Eagles vs. Texans snap count analysis: Nelson Agholor leads Philadelphia’s skill players

Here’s a breakdown of the snap counts from the Philadelphia Eagles’ crucial 32-30 win over the Houston Texans in Week 16 of the 2018 NFL season.

OFFENSE

Jason Peters was the only starting offensive lineman who didn’t play the entire game. Halapoulivaati Vaitai had to come in at left tackle with Peters’ quad injury flaring up on him.

Nick Foles had to come out for one snap after getting the wind knocked out of him by Jadeveon Clowney in the fourth quarter. Nate Sudfeld’s sole pass attempt for Jordan Matthews was wide and high for an incompletion. Foles came back in to lead a game-winning drive.

Nelson Agholor led Eagles skill players in playing time. He finished as the game’s leading receiver with five catches for 116 yards and one touchdown. Most of that production came on his 83-yard score.

For all the talk of Carson Wentz being one to “force the ball” to Zach Ertz, Philly’s starting tight end was targeted 16 times in this game. His 12 catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns were critical.

Alshon Jeffery only saw five targets but he had three receptions for 82 yards. Jeffery had a big catch-and-run that went for 52. He’s been so much better after the catch this season.

Dallas Goedert would’ve have a fourth down touchdown score if he didn’t slip short of the end zone. It’s good to see he’s getting significant playing time.

Darren Sproles rightfully led Eagles running backs in playing time. He’s quite clearly the team’s best backfield option despite the fact he’s 35 years old.

Jordan Matthews got more playing time than the guy the Eagles traded a 2019 third-round pick for at the NFL trade deadline. Matthews and Golden Tate posted identical stats: three targets, two receptions, 13 yards. The Tate trade stings less with the Eagles winning but man, that was not a good deal. Just doesn’t seem like the coaching staff and the front office were on the same page with that trade.

Josh Adams led Eagles running backs in carries with 11. He was very inefficient for the second week in a row and he had a costly fumble late in the game. Duce Staley might need to cut back his role.

Richard Rodgers, AKA Dick Rod, saw his first target and catch of the 2018 season.

DEFENSE

Avonte Maddox seemed to play well at corner once again. The rookie almost came up with a big pick at one point. Dropped it. Maddox’s stat line: three solo tackles, 0.5 sacks, 0.5 tackles for loss, one pass defensed, and one quarterback hit.

Brandon Graham played the most of any Eagles defensive end. The stat sheet only shows one tackle and one quarterback hit but he recorded a number of hurries, according to PFF. Watson was often able to run away from Graham’s pressure.

Michael Bennett only had one solo tackle. Fletcher Cox had one solo tackle and one quarterback hit.

The Eagles eased Jordan Hicks back into the lineup by only having him play 66% of the snaps. We could see his role increase as he’s further removed from his calf injury.

Tre Sullivan and Cre’Von LeBlanc saw significant time as subpackage players.

Chris Long only played 60% of the snaps but he filled up the stat sheet the most of out of any defensive end with two solo tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks, three quarterback hits, and one forced fumble. Beast.

Treyvon Hester might be a nice No. 4 defensive tackle to keep around for the future. The 26-year-old had two solo tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, and one quarterback hit.

Timmy Jernigan had two solo tackles and one tackle for loss in his first game played since Week 12. As you can see, he’s still very much on a pitch count with only 26% of the defensive snaps played.

Kamu Grugier-Hill saw a decrease in defensive playing time with Hicks back and the Eagles using more defensive backs on the field.

Daeshon Hall only played four snaps but he found a way to fill up the stat sheet with three total tackles, 0.5 sacks, 0.5 tackles for loss, and one quarterback hit. Hall’s sack was the first of his NFL career.

SPECIAL TEAMS

With Hicks back, Nathan Gerry only played on special teams.

LaRoy Reynolds put a really big hit on DeAndre Carter during a kickoff return attempt. Reynolds (and Deiondre’ Hall) also botched an opportunity to down Cameron Johnston’s punt at the 1-yard line late in the game.

Boston Scott played nine special teams snaps in his Eagles debut. He fielded four kick returns for 96 yards, including a long of 35. He looks like he might have a little juice as a returner.

Chance Warmack is up to two offensive snaps and 43 special teams snaps played this year. $2.03 million cap hit.

It feels like Shelton Gibson having a good preseason was forever ago. He’s barely even playing on special tams at this point.

DID NOT PLAY

Inactives: Carson Wentz, Sidney Jones, Isaac Seumalo, D.J. Alexander, Matt Pryor, Chandon Sullivan, Bruce Hector

Pryor is one game away from being a healthy scratch for the entire 2018 season.