able to close out the Eagles where Houston could not.

Now, this doesn't diminish what the Eagles have accomplished this season. Head coach Nick Sirianni has his offense clicking, the pass defense is elite, and Philadelphia is 8-0 for the first time in franchise history.

This team has few glaring weaknesses, but as Gannon noted a few weeks ago, the run defense remains a work in progress. If Philadelphia can't find progress in that department, it could be a fatal flaw that keeps the Eagles from reaching Super Bowl LVII.