Expect a Sack Attack When Eagles Visit Blitzburgh on Sunday

Don’t look now, but the Eagles lead the league in sacks with 17 of them, 13 of which have been collected in the past two games.

The last time the Eagles led the league in sacks was 2011, when they actually tied with the Vikings for the top spot with 50. Those were the days of Jason Babin (18 sacks), Trent Cole (11), and Cullen Jenkins (5.5).

They came close again in 2014 tying for second with the Ravens with 49, five behind the Bills. Babin again led the way, notching 14 that year, followed by Vinny Curry (9), Cole (6.5), Brandon Graham (5.5), and Mychal Kendricks and Fletcher Cox with four each.

That was a good balance in 2014.

The Eagles could very well have that sort of balance again as they push for the top spot.

Ironically, the team right behind them this year is the team they are playing Sunday, and that, of course, is the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have 15 sacks but have played one fewer game after their game against the Titans last Sunday was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak among Tennessee players and team personnel.

Nobody sacks quarterbacks at a higher rate than the Steelers, who led or tied for the lead in each of the last three seasons, with 54 last year, 52 in 2018 (tied with the Chiefs), and 56 in 2017.

VIDEO: Pittsburgh beat writer Donne Druin answers my questions on the Steelers:

The difference between the Eagles and Steelers when it comes to sacks is that Pittsburgh blitzes over 50 percent of the time, which is tops in the NFL. The Eagles check in at a tick above 19 percent with their blitzes, which is 22nd in the league.

The Steelers aren’t known as Blitzburgh for no reason.

The Steelers are getting it done with T.J. Watt, who leads them in sacks with 3.5 in three games, followed by Bud Dupree with 2.5. Mike Hilton, Vince Williams, and Stephon Tuitt each have two.

Good balance.

For the Eagles, Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham are at the top of the list with three each and are followed by Derek Barnett at 2.5 with Jalen Mills and Genard Avery having 1.5 each. Fletcher Cox and Hassan Ridgeway have one each.

Javon Hargrave, who played with the Steelers for the first four years of his career before joining the Eagles as a free agent in the offseason, and Malik Jackson have a half-sack each.

“Malik is playing outstanding football for us, as are a lot of guys,” said Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz on Tuesday. “Once we got healthy on the D-Line and got Derek Barnett back and got Hargrave back, I think you really saw a big jump from those guys, just production-wise. We talked about Sweat's contribution and being a much-improved player.”

Jackson played only one game last year before suffering a season-ending injury.

Now, the Eagles are virtually as healthy as they can be along the defensive front and wreaking havoc.

In addition to their 13 sacks in the last two games, they have also hit the quarterback a combined 33 times.

“Malik has - we missed him last year, he only played one game for us, or three-quarters of one game,” said Schwartz. “Came back. He's not only played well on the field. He's been an outstanding leader for us. He's got a great tempo on gamedays. He's a really smart player. He's a veteran player and he's a hard matchup. He's a different kind of matchup for the guards.”

The strength of the team’s defensive tackles is a reason this Eagles sack attack could hold up over the long run.

“I think we have some different kind of guys,” said Schwartz. “We got some, you know, we got Fletch in there, Hargrave, a little bit more of a bull rusher. We saw Ridgeway have a good pass rush and using his power, and Malik can do a lot of different things. He's got one of the best sets of D-line hands that I have been able to be around or coach.

“He's really good, and it's a tough matchup for some of those guards. He's also played with just great tempo. You see him chasing plays down. I think we've seen that from all our D-Linemen, but Malik, Fletch, and Barnett really stand out that way, making tackles on run plays down the field. Barnett made a couple plays on passes down the field. That's the kind of effort we expect from our guys, too, and Malik has led the way that way.”

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