Eagles' Renewed Pass Rush a Key Component to Huge Win over Giants

Eli Manning’s quick draw was no match for the locked and loaded pass rush of the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles blanked the New York Giants 27-0 on Sunday night for the franchise’s first shutout victory since December 1, 1996, a dominant victory that began in the trenches. The defense got to Manning six times and hurried the signal-caller throughout the contest, making it impossible for the visiting team to generate, much less sustain, any offense.

That defensive pressure has become a calling card of Philadelphia’s in 2014, particularly of late. Last week, the Eagles sacked St. Louis Rams quarterback Austin Davis four times, forcing two fumbles—one of which they returned for a touchdown. Two weeks ago, the unit got to Colin Kaepernick, mobile passer of the San Francisco 49ers, four times as well.

With two additional sacks of Giants backup Ryan Nassib, that’s 16 total over the past three games, giving Philly 19 for the season, tied for second in the NFL.

	NYG	PHI
Score	0	27
Yards	253	448
First Downs	12	24
Penalties	10	3
Sacks	1	8
Red Zone Trips	1	4
Time of Possession	27:35	32:26

That being said, the Eagles flustering Manning was the front seven’s best performance to date.

According to game charters for Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Manning entered Sunday’s contest with the NFL’s second-fastest release, tied with Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, behind only brother Peyton with the Denver Broncos. He had been sacked seven times through the Giants’ first five games.

The Eagles almost managed to get Manning as many times over the course of 55 minutes.

As a result, New York didn’t have a drive that went further than 18 yards until the fourth quarter. The offense’s only trip to the red zone was largely thanks to an Eagles turnover. The Giants offense gained just 253 yards and converted 12 first downs.

And, of course, no scoring plays.

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With three sacks, outside linebacker Connor Barwin is now tied for third in the NFL with 6.0, already his highest total since posting 11.5 with the Houston Texans in 2011. All have been registered in the past three weeks.

Third-year defensive end Vinny Curry got to Manning twice, giving him 4.0 for the year. That matches the 26-year-old’s career high, set last season.

Trent Cole had only one lonely sack of Manning, upping his total to 3.5 for the season, which pairs nicely with the three forced fumbles on his stat sheet. That gives the 32-year-old outside linebacker 12.5 sacks in the Eagles’ last 15 games, including playoffs.

Outside linebacker Brandon Graham notched his second sack and third forced fumble of the season against Nassib, while defensive end Brandon Bair recorded the first of his career against the Giants backup.

PLAYER	SACKS	RANK	FF
Connor Barwin	6.0	t-3rd	1
Vinny Curry	4.0	t-9th	1
Trent Cole	3.5	t-20th	3
Brandon Graham	2.0	t-45th	3

Perhaps most impressive of all is the fact that this is all being done without interior linebacker Mychal Kendricks, arguably the defense’s most valuable player, certainly its most versatile. Before suffering a heel injury in Week 2, Kendricks had come up with 4.0 sacks in Philly’s previous five games.

Nor is the defense getting much help from Marcus Smith, the club’s first-round draft pick. Smith was thought to be the heir apparent to Cole on the outside, but he has struggled to get on the field and is currently serving at interior linebacker due to the rash of injuries.

Even before the Eagles started racking up sacks at their current rate, they were making opposing signal-callers feel uncomfortable. Continuous pressure on Andrew Luck was a huge factor in the Birds’ road victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2. Cole’s strip sack of Chad Henne and the resulting touchdown sealed the deal in the club’s Week 1 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Simply put, Philadelphia’s pass rush is for real.

Football games are won and lost up front, and in today’s pass-happy league, getting to the quarterback can be everything. The Eagles seem to have that part down as well as anybody, the impact of which is readily apparent in the standings.

Philadelphia is 5-1 heading into the bye week, and although there has been some debate as to the strength of that particular 5-1 record, one thing is clear: Opposing passers better not get too comfortable in the pocket, because the Eagles have some big guns aimed their way.