You’ve probably heard it time and again: to win this game, [insert team here] will have to be able to generate pressure with their front four. It’s repeated ad nauseum, but why is it so important? To find out, one needs to look no further than the Eagles’ defense so far this season. They have the third-highest team pass-rushing grade in the NFL, yet they’ve only needed to blitz at the 30th-highest rate (19.6 percent of opponents dropbacks) to get there. Let’s take a look at just how they’ve become the league’s third-stingiest scoring defense.
Philadelphia’s pass-rush revolves around the two-headed monster of Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox.