The Pass Rush is Officially Back in Philly

The Eagles lead the NFL in sacks with 55 after another six in Chicago

CHICAGO - When you’re talking Philadelphia, it’s always sunny but only when the pass rush is getting home.

And it’s been blinding lately with Sunday’s 25-20 win over the Chicago Bears serving as the third consecutive contest that the Eagles' defense had had five-or-more sacks.

Against Justin Fields, rivaling Lamar Jackson as the best running threat at QB in the NFL, and a Chicago offensive line that lost its best player, Teven Jenkins, to a scary neck injury early in the game, three players had two each: Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, and Javon Hargrave.

“We knew he was a flight risk,” Sweat said of Fields, “but we didn’t want to rush scared or mush rush. He got out a few times but I think overall we did a great job of stopping him.”

Overall, Philadelphia leads the NFL with 55 sacks, a year after they were ahead of only Detroit with 29.

They are seven away from tying the team record of 62 sacks set by the 1989 team featuring Reggie White, Clyde Simmons, and Jerome Brown.

Reddick, the key free-agent acquisition from Carolina, leads the way with 12 while Hargrave (10.0) and Sweat (9.5) have each set career highs for themselves.

The group as a whole comes at opposing offenses in waves with Reddick, Sweat, and Brandon Graham leading the way on the edges, Linval Joseph and Jordan Davis clogging up things in the middle, and Hargrave, Fletcher Cox, Ndamukong Suh, and Milton Williams able to handle everything from three-technique, to 4 and 4i, all the way out to 5 and even 7 if defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon needs it.

“We got people that can rush up and down the line,” said Sweat. “Next group up and down the line. …We all work together."

The result is the deepest and most versatile front in football.

“It’s hell when you’re playing against them but watching them it’s a lot more fun,” star right tackle Lane Johnson said when asked about deep fronts. 

“A lot of teams have deficiencies when the starters come out and the second team isn’t as good but I feel like we’re just well-rounded (on the defensive line) all across the board. It’s very rare you see that.”

The sack numbers aren’t as important to Hargrave as the winning, with Philadelphia improving to an NFL-best 13-1 on Sunday.

“Just winning. When you are having a lot of success and just winning, it feels so much better,” said Hargrave.

Reddick has a unique take on things because he’s excelled as a pass rusher for years, recently becoming the first player to record double-digit sacks in three consecutive seasons with three different teams: Arizona, Carolina, and now the Eagles.

“I can’t sit here say it's the scheme, I’ve done it in three different schemes,” said Reddick. “But my caches here, man, anything I ask them, talking with J.G., he listens to players, even like coming to the sideline. …That’s a great feeling to have, where the DC has so much trust in the guys it’s ‘what y’all want?”

What they want is to eat and nothing is more Philadelphia than the pass rushers getting home.

“Just gettin’ off the ball and whoppin’ ass,” Sweat said. “That’s pretty much it.”

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen