Vic Fangio’s best Eagles defense yet, Jason Kelce’s ‘biggest concern’ on offense, and more from ‘New Heights’
The Birds picked up another win Sunday, but it wasn’t pretty — unless you’re a fan of low-scoring, defensive football.
While the Eagles (8-2) topped the Lions, 16-9, on Sunday and continue to lead the division, not all has been to Philadelphia’s standard.
Unsurprisingly, retired Eagles center Jason Kelce had some constructive criticism for what he called a “frustrating” Birds offense. He shared his thoughts on the game in the latest episode of his New Heights podcast, alongside his brother and Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce.
Defense continues to impress
In Jason Kelce’s view, the most notable success of Sunday’s win was limiting a potent Lions offense to just nine points. Travis Kelce also recognized the Philadelphia defense’s ability to stop Detroit on fourth down on all five of its attempts.
“The [Eagles] defense is playing unbelievable right now,” Jason said. “Probably the best they’ve played since Vic Fangio’s been here. … And it’s at every single level of the defense. The defensive line is playing out of their minds. Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter were playing volleyball out there, batting down passes left and right.”
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One of those deflected passes turned into an interception for cornerback Cooper DeJean, who picked off Lions quarterback Jared Goff in the first quarter, leading to an Eagles field goal.
“Batting down those passes early, that clearly got [the Lions] out of their rhythm,” Kelce added.
Kelce’s ‘biggest concern’ with the Eagles
The longtime Eagles center was less satisfied with his former team when it came to the offensive side of the ball.
He recognized the midgame blow of not having Lane Johnson on the field. The offensive tackle went down in the first quarter with a foot injury and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks.
“I don’t know how long [Johnson] is going to be out, but that’s something that has decimated this offense in years past,” Kelce said. “Whenever Lane’s been out, it’s been very detrimental. Positively, Fred Johnson has played well in his snaps that he’s had to go in for Lane. But make no mistake, they’re going to miss Lane.”
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However, Kelce stated that the Eagles have wider struggles on offense to address — particularly, not maximizing their potential to run the ball.
“We have to get the ground game going,” Kelce said. “Everyone wants to talk about this year’s offense vs. last year’s offense, and vs. previous offenses with Jalen Hurts. The number one difference is that we can’t run the football. We’re not running it at a consistent, successful rate. …
“We have to be demoralizing in the ground game. And [the Eagles] can be. They should be, and they’re just not. It’s frustrating to watch.”