Getty Eagles RB Jordan Howard returned to practice in a limited capacity, but still hasn't been cleared for contact.
It was a bruising battering ram kind of day for the Eagles. They ran the football 41 times for 218 yards Sunday in Buffalo. It was clinical.
The Eagles’ 218 rushing yards were the most ever during the Doug Pederson era — and the most since Philadelphia rumbled for 256 yards in 2014 against Dallas. They literally broke the Bills’ will to win late in the game after pounding the rock 26 times in the second half.
At one point, Eagles players were staring down the barrel of a gassed defense. The Bills just had no answers despite knowing what was coming at them.
Jordan Howard carried 23 times for 96 yards, while Miles Sanders contributed 74 yards on three totes. When Boston Scott plowed ahead for a four-yard run and his first career touchdown in the third quarter, the rout was on. Even quarterback Carson Wentz got in on the fun with 35 rushing yards.
“We were able to wear the defense down,” Howard told NBC Sports Philadelphia. “You could tell at the end of the game they really didn’t want to tackle us.”
Right guard Brandon Brooks agreed with Howard, adding that he felt the Eagles could follow the same script and run on any team in the league. They were logging yardage at a clip of 5.3 yards per touch.
“We feel like we can do that versus anybody,” Brooks told NBC Sports Philadelphia. “The key was that guys executed across the board. we weren’t shooting ourselves in the foot, and we started off a little bit faster than we usually do.”
Eagles offense second half:
26 runs for 156 yards
7 passes for 81 yards
4-6 third down
18:25 time of possession
Eagles Turning into Run-First Kind of Offense
The fans have been clamoring for the Eagles to run Jordan Howard more in their largely pass-happy attack. On Sunday, the team ran it early and often with Howard and rookie Miles Sanders. Heck, Boston Scott and Nelson Agholor also got their numbers called in the run game. It was a dominant effort from top to bottom and one that could be the team’s new calling card.
Doug Pederson stopped short of declaring the Eagles a “ground-and-pound” offense. However, the head coach did admit that he has been forced to run the ball more due to the extended absence of DeSean Jackson. Without the speedy wide receiver out there to stretch the field, they are happy to ride the hot hand. It’s a winning script the Eagles may keep.
“Obviously with not having DeSean, that’s definitely a possibility,” Pederson said, when asked about whether he would run it more. “I look at the success we’ve had and some of the wins that we’ve had this year and the amount of points, I think we’ve been over 30 points in the four wins and part of that is due to the run game. So I think that’s a formula for us.”
It’s a formula that certainly brought a smile to running back Jordan Howard’s face. On the Eagles’ final, game-sealing drive they ran it 11 times versus only three passes. It was old-school football at its finest.
“It’s great because we knew we had them at that point,” Howard said, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “They couldn’t get us off the field.”
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