Philadelphia Eagles Defense, Special Teams Making QB Situation Irrelevant

On any other playoff contender, losing the starting quarterback to a major injury would change everything. For the Philadelphia Eagles, swapping in backup Mark Sanchez for the injured Nick Foles didn't change anything.

Before the Eagles decimated the Carolina Panthers 45-21 on Monday Night Football, there was quite a kerfuffle about the once-disgraced Sanchez's return to an NFL starting lineup.

ESPN analyst Jon Gruden explained (subscription required) how Sanchez was being given a crucial opportunity to reinvent himself. Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Sanchez was excited for the chance to play in head coach Chip Kelly's unique offense. In a twist on the old story about sour grapes, sources told Mark Eckel of New Jersey Advance Media that Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has "soured on" Foles anyway.

Kelly, for what it's worth, told McLane the Eagles "offense is directed around our quarterback," and the system can be tailored to fit whoever happens to be under center. After the game, it was clear Sanchez's teammates had no intention of letting their success or failure depend on his.

The Eagles defense ravaged Cam Newton and the Panthers offense, racking up three interceptions, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an incredible nine sacks for minus-91 yards. Darren Sproles returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown, too, boosting the Eagles' NFL-best tally of return touchdowns to an incredible nine in as many games, per The Philadelphia Inquirer's Paul Domowitch:

Sanchez's final stat line looked great, despite the quarterback getting off to a slow start. When your defense and special teams each contribute first-half touchdowns, though, you have the luxury of starting off as slowly as you want.

New York Jets fans can vouch for this. They watched their team go to back-to-back AFC Championship Games with Sanchez at the helm, thanks in large part to the outstanding defense and running game they had in place. The Eagles' three-phase bushwhacking of the Panthers should remind the football world just how good Sanchez has looked in green.

His first drive as the Eagles' starter resulted in a field goal, though it was essentially a three-and-out. His second drive started on the Panthers' 43-yard line, was assisted by a penalty and was finished by Darren Sproles. His third drive was also a three-and-out. That's when Sproles took yet another Panthers punt to the house.

ESPN's SportsNation Twitter account pointed out the 17-7 scoreline was more than a little deceiving:

With the Panthers in desperation mode and the Eagles feeling their oats, Sanchez started performing like he was playing with house money.

In the second quarter, he led his first true scoring drive of the game. He went 5-of-6 on the 10-play drive, capping it with a 13-yard strike to rookie receiver Jordan Matthews. A Bradley Fletcher pick-six later, the Eagles' lead was 31-7. It wasn't even the Eagles' last interception of the half.

After intermission, Eagles defenders Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham joined forces on a sack-fumble that set up a quick Sanchez strike to tight end Brent Celek. Celek was ruled down just outside of the end zone, but tailback LeSean McCoy immediately punched it in.

The atmosphere became a celebration, as every Eagles unit seemed to do whatever it wanted with its Panthers counterpart. Then a grinning Sanchez found Matthews for another touchdown, turning the game into a 45-7 embarrassment.

After the massive victory, the Eagles moved up into a tie with the Detroit Lions for the NFC's second-best record at 7-2. Instead of packing it in for the year with their starting quarterback out, the Eagles have their sights set on home-field advantage.

Of course, it won't always come this easy.

The 7-3 Dallas Cowboys, just a half-game behind, aren't going to give Philadelphia any room to breathe. The Eagles still have to play the Cowboys twice yet this season, not to mention one game against each of their other NFC East rivals—or contests against the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.

The Eagles were tied for ninth in the NFL in sack percentage coming into Week 10, per Pro-Football-Reference.com, and this game will surely boost them among the NFL's best. Their special teams were already Pro Football Focus' (subscription required) No. 2-graded unit, and as their battered offensive line gets healthier, McCoy and Sproles are only going to get more dangerous.

With every unit clicking the way it is, the Eagles won't need Sanchez to throw for 332 yards and two touchdowns to win games down the stretch—but if he can play half as well against the Cowboys, Seahawks and Packers as he did against the Panthers, the Eagles will be in excellent shape come January.