It wasn’t that long ago we thought of the Eagles’ rush defense as a strength of this team.
Seems hard to believe right now.
A month ago, the Eagles ranked No. 3 in the NFL in rush defense.
What’s happened since is shocking.
The Eagles’ run defense has simply fallen apart.
The Eagles have gotten progressively worse defending the run as the year has gone on, and Sunday was not just the Eagles’ worst effort this year against the run, it was one of the worst in franchise history.
First six weeks, the Eagles allowed 94 rushing yards per game and 3.5 yards per carry.
The last four weeks? One hundred and eighty one rushing yards per game and 5.6 yards per carry.
The Eagles allowed 204 rushing yards in Carolina a month ago and 283 rushing yards in the loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday.
“This isn't what we expected, and I don't think anybody on our defense would say (anything different),” head coach Chip Kelly said. “That's not what we expected.
“I don't think we tackled well as a group. I think the penalties hurt us as a group.”
With Doug Martin leading the way with runs of 58 and 84 yards, the Bucs on Sunday hammered their way through the Eagles’ midsection to the tune of 42 carries for a mind-boggling 283 yards.
Martin is the first player in at least 25 years with two runs of 50 yards or more in the same game against the Eagles.
“He was a real shifty back,” Bennie Logan said. “He did a lot of things that we didn’t see on film. He’s a good back, but it was really two big runs that gashed us. One was an inside run where we have to be more patient, and the other one was a toss that was just leverage.
“He’s a really good back and you definitely can’t take that away from him.”
The Eagles’ hadn’t allowed a run from scrimmage of 50 yards since 2011. Then they allowed two in the first half Sunday.
The Bucs’ 283 yards on the ground are the sixth-most ever against the Eagles and the most in 42 years.
“You can’t have that,” defensive coordinator Bill Davis said. “You can’t have an 80-yard … you just can’t have those runs,. You can’t allow them. They got into the secondary and we didn’t get them knocked down.
“You’ll never play good run defense when you give up those runs. It takes a real collective effort to get the run down.”
To put Martin’s performance in context, consider that in his three previous games he had averaged 55 rushing yards and 3.2 yards per carry.
“Everything was clicking,” he said. “We emphasized that this would be a great game for us to get back on track since our past few games we have not been too great in the running game.
“I think that if I just do my job and let the plays come to me, you know eventually those big runs, those big gains eventually happen.”
What happened?
How did the Eagles manage to allow twice their season rushing average Sunday?
“We need to do a better job of tackling, especially in the run game,” safety Walter Thurmond said. “Their offensive coordinator likes to scheme up his opponents, so they came out very prepared and executed their game plan. We didn’t do a good job of executing ours.
“We have to go back and see what we did wrong today, make the necessary corrections, and stick together.”
Martin actually reached 240 rushing yards at two separate points midway through the fourth quarter, most-ever against the Eagles. Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith both ran for 237.
But a couple losses left Martin at 235 when all was said and done.
“It feels pretty amazing to be compared to those guys today,” Martin said. “That is very great company to have.”
Consider this: In the Eagles’ first 38 games under Chip Kelly, only one back ran for 115 yards against the Eagles.
Now three have done it in five weeks — Jonathan Stewart with 125, Darren McFadden with 117 and Martin on Sunday.
This is the first time in nine years three backs have rushed for 115 yards or more against the Eagles in a five-week span. Back in 2006, Travis Henry, Joseph Addai and Ladell Betts did it.
“He has had success on everybody,” Connor Barwin said of Martin. “Obviously, he was more effective on us.”