Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 11/14/24.
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Roob’s Obs: Putting Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean into context - NBCSP
1. It’s not easy to put into words just how rare it is for a team – especially a good team, a playoff contender – to start two rookie defensive backs. The Eagles have only had one rookie defensive back who was a full-time starter in the last 25 years – that was Nate Allen in 2010 and he was a functional safety but hardly a special player like Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. Before that you go back to Wes Hopkins in 1983, Eric Allen in 1988, Bobby Taylor in 1995 and Dawk in 1996. But two? At the same time? Joe Lavender and Randy Logan were both rookie starters in 1973, and they both became very good players but that was a 5-8-1 team that ranked 25th out of 26 teams in defense. Only 12 playoff teams in NFL history have had two full-time starting rookie defensive backs – just four since 1986. Most recently, the Saints went 11-5 in 2017 with Marcus Williams and Marshon Lattimore – who’s now with Washington. The others since 1986 are the 2003 Seahawks (Ken Hamlin, Marcus Trufant), 2010 Chiefs (Eric Berry, Kendrick Lewis) and 2016 Giants (Andrew Adams, Eli Apple). But the 2003 Seahawks ranked 27th of 32 teams in pass defense, the 2010 Chiefs ranked 17th, the 2016 Giants ranked 23rd and the 2017 Saints 15th. The last playoff team with two rookie starters in the secondary with a top-10 defense? That would be the 1964 Chargers with rookie starters Kenny Graham, a safety, and Jimmy Warren, a cornerback. That team, coached by future Eagles quarterbacks coach Sid Gillman, went 8-5-1 and won the AFL West Division (the AFL’s records were all absorbed by the NFL with the merger). That team was ranked 9th out of 22 teams in pass defense. That was 60 years ago. The Eagles currently have the No. 2 pass defense in the NFL with Mitchell and DeJean both playing huge roles. What we’re seeing is special and it’s rare and it’s unique and it’s a hell of a lot of fun.
NFL win-total projections, NFC: Lions earn top seed; Eagles hold off Commanders in East - NFL.com
2) In Week 10, the Eagles supplanted the Commanders atop the NFC East for the first time since Week 1. If they want to gain a stronger hold on the division, they can start by beating Washington on Thursday at home. The Week 16 rematch (on the road) looms as another key date on Philly’s schedule, of course — but it’s far from the only one that can impact the playoff picture, in both the NFC and AFC. Games at Baltimore (in Week 13) and vs. Pittsburgh (in Week 15) can reshape the AFC North race, while a road showdown with the Rams in Week 12 stands as a potential turning...