After Eagles’ pass rush is a no-show vs. Falcons, Bryce Huff concedes ‘I need to find myself in the scheme’

Bryce Huff knows what the Eagles defense needs from him, and what he’s yet to deliver.

Standing at his locker stall after the Eagles’ 22-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night, Huff said he’s still searching for the level that made him the team’s highest-priced addition in free agency. Fresh off registering zero pressures in consecutive games with his new team, Huff acknowledged the dissonance between the expectations that come with signing a three-year, $51.1 million contract and the reality of his slow start.

“I know what they brought me here for and I know what I’ve done in the past,” said Huff, who had 10 sacks for the Jets last season. “I just have to figure out what I need to do as an individual and what we need to do as a unit to get that pressure. My whole focus right now is just getting better and getting us to a point where we’re clicking and just getting home.”

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Huff’s struggles affecting the quarterback weren’t in a vacuum, although they were glaring at times. The Eagles finished the game with one sack and one quarterback hit against Kirk Cousins, who has appeared even less mobile than he has been throughout his career after returning from a ruptured Achilles tendon injury suffered last season.

When assessing what’s ailing the defensive front, Eagles veteran edge rusher Josh Sweat said it’s a lack of cohesion on each play.

“We’re not rushing together,” Sweat said. “We’re just not on the same page. We just missed some opportunities, you know what I’m saying? That’s all I can really say.”

“We can talk all we want,” Sweat added later. “But if we ain’t going to go out there and do it together, it ain’t going to happen.”

The Eagles reshaped their edge rusher rotation this offseason after the pairing of Sweat and Haason Reddick went cold during the team’s collapse late last season. After entertaining trade calls for both Sweat and Reddick, the team restructured Sweat’s deal and signed Huff to replace Reddick, who was eventually traded to the New York Jets.

Huff’s integration into his new environment hasn’t been without challenges, though. The 26-year-old was used as a designated pass rusher in his first four years with the Jets but signed with the Eagles with an expectation to become a full-time starter. But Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has yet to utilize Huff as a full-time player through two games, instead favoring veteran defensive end Brandon Graham and Nolan Smith.

After playing Huff fewer snaps than Graham and Smith in the season opener, Fangio said Huff needed to “separate himself” from the group to earn more playing time.

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Huff said the adjustment to Fangio’s system, one that requires more reading and reacting than he was asked to do with the Jets, has left him searching for himself within the framework of the defense.

“I need to find myself in the scheme at the end of the day,” Huff said. “I need to talk to my coaches to see where I can improve and continue to get better. But as far as the [pass] rush goes, that’s my main concern. We’re going to stop the run, that’s going to happen, but they brought me here to impact the QB. So at the end of the day, I need to talk to my coach, talk to my guys, and see what we can do to get better as a whole and as an individual.”

Some of Huff’s lack of production can’t be explained away by schematics or outside circumstances, though. He had several rushing opportunities without an end result, even when matched up against Atlanta tight end Ross Dwelley early in the third quarter.

When asked about the snaps against Falcons tight ends, Huff said his initial push was with run defense in mind.

“I’m going to come off the ball and stop the run,” Huff said. “It’s up to me to convert to pass. I feel like I was able to get by him, they were able to get the ball out at the end of the day, I just have to do a better job of being more consistent all around.”

Pass rush aside, the Eagles rushing defense wasn’t much better. The Falcons ran for 152 yards on 28 attempts, including 97 yards from running back Bijan Robinson, something Sweat also attributed to a lack of consistency from each member of the front.

“It’s the same thing,” Sweat said. “Everybody got a gap, everybody got a fit. Everybody has an assignment. Boom, if it ain’t there, they’re going to find it. They’re good players, you know what I’m saying? They’re going to find the mistakes once we make them.”

The lack of pass rush, along with several coverage miscues in the secondary, were most apparent on the Falcons’ game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter. The group didn’t generate a single pressure on the six-play, 70-yard series that put the Falcons up by a point with 34 seconds remaining.

“I have no words for that,” Sweat said. “Unacceptable. I ain’t got no words for that. That’s crazy, but hopefully we get it right.”