Eagles-Cowboys snap count analysis

Time to analyze the Philadelphia Eagles’ snap counts from their Week 16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

OFFENSE

• Really bad game for Matt Pryor. Just not an ideal option at right tackle. Two false start penalties, one holding penalty.
• Isaac Seumalo also had two false starts.
• Jalen Hurts played the entire game despite getting a little banged up. Rookie got off to a good start but faded as the game went on.

• Greg Ward has done some nice things this year. He can be solid as a No. 4 or No. 5 wide receiver. Not great that a guy who is averaging 7.9 yards per reception is leading all Eagles skill players in playing time, though.
• Jordan Mailata suffered a head injury thanks to this dirty play from Jaylon Smith:

• Zach Ertz had three receptions for 33 yards. Two receptions for 16 yards came on receptions short of the sticks on 3rd-and-23 and and 4th-and-15. So, not exactly the most meaningful production.
• Miles Sanders had 15 carries for 57 yards (3.8 average) and one touchdown against the NFL’s worst run defense.
• Jalen Reagor had three receptions for 30 yards on seven total targets. One reception for 15 yards came on the Eagles’ final play of the first half, where they attempted a very long catch-and-run instead of a Hail Mary. Reagor getting tackled shortly after making the catch prompted Jonathan Vilma to say this on the broadcast:

Reagor continues to underwhelm.

• Dallas Goedert (calf) got banged up early in the fourth quarter. His 38 yards have him tied with Travis Fulgham as the Eagles’ leading receiver this season with 524.
• Alshon Jeffery saw a decreased role after playing 63% of the Eagles’ snaps in Week 15. There’s no reason to play him at all in Week 17. There’s nothing to be gained for the Eagles in the short-term after being eliminated. And he’s a sure bet to be traded or released in the offseason.
• Remember how the Eagles didn’t have a wide receiver with at least 500 yards last season? Fulgham’s 27 yards on Sunday put him over that mark this year. Success!
• Second week in a row that Quez Watkins had a big play. This time it was on an improvisation throw down the field by Hurts for a 43-yard gain. Watkins is up to 100 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in 82 offensive snaps this year (1.2 yards per snap). Reagor has 381 yards and one touchdown in 492 snaps (0.77 yards per snap).
• DeSean Jackson’s sole target was his 81-yard touchdown. Looked like vintage DJack on that one. Then, to no one’s surprise, he got hurt again.

• Brett Toth was forced into playing time with Mailata getting evaluated for a head injury.
• Boston Scott’s two runs went for 17 yards. More efficient than Jordan Howard’s three runs for eight yards. Scott only averaged 19.3 yards on three kick returns. He was fortunate that the Cowboys recovered his fumble out of bounds to allow the Eagles to keep possession. I’d look to get Scott off kick return. Maybe give Watkins a chance there.

DEFENSE

• Alex Singleton continues to rack up big tackle numbers. He had eight in this game.
• Jalen Mills started the game at safety but had to shift down to cornerback with Michael Jacquet mightily struggling.
• Darius Slay logged is first Eagles interception in Week 16. First pick by an Eagles cornerback since Sidney Jones in Week 17 last year. Slay expressed a lot of excitement after the game on Twitter. The following tweets were either retweeted or natively posted by him:

Interesting tone following a game in which the Eagles gave up 513 yards and 37 points and were eliminated from the playoff picture by a division rival.

• T.J. Edwards saw an increased role with Duke Riley out.
• Brandon Graham picked up his eighth sack of the season. Needs two more in Week 17 to hit his double-digit goal. BLG also had one tackle for loss and two quarterback hits against Dallas.
• Javon Hargrave hasn’t logged a sack or quarterback hit in his last two games. Seven of his 14 games this season have been without a sack or quarterback hit.
• Malik Jackson has zero sacks and one quarterback hit since Week 6.
• Vinny Curry was productive with one sack, one tackle for loss, and three quarterback hits. Wonder if another team will want to add him to their pass rush rotation this offseason. Turns 33 in June.
• Grayland Arnold saw the most playing time of his career with Mills moving down to corner.
• Nickell Robey-Coleman got fooled by the Cowboys’ offense and gave up a long touchdown to CeeDee Lamb. Remember when the Eagles wanted people to know they believed NRC was a top five slot corner in the NFL?
• Marcus Epps tied Singleton for the Eagles’ lead in total tackles.
• A week after admirably battling it out with DeAndre Hopkins, Michael Jacquet was simply overmatched by the Cowboys’ wide receivers in this game. He couldn’t even stay on his feet; he fell down in coverage on multiple occasions. He looked like an undrafted rookie free agent from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette out there, which he is.
• Genard Avery was DE3 in this game with Derek Barnett and Josh Sweat out. Zero sacks, zero quarterback hits for the guy Howie Roseman acquired with a very high pick in the fourth-round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
• K’Von Wallace had a nice third down stop at one point. Clearly behind Epps and Arnold on the depth chart, though.
• Joe Bachie (did you even know he was on the team?) was forced into playing time with Shaun Bradley getting banged up.
• Joe Ostman barely played as the Eagles’ fourth defensive end.
• Fletcher Cox was barely able to play and his absence really, really hurt the Eagles’ defense.
• Rudy Ford saw his first defensive snaps of the season.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Not listed in the graphic: Ross Pierschbacher and Luke Juriga each with three special teams snaps.
• Cameron Johnston had a 17-yard punt from the Cowboys’ 40-yard line on 4th-and-14. Not exactly the best at the coffin corner.

DID NOT PLAY

INACTIVE: Derek Barnett, Duke Riley, Richard Rodgers, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, John Hightower, Jason Huntley, Nate Sudfeld

ACTIVE: Carson Wentz

• No reason to be playing Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson in a meaningless Week 17 game. Get JJAW and Hightower active instead.
• Also would like to see Huntley active for Week 17.