Eagles offensive line ready to face Quinnen Williams and a talented Jets defense
After stopping the Rams' Aaron Donald, the Eagles face another challenge against the New York Jets.
It’s not often that an offensive line limits Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, a three-time AP defensive player of the year, to zero sacks and zero quarterback hits in any given game.
Well, unless that offensive line belongs to the Eagles.
Not only did the nine-time Pro Bowl, seven-time All-Pro defensive tackle fail to register a sack on Sunday in the Eagles’ 23-14 victory over the Rams, but also he finished the game without a quarterback hit for the first time this season. Pro Football Focus credited Donald with one quarterback hurry for one pressure overall.
In his 10-year NFL career, which includes five games against the Eagles, Donald has never sacked an Eagles quarterback. But as left tackle Jordan Mailata slipped on his socks at his stall ahead of the Eagles’ first practice of the week on Wednesday, he shirked the opportunity to heap praise on his unit for its collective effort at keeping Donald at bay and maintaining the team’s spotless 5-0 record.
“We’ve got to move on now,” Mailata said. “We’ve got the [New York] Jets. So we just literally got our corrections on Monday, and then just took time to recover and already move on from last week’s tape and it’s been that much time. We know we did a great job, but we have to move on.”
A similarly talented opponent awaits the Eagles offensive line at MetLife Stadium, home of the Jets, in Quinnen Williams. The fifth-year defensive tackle has just a half sack through five games this season, but PFF has attributed 20 pressures to Williams (four quarterback hits and 16 hurries), ranking third among interior defensive linemen throughout the league. His pass rush win rate of 18.3% ranks seventh among interior defensive linemen who have taken at least 87 snaps this season.
But while Donald may be in a class of his own on the Rams defense, Williams is one skilled piece of a strong Jets defensive front seven. In addition to Williams, the Jets defensive front also features edge rushers John Franklin-Myers (16.4% pass rush win rate, tied for eighth among edge defenders with at least 105 snaps) and Jermaine Johnson (two sacks) and linebackers C.J. Mosley and Quincy Williams (the 11th- and sixth-ranked linebackers in the league, respectively, per PFF).
“You do have to be locked into the best guys but understanding that there are other guys on the team that will make plays as well,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “There is a balance to all that, right?
“That will be a challenge this week for us to make sure that we know where [Quinnen] Williams is at all times, but also being able to handle their other good defenders out there as well. That looks different each week of how we do that.”
» READ MORE: Regrading the Eagles vs. Rams: Film review shows Landon Dickerson’s dominance
Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland has been tasked with putting together a plan to quell the Jets defensive front, just as he successfully did against the Rams. Part of that plan involved double-teaming Donald with backup right guard Sua Opeta and center Jason Kelce. When Donald lined up elsewhere or tried to evade blocks with stunts, the rest of the Eagles offensive line rose to the occasion and mostly prevented Donald from pressuring quarterback Jalen Hurts.
On one occasion in the third quarter, right tackle Lane Johnson stayed with Donald all the way across the formation on a stunt. The play ended with Hurts scrambling for 17 yards. Johnson said he knew that Donald is good at delaying stunts and whipping around quickly to try to catch offensive lines off guard, so he was prepared to run with him in that instance.
“I think it was the first time I’ve ever done that,” Johnson said. “But I was just like, ’Don’t let him [expletive] whip around and go through the hole and kill somebody.’”
Opeta, who is filling in for starter Cam Jurgens while he is on injured reserve (foot), even took a couple of snaps where he was tasked with blocking Donald one-on-one. He was pleased with his performance against Donald and acknowledged that Hurts getting the ball out quickly also helped limit his impact.
In his first start this season, Opeta allowed three pressures against the Rams’ pass rush. He said Sunday’s game provided a valuable opportunity to see where he stacks up against an elite opponent like Donald.
“It does help with your confidence a bunch,” Opeta said after the game. “But I know that they’re still a bunch I need to clean up. Because we’re gonna play another good D-line next week, the Jets. So it’s like, ‘What can I get better on?’ Quinnen Williams, a couple other good guys on that D-line.”
» READ MORE: Eagles slot in Sua Opeta at right guard
While Mailata was keen to leave their performance against the Rams in the past, he acknowledged that there can be some carryover from week to week in their communication and how they execute their protection plan. As of Wednesday before practice, they had one half of their plan for the Jets installed.
As the week continues, they’ll learn the rest of their strategy, eager to keep another gifted opponent off the stat sheet.
“Every team has great players,” offensive coordinator Brian Johnson said. “For us, being a group of men who like to compete, welcome those challenges of being able to play against the best.
“I think anybody that plays this game or does anything, quite frankly, at a high level looks forward to those types of challenges and opportunities to go out there and show what you could do.”