Bleeding Green Nation
Highlight performances from Philadelphia’s Week 10 win.
The Philadelphia Eagles are 7-2 after beating the Dallas Cowboys.
I don’t care that Dak Prescott (who has stunk this year anyway) wasn’t playing; Eagles wins over the Cowboys shouldn’t be taken for granted. Especially when they haven’t won at AT&T Stadium since 2017.
Time to hand out some winners, losers, and IDKs.
The thought struck me on Sunday afternoon: is Zack Baun the best Eagles linebacker ... ever?!
I’m aware it sounds hyperbolic. And, look, I was born in 1991, my memory of watching the Eagles goes back to the early 2000s.
But I feel like Baun is the best Eagles linebacker I’ve ever watched.
He’s an absolute beast.
Really, is there anything he can’t do?
Baun has looked great in coverage. So much so that I nearly mistook him for a defensive back the way he gained depth to break up a pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. He’s allowed just a 72.6 passer rating when targeted. Pro Football Focus has him graded as their second-best linebacker in coverage this season ... only slightly behind FRED WARNER.
Baun is dominant against against the run. He leads all NFL linebackers in defensive stops, which are tackles that constitute a failure for the offense. He has 40. Three players are tied for second with 36 ... and they’ve all played one more game than Baun has.
Baun is physical. He hits hard! Baun had two forced fumbles in this game to bring him up to three this season. Only one linebacker has more: FRED WARNER. One of Baun’s forced fumbles came in a pretty key spot, too, with the Cowboys well positioned to score from 2nd-and-goal at the 3-yard line if not for him knocking the ball out.
Baun can rush the passer. This one comes as no surprise since he’s spent time as an edge rusher. He has two sacks and seven total pressures.
Baun is a stud. Forget Pro Bowl, this dude belongs on the All-Pro team at this rate.
Extend this man’s contract, Howie Roseman.
It took 56 plays for the Cowboys to produce 146 yards. That’s 2.6 yards per play. For context, the worst offense in the NFL this season is averaging 4.2 yards per play (Cleveland Browns).
The Eagles allowed six points on two field goals and both of those Cowboys scores came on short fields. The first was when a KaVontae Turpin kick return allowed Dallas to start at their own 40-yard line. The second was when Jalen Hurts’ fumble allowed Dallas to take over six yards away from the end zone.
Fangio’s defense has now prevented three out of the Eagles’ last five opponents from scoring a touchdown. After allowing four touchdowns to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4, the Eagles have allowed just four total touchdowns in five games since.
Playing bad quarterbacks/offenses certainly helps. But that’s still an impressive feat regardless of opponent....
