The Philadelphia Eagles may have to wait two extra days to play, but that should only increase the magnitude of the game. Their NFC East showdown against Washington is a must-win contest, a de facto playoff game this late in the year.
Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox knows how important winning in December is. He’s singled out the month as his favorite on the calendar, a fact backed up by his 18 career sacks in December. Now the veteran leader is trying to instill the enormity of the task at hand to his younger teammates.
“December is very important to me and I try and stress that to a lot of guys in the room,” Cox told reporters. “They don’t remember the other months. They remember you in December, no matter what happened early in the season, everyone kind of forgets that. And you go into December, especially right now and how important it is for this team, you just got stress it to them and beat it into their brains. You can’t fake the energy. You can’t fake the intensity.”
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Practice What You Preach
Cox isn’t fooling around with the playoffs in reach. He has been taking players aside at practice to point out mistakes and make them understand what’s at stake.
“You just take them under your wings, when you see them kind of veering off in practice,” Cox said. “You take that young guy and you explain to them what’s going on and how important what we got going forward is.”
WATCH: Eagles DT Fletcher Cox gets #Eagles FIRED Up before playing Redskins!
Cox, a six-time Pro Bowler, has been incredibly dominant in December. In addition to his 18 sacks, he has posted monthly career-highs in tackles (133), quarterback hits (43), fumble recoveries (5), and tackles for loss (23). And this week’s opponent matters, too. Cox has recorded 12.5 sacks against Washington – a career-best mark versus all opponents – along with 56 tackles (13 for loss) and 23 quarterback hits.
“We know them, they know us,” Cox said. “The records go out the window when you’re playing a division game. It comes down to which team makes the least mistakes. Which teams wants it more.”
Eagles Defense Forging Identity
The Eagles’ defense has enjoyed an amazing transformation over the the past six games. They are allowing just 17.7 points per game since Week 8, sixth-best mark in the NFL. And despite giving up 308 yards per game during that stretch, the Eagles have been stingy against the run – 491 yards, or 81.8 per game. That’s the third-best rate in the league.
Jonathan Gannon on the plan for the bye week
Philadelphia ranks 15th in overall defense: 10th in passing, 12th in rushing, 15th in points allowed. It’s all been trending upward for Jonathan Gannon’s unit after a rocky start. Cox pinned it on guys growing together and building chemistry in a new system.
“I think these last few weeks has shown what type of team we can be. What kind of defense we can be if we stick to what we’re doing,” Cox said. “You got coaches getting to know players, players getting to know coaches … and once you get that, and everybody is kind of on the same page and holding each other accountable which is always 100% then it’s just going out on Sunday and just showing it.”
.@HOOSDatDude on the defense’s progress this season
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Eagles Star Has Strong Words for Teammates: ‘Beat It Into Their Brains’