Veteran Leadership Lifts Eagles Through December

The practice squad players have played a pivotal role in late-season run, but veteran playes such as Jason Kelce and others continue to provide big plays and experience down the stretch

PHILADELPHIA – The Dallas Cowboys could’ve scored 70 points against the Washington Redskins on Sunday and they still weren’t winning the NFC East. They needed the Eagles to lose to the New York Giants after they themselves lost to Philly a week earlier to take destiny out of their hands.

The Eagles were simply not going to let that happen no matter how many former practice squad players they had to rely upon, because the one thing this team has is battle-tested veterans.

The good news in that equations is they know when it is time to step up.

The bad news is, well, maybe they tend to pace themselves through the course of the season.

Last year, the Eagles were 4-6 then flipped the switch and won five of their final six games to ease into the playoffs on the final weekend. Maybe they waited too long to hit that switch because they needed a win on the final weekend but had to have the Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings, which happened, so the Eagles got in.

This year, they wrested away control of the division from the Cowboys last week with a 17-9 win. It was Dallas’ most important 60 minutes of the season because they could’ve wrapped up the title with a victory over the Eagles that day, but its top-ranked offense couldn’t find the end zone. The win over Dallas was the third in what would become a season-defining four-game winning streak.

“Experience is a big part of it,” said center Jason Kelce, “but obviously how close guys are, how much everybody counts on each other to do their job to play within the system, the coach’s experience, it all kind of goes hand-in-hand, but I think what we’ve really seen especially the last four weeks is we’re playing really, really well. All (the adversity) has made us closer and you’re seeing that pay off on game day for sure.”

Kelce is one of several players that the Eagles have leaned a lot on in recent years. Others include left tackle Jason Peters, defensive linemen Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, and safety Malcolm Jenkins.

“That confidence can go a long way I think, and it's a belief, an internal belief, that we can do it and we can get it done,” said head coach Doug Pederson on Monday. “I've said a lot and our guys talk to you guys a lot about, ‘Hey, it's about what we do and about us,’ and it's really what it is. The confidence I think that the team has that it doesn't matter who is in the lineup, we're going to somehow find a way to get the job done.

“Again, it's a credit to some of the veteran players that are on the team that have kept these guys coming, kept them plugged in, and, again, the coaches and all that. But that confidence is real, and we have to lean on that moving forward.”

Peters got here in 2009. Graham arrived in 2010, Kelce in 2011, Cox in 2012, and Jenkins in 2014. That’s a lot of time to grow together and perhaps a big reason why the Eagles are 11-4 in December the past three seasons, all of which ended with a playoff berth and, of course, in 2017, a Super Bowl title.

“If there is any team built for it, it’s us,” said Jenkins, who, for the second straight year played every single snap on defense. “I know that we have had that experience obviously over the last few years and we just keep plugging away.”

Jenkins added that one key to this year’s run to the title is that the Eagles finally playing complementary football.

“Even when the defense is giving up points, the offense is scoring points,” said Jenkins.

Jenkins and Cox teamed up to make one of the key plays against the Giants. The Cowboys were well on their way to a 47-16 win over Washington by the time it happened, but the Eagles were still trying to flex their muscle against the Giants as the fourth quarter began tied at 17-17.

After a 50-yard field goal from Jake Elliott, Jenkins knocked the ball away from New York quarterback Daniel Jones and the second play of the Giants’ ensuing possession. Cox tracked down the bouncing ball and fell on it at the 2-yard line, which set up a touchdown and extended Philly’s lead to 27-17 with 13 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

Graham also registered an early sack on Jones and finished with three tackles for loss. Kelce and Peters helped a running game churn out 122 yards.

That’s what veterans do when the chips begin to stack higher on the table.

They make plays, and they make plays because they believe in each other and believe that they will.