Charged With the Duty: Phillips is the Logical Choice to Cover Ekeler in Week Eight
With less than 24 hours until kickoff for their Week Eight Matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers, the New England Patriots may be relying on former Bolt Adrian Phillips to play a key role in attempting to make their West Coast road trip a successful one.
Phillips’ mission, should he choose to accept it, will likely be covering Chargers’ running back Austin Ekeler.
Ekeler’s status for Sunday’s game has been in doubt, after his having missed practice on both Thursday and Friday due to a hip injury. Though he is officially listed as ‘questionable,’ Ekeler appears to be clear in his intentions to suit up for Week Eight. On Saturday evening, the 26-year-old posted an Instagram story, indicating that he has selected himself as a starter for his fantasy lineup.
Should Ekeler, indeed, be able to play on Sunday, it would be great news for Los Angeles. For the Patriots, however, Ekeler presents something of a defensive coverage problem, to put it mildly. The Western State product is the Chargers’ feature back, having compiled 356 yards on 73 carries. He is averaging almost five yards per carry and has four rushing touchdowns. However, Ekeler is just as effective as a receiver, as he is a runner. Through the Bolts’ first six games, he has collected 242 receiving yards with three touchdowns.
Given his abilities as a dual-threat offensive weapon, Ekeler can be dangerous as a pass-catcher, as well as a rusher. If the Patriots wish to contain him, they must pair him with a legitimate cover defender. If active for Sunday’s game, New England would almost certainly dedicate a defensive back to the duty of covering him. As the Pats are currently thin in the secondary, this would mean one fewer defender against a potent stable of skill position players such as receivers Keenean Allen, Mike Williams and tight end Jared Cook.
With Sunday being Halloween, the Pats may be taking a page out of the “Ghostbusters” handbook; asking themselves ‘Who ya gonna call?’ when it comes to covering Ekeler on Sunday.
Enter his former Chargers’ teammate, Adrian Phillips.
When the Chargers selected safeties Derwin James and Nassir Adderley in the first and second rounds respectively in 2018 and 2019 NFL Drafts, it paved the way for the team to move on from Phillips, who had been a mainstay in the Bolts’ special teams unit. Since joining the Patriots in 2020, he continues to be one of the Patriots’ most reliable defenders. The 29-year-old ex-Charger has compiled 23 tackles on the season thus far, with one pass defended and one interception. Still, Phillips’ greatest asset remains his versatility. He has nicely settled into the ‘Star’ role in the Pats defense. As such, he is primarily used as a hybrid box safety, capable of playing outside linebacker in most defensive schemes. However, he is also far from limited to that role. Phillips is more than capable of aligning along the defensive line, at slot corner and even outside-wide.
While Phillips is well-versed in knowing the capabilities of his former teammate, it is his own prowess that makes him the ideal candidate to draw Ekeler in man coverage on Sunday. Phillips is at his best when playing in the box. He is a strong tackler with decent speed, and is most effective when playing closer to the line of scrimmage. As such, he is the ideal defensive back to cover a tight end, or a running back out of the back field, a-la Austin Ekeler.
Despite the temptation to instead pair him with a linebacker, the Patriots know that Ekeler can be a mismatch in space. Though he plays in the vein of a linebacker, Phillips’ versatility makes him a better fit to defend the running back as he moves around the field. Not only can Phillips cover Ekeler as a receiver, but he may also help to disrupt his shifty running style, which tends to be problematic for the Pats’ front seven to contain.
It is important to note that Ekeler is far from being the Bolts’ sole offensive weapon. In addition to employing one of the best young quarterbacks in the league in Justin Herbert, the Chargers also boast an impressive arsenal of pass catchers. Receivers Keenan Allen and Milke Williams, as well as tight end Jared Cook are all capable of gaining significant yards, as well as being effective targets in the red zone.
On Sunday, the Patriots should be expected to deploy extra bodies in the secondary, in mostly big nickel (five defensive backs) or dime (six defensive backs) packages. J.C. Jackson and Jalen Mills will attempt to contain both Allen and Williams. Safety Kyle Dugger is the logical choice to defend tight end Jared Cook, while safety Devin McCourty may provide some assistance to Phillips in defending Ekeler.
In the moments where Phillips is free to pursue other targets, it would not be surprising to see him assist in coverage on the Bolts’ pair of prolific receivers, each his former Charger-teammates, as well. After all, Phillips has first-hand knowledge of what each wideout does best. When asked earlier in the week about his former mates, Phillips had the following to say:
“Keenan (Allen) is probably, if not the best, one of the best route runners in the league. And Mike (Williams) is — a 50-50 ball is more like 80-20 with him. He poses a real threat and then you have those guys together and they kinda get whatever you want because you can stretch the field with Mike and Keenan can kill you pretty much from any position. Going against them, you tend to know what they like. Keenan can do pretty much everything there is out there and you know Mike is going to go deep a lot. So you’ve just gotta be ready for that.”
On the whole, the Patriots will need Phillips’ prowess on the field in order to find success on Sunday. Whether it be in man coverage against Ekeler, or assisting in coverage against the Bolts’ bevy of pass-catchers, he will need to pull upon his ‘jack-of-all-trades’ reputation. Still, the knowledge of his former teammates’ strengths and weaknesses will also play a major role in his contributions in Week Eight. If the past two years are any indication, he will be ready for the call. In true Patriots fashion, he will accept the duty as charged, and ‘do his job.’
