PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles, along with just about everyone else on the planet, don’t have an edge rusher like Myles Garrett.
Yet, in the ultimate team game, Philadelphia entered Week 12 as one of the NFL’s best at 8-2 and Cleveland came in at the polar opposite until Garrett helped the Browns to win No. 3 in the “Snow Globe Game” on Thursday night with three sacks.
The Eagles have been far less splashy but more effective on the edge as a whole with Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, the improving Nolan Smith, and yes, even Bryce Huff contributing to a winning rotation.
The disconnect to that reality is that Huff was signed to be the ace, not the No. 4 guy, and that muddies the view of those who only see individuality, not the collective.
Huff is now gone for an undetermined amount of time after undergoing surgery for a wrist injury suffered pre-game against Jacksonville on Nov. 3 and few are batting an eye over that because Huff’s snaps have been limited over the past three weeks due to that injury. The Eagles have held up well by adding extra snaps to Sweat, Graham, and Smith.
Against Dallas on Nov. 10, Vic Fangio was even able to get third-round rookie Jalyx Hunt’s feet wet, a positive development because Hunt will now be asked to play more.
Another likely domino could be versatile defensive tackle Milton Williams seeing more work outside as a capable card to pull out of the deck.
GM Howie Roseman has also supplemented the practice squad recently by bringing back Tarron Jackson and bringing in 2023 Rams sixth-round pick Ochaun Mathis.
Mathis, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound Nebraska product via TCU, had played in 13 NFL games over his first two seasons and was waived by the Patriots on Nov. 19.
The Eagles acted quickly, offering Mathis a PS spot without a workout, according to a team source. Once his physical came up clean Philadelphia swapped out David Anenih for Mathis, a player with more impressive measurements who could be an elevation if needed down the road.
There should be enough to piecemeal the rotation together down the stretch for Fangio but another injury inside the top trio on the edge could turn efficiency into a major problem overnight.
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