Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Doug Farrar

New guys Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh saved the Eagles’ defense

Among all the other things the Philadelphia Eagles did this last offseason with general manager Howie Roseman at the helm, they selected Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis with the 13th overall pick. They did so because the Eagles ranked 24th in defensive Adjusted Line Yards, also allowing 4.69 running back yards per carry. That’s not going to work if you consider your team a Super Bowl contender, and Roseman clearly did.

As Davis worked his way onto the field, the effect of his presence was clear. From Weeks 1-8, per Sports Info Solutions, the Eagles allowed 6.3 yards per carry on the 67 opponent rushing attempts in which he wasn’t on the field, and 4.3 yards per carry on the 60 carries in which he was. Yards after contact for Philly’s opposing runners dropped from 2.5 to 2.2 yards per carry when Davis was on the field, and the Eagles’ blown tackle rate in the run game dropped from 7.5% to 5.0% when Davis was out there.

Then, Davis suffered a high ankle sprain that has caused him to miss every game since Week 9, and the team put him on injured reserve. He would miss at least four weeks, and over the next two games, the Eagles allowed 168 rushing yards to the Houston Texans, and 152 yards to the Washington Commanders in Philly’s first loss of the season. The Commanders ran the ball 49 times for those 152 yards, and up next were the Indianapolis Colts with their Jonathan Taylor-led rushing attack.

So, Roseman did what he does — he got aggressive, he stayed smart, and he added two street free agents to a defensive line with talent, but also with one fatal flaw. The Eagles signed veteran interior defensive linemen Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh to identical base contracts ($2,187,500 for the season with $250,000 fully guaranteed for each player), and somehow got them on the field for that Colts game, though the signings happened so quickly, defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon couldn’t even refer to the Suh signing during his Thursday press conference because it hadn’t happened yet.

You’d expect a couple guys in their thirties to get a very soft landing in a case like this — perhaps the Eagles were thinking about later in the season, and perhaps Davis wouldn’t be ready until the playoffs — if then. We don’t yet know how that will go, but we do know that both Joseph and Suh made huge differences in the Eagles’ 17-16 win over Indianapolis. For the first time since Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Eagles allowed less than 100 total rushing yards (99), and that mattered.

Moreover, both Joseph and Suh showed up as pressure players, helping to foil the Colts’ passing game.

“We thought the entire defensive line played really well,” head coach Nick Sirianni said Monday after the win. “Obviously, those two guys played really well. It was exciting to see that, and felt like all the plays that we felt were splash or play-of-the-game type caliber plays had something to do with the defensive line.

“So, it was all of them. Suh and Linval, they both played outstanding games, and it was great to get them going and get in here and make an immediate impact.

“I think that’s what we were all hoping for, and they did, and that speaks to the type of players they are, the types of pros they are, the types of teammates they are, and look forward to continuing to get them in and mixing them into an already really outstanding defensive line that I think a lot of teams in this league would be salivating to have.”

Which is exactly what it looked like for Joseph and Suh — stellar stand-ins in the short term, and fierce rotational cogs when Davis returns to health.

Let’s see what the tape showed.

Joseph was stopping the run from the start.

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The Colts got a full slab of Joseph’s ability to shut down a run play on the first play of the game. Quarterback Matt Ryan handed to Taylor on a counter right, and Joseph (No. 72), who was head over center Ryan Kelly, had his way with Kelly on the way to a quick ending to any explosive tendencies from Indy’s star running back.

The Colts learned early that they should probably put an extra man on Joseph, and they did in this case with 12:10 left in the first quarter, and Joseph aligned in a one-tech shade. Problem was, that opened things up for everybody else on the line, and that resulted in another stuff.

Basically, if Joseph was on the field and the Colts tried to run up the middle, it wasn’t going to work. And that lasted well into the fourth quarter.

Joseph also had a way with getting to the quarterback, which he did with new buddy Suh with 8:56 left in the third quarter. Kelly couldn’t keep up with Joseph’s strength off the snap, and that’s how Joseph got to the pocket.

Per SiS, Joseph was on the field for 16 of the Colts’ run snaps. When he was on the field, Indy averaged 2.4 yards per carry, 1.8 yards per carry after contact, and the Eagles had a 6.2% blown tackle rate. Without Joseph, the Eagles allowed 5.1 yards per carry, 2.5 yards per carry after contact, and a 9.1% block tackle rate.

That’s a difference-maker.

“I was prepared for this, so I just had to go out there and do my job and give the team a spark,” Joseph said. “One day it was a call. The next day I’m on a plane, and the next day it’s practice. I’ve only been here four days. I feel like I handled things out there pretty good. I feel like I did my job and I just want to get better and better.

“The thing is, the more we play together, the more experience and time we have together, the better we’re going to be. That’s the exciting part. We all know how much more we can grow together.”

Suh disrupted, and allowed others to disrupt.

(Syndication: The Indianapolis Star)

Suh was on the field for 17 snaps, and he had a transformative effect on the Colts’ passing game. Not only did he share the aforementioned sack with Joseph, but the Colts realized — as they did with Joseph — that they’d better put some doubles on him. This led to Milton Williams’ sack with 1:25 left in the third quarter. With Kelly and right guard Will Fries on Suh (No. 74), everyone else had room to eat.

And on this no-gain stuff of Taylor at the end of the first quarter, Suh proved that he had the wherewithal to take right tackle Braden Smith all the way to the middle of the formation. That both Suh and Joseph understand how to use leverage so well augurs well for the future of Philly’s defensive line.

While Joseph spent all his time at either head-up nose tackle or nose shade, Suh did what he’s always done — affect the offense everywhere from nose to the edge. This should make him a force multiplier in Philly’s frequent five-man fronts. Suh was playing end in the five-man front that led to the Ryan sack.

So, Suh’s place on the line was just as much a factor as Joseph’s albeit in different ways. He had nine snaps in run defense, and when he was on the field, the Colts’ yards per attempt fell from 4.5 yards per carry to 3.2. Yards after contact per play fell from 3.6 to 1.9, and the blown tackle rate fell from 14.3% to 12.5%.

“This was a great team win,” Suh said. “There are all kinds of ways to win football games, and while today was quite a struggle, we came out on top and that’s all that matters. It’s a great feeling to start things off this way with a new team.”

This rotation should be FIERCE when Davis returns.

(Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports)

Now, the Eagles face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, and though Aaron Rodgers is still (somewhat) Aaron Rodgers, the Packers are a better offense when they’re running the ball these days. Which makes the acquisitions of Joseph and Suh ever more important — one can imagine a bit of nervousness in the coaching rooms were that not the case. Now, all Sirianni can talk about is how excited is is about Davis coming back, and what Gannon will be able to deploy all these toys together.

“We don’t have make that decision yet,” Sirianni said this week of Davis’ status. “You think about it, but we have to think about what we have to do this week, right? There is a time to think about what the rotation is going to be like. It’s never going to be a bad thing that we have a good rotation at defensive line.

“I know sometimes as an offensive coach — and I don’t remember if I said this to the media here, but when you see a team is not very deep on the defensive line, you can say to yourself, we’re going to wear them down. We’re going to wear them down. Our offensive line is going to lean on them and we’re going to go fast, we’re going to do this, we’re going to do that, we’re going to make — right?

“But when you have a deep defensive line and the wave keeps coming at you and coming at you, that’s great. When Jordan gets back that’ll be great, because we get another great player into our mix.”

Think about a defensive tackle rotation that includes Davis, Fletcher Cix, Javon Hargrave, Milton Williams, Joseph, and Suh. Then, think about Suh breaking out of that rotation and becoming more of a pass-rusher alongside Haason Reddick, Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, and Robert Quinn.

All of a sudden, a defensive line that was springing leaks everywhere looks like a unit that could help propel the Eagles to the Super Bowl.

And all because Howie Roseman took a chance on two street free agents, available to any other contending team in need of defensive reinforcement.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.