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The Ringer NFL Show

The Play Sheet [VIDEO]: The Eagles Defense is Ruining Their Title Shot

The Ringer NFL Show

The Ringer

Sports

4.14.4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 January 2024

⏱️ 19 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Philadelphia Eagles recently gave Matt Patricia more control over their defense, and the results have been abysmal. Once considered Super Bowl contenders this season, the Eagles defense has had a multitude of schematic and personnel-related shortcomings in their past few matchups. Can Philly turn it around in time to make a playoff run, or are they stuck in the mud with this group? Watch 'The Play Sheet' on Spotify or YouTube every Wednesday at 8 a.m. PT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Howdy? I'm Ben Solock. This is the play sheet. So a weekly episode we do on Wednesdays, and it's a video pod. So click into your Spotify app, click on the feed, watch the episode, and enjoy. The opening script. Eagles defense is a big problem. I want to rewind to the last weekend in November. Okay, just say Thanksgiving dinner, belly's nice and full, watched a lot of football, and the Philadelphia Eagles are 10 and 1.

0:24.4

They just came off a thrilling overtime win against the bills. In fact, they beat the Cowboys

0:27.8

Chiefs and Bills in consecutive weeks, and they control their destiny with the best record of football

0:32.0

in the NFC. Now, they do have some problems. Everybody's aware of these, right? They are 20th in defensive success rate.

0:38.1

26th in defensive EPA per drive.

0:40.4

This is clearly a below average unit.

0:42.5

This, despite the fact that they have big contracts stalled out,

0:45.5

to Darius Slay, James Bradbury, and Avanti Maddox in the secondary,

0:48.4

to Josh Sweat, Hassan, Reddick, and Fletcher Cox along the defensive line. This despite the fact that they spent first round picks on

0:54.1

Nolan Smith, Jalen Carter, and Jordan Davis on that defensive line, despite the fact that they

0:58.1

traded midseason for Kevin Byard. There is so much talent poured into this defense, and it's still

1:03.8

an underperforming unit. Enter December and the wheels really come off, right? They give up 42 points

1:08.5

to the 49ers, 33 points to the Cowboys, lose back-to-back games, lose control of the NFC, and accordingly, they make a coaching change.

1:15.6

Before a Monday night football game against the Seahawks, it's announced that defensive

1:18.4

coordinator Sean Desai is no long... Okay, so he's still the defense coordinator. It's just

1:24.0

he doesn't get to do any defensive coordinator things anymore, like

1:27.5

calling place. That's all, it's off of his plate now. And it's been given to Matt Patricia.

1:31.9

If you're like, hey, who's Matt Patricia? He's the ex-defense coordinator of the New England

1:36.0

Patriots, turned head coach to the Detroit Lions, turned offensive coordinator of the New England

1:39.9

Patriots. He's been a senior defensive assistant with the Eagles all season. In news that is shocking the nation, the map of Tricia change didn't work, okay?

1:49.5

They lost to the Seahawks on a game-winning Drew Lock Drive, and then they beat the Giants,

1:53.8

right?

...

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