Eagles HC reveals strategy behind team's elite characteristic
Turnovers are often the difference between wins and losses in the NFL. For the Philadelphia Eagles, they have excelled in protecting the football on offense, while also creating extra possessions on defense. In fact, the Eagles finished third in the NFL in turnover differential during the regular season (+8) and have continued this trait into […]
Turnovers are often the difference between wins and losses in the NFL. For the Philadelphia Eagles, they have excelled in protecting the football on offense, while also creating extra possessions on defense.
In fact, the Eagles finished third in the NFL in turnover differential during the regular season (+8) and have continued this trait into the postseason. So far, the Eagles are +4 in turnover margin in the playoffs and have yet to have on offensive turnover.
Head coach Nick Sirianni revealed that the importance of turnovers has been drilled into his players throughout the year.
“Our job as coaches is to make sure we’re taking that talent that we get and maximizing it by putting them in the right positions and by teaching fundamentals,” Sirianni said.
“It’s just relentless. You’d be surprised about how much we talk about the ball and how much we teach it – all the little things we do. At the end of the day, it’s the guys going out there and executing it. It’s one thing for us to talk about it but then Miles has to go out and make a cut and make a spin – that’s the hard part.”
No Fly Zone
Philadelphia’s defense finished tied for fourth in takeaways during the regular season (27). With a pass rush that created havoc on opposing quarterbacks paired with an opportunistic secondary, it’s no surprise the Eagles’ defense was consistently prying the football away from offenses.
“I think we’ve done a good job at taking it away in the sense that we’ve been finishing interceptions and also hitting the quarterback and creating some sack-strip fumbles,” Sirianni continued. “I would say they get a lot of bad ball drills because our DB coach, Dennard Wilson, never throws a spiral. He doesn’t have a great arm, so they get some of those bad ball drills from him.”
The Kansas City Chiefs, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, don’t make mistakes often. That being said, they don't create many either. The Eagles will look to put pressure on Mahomes early and often with the hope of creating a game-defining mistake from the Chiefs' signal caller.
Featured image via Kirby lee – USA TODAY Sports
