Running Game on Brink of History
PHILADELPHIA - There is no Steve Van Buren, LeSean McCoy, or Wilbert Montgomery on the current Eagles roster.
What the Eagles do have is a solid committee of runners, a quarterback who can move like Randall Cunningham, and one of the best offensive lines that the organization may have ever assembled, from the starting five to the four who back them up.
It has added up to what could be a history-making game in Washington on Sunday, with the Eagles just 160 yards away from becoming the organization's best rushing attack in terms of yards gained in their history. They average an NFL-best 163.3 per game, so chances are good it happens, even though Miles Sanders won’t play, and Jalen Hurts has been a hesitant runner the last two weeks.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for us,” said rookie left guard Landon Dickerson on Thursday. “I think it speaks to how we’ve been playing, the game plans we put together every week, and the way we execute.
"It’s a great honor to be a part of a team that is able to accomplish that. For us, it’s just going to be executing whatever the game plan is and whatever the coaches think to put us in the best position to win.”
The 1949 team leads the pack right now with 2,607 yards. Van Buren collected a good deal of those with 1,146. That team also posted that number in just 12 games.
It was a different NFL then, though. The forward pass wasn’t what it has become now.
That’s another thing that makes what the Eagles have done so far – running for 2,448 and counting – even more unique.
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This team won’t have a 1,000-yard rusher, like the 2013 team did when it put up 2,566 yards, which is good for second in Eagles history. That team had LeSean McCoy, who ran for 1,607 of those yards, which ended up being his career-high.
The Eagles have done it with a stable of backs – Sanders, Jordan Howard, Boston Scott, and Kenny Gainwell.
Then there’s Hurts, who will end up being the Eagles’ leading rusher this season. He has 740 now, which is 14 yards behind Sanders, who likely won’t play the final two games.
Right tackle Lane Johnson said Hurts is a big part of the reason this team is so dangerous on the ground. Hurts also has 10 rushing touchdowns, leaving him four short of tying Cam Newton’s record for most rushing scores by a QB with 14 set in 2011, Newton’s rookie season.
Hurts had two rushing scores in the first meeting against Washington, both from a yard away, as the team put up 238 total rushing yards.
“You have a guy that dynamic, can do what he can do with his legs, it puts the defenses in a bind,” said Johnson. “So, I’d say he’s the common denominator when it comes down to that.”
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Just like Randall Cunningham was in 1990 when he led the Eagles in rushing with 942 yards, which is third on the all-time rushing yards list with 2,556. Cunningham also had Heath Sherman (685) and Anthony Toney (452) chipping in yards. Donovan McNabb also led the Eagles in rushing in 2000 with 629 yards.
Wilbert Montgomery was the catalyst in the other two teams ahead of the Eagles in the record book at the moment.
He had 1,402 in 1981, with Hubie Oliver adding 382, on a 1981 team that finished with 2,509 running yards.
In 1978, Montgomery put up 1,220, with help from Mike Hogan who added 607, to get the Eagles 2,456 yards on the ground.
“It would mean a whole lot,” said Johnson, about surpassing all of them. “I heard that stat (Wednesday) morning, so it’s fresh in my mind. Obviously, we gotta execute. A big reason behind this is Jalen, the O-line, it’s everybody together.”
Johnson, of course, mentioned O-line coach Jeff Stoutland as well.
“Stout deserves a lot of credit for whatever he’s been able to do the last decade with guys injured, coming in and out, the next guy stepping in,” said Johnson.
“The way he coaches, the way he goes about his business, and really the entire coaching staff. Kudos to them. We’re going to do everything we can to get the run game going again and see what happens.”
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
