Eagles-Bills takeaways: Brian Johnson halftime tweaks; Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter do the dirty work

The Eagles came back to beat the Buffalo Bills, 37-34, in overtime on Sunday. The win pushes them to 10-1, further ahead of the pack in the NFC going into a home game against the 8-3 San Francisco 49ers.

Here’s what we learned:

Last week, my takeaways led with the Eagles defense forming an identity as a group that plays its best after halftime. Somewhat lost in the shuffle was the mirrored identity the offense has cemented during this gauntlet against playoff teams.

The Eagles offense leads the NFL in points per game in the second half, averaging 14.8 points in the final two quarters. Since the 2021 season, Jalen Hurts has won each of the last eight regular-season games in which his team has trailed by double digits and his four game-winning drives this year are tied for the most in the NFL.

How are the Eagles doing it? Some of it boils down to Hurts eventually finding a rhythm in these games. On Sunday, in particular, offensive coordinator Brian Johnson also deserves some credit for eventually shifting to more run-pass options instead of the long-developing passing plays the offense used at times in the first half. Hurts’ average time to throw against the Bills, inflated with shot plays in the first half, was the third-longest it has been all season at 3.21 seconds.

The run game also found pay dirt in a predictable area coming out of the half. Hurts said after the game that D’Andre Swift’s 36-yard run early in the third quarter “sparked” the offense; that run came on an outside zone to the left side, giving Jason Kelce and Cam Jurgens a chance to get into space against linebackers while Jordan Mailata and Landon Dickerson plowed gaps for Swift to work into. According to Next Gen Stats, 74 of Swift’s 80 rushing yards came behind the left side of the Eagles’ line.

As has been the case for nearly the entirety of the season, the Eagles’ talent ultimately won out even with some reserves filling in. Jack Stoll had a red-zone catch reminiscent of Dallas Goedert to set up an A.J. Brown score and Olamide Zaccheaus made one of the biggest plays of the game with a 29-yard touchdown catch.

The Eagles may be sluggish in finding answers this season, but they’re finding them nonetheless. Especially with Goedert and Lane Johnson missing Sunday’s game, that’s an impressive feat for an offense that has earned a reputation for delivering when it counts.

The margin for victory seemingly shrinks each week, but even a razor-thin opening has been enough for the Eagles to skate through some of the best teams in the league in recent weeks.

It’s fair to reflect on just how thin Sunday’s margin was. It’s easy to point to Zaccheaus’ touchdown on third-and-15 or Jake Elliott’s game-tying, 59-yard field goal into the wind and rain. The improbability of some of the Eagles’ key moments beckons the question as to whether this is a sustainable way to win, but this team may have reached a point where it does not matter anymore.

» READ MORE: How Jake Elliott converted the ‘most difficult’ kick of his career to force OT on Sunday

The Eagles pulled off this win — a signature win that required 37 points — without Lane Johnson or Goedert, two of their best and most irreplaceable offensive players. They’ve coped while enduring a grueling stretch of games and have built a cushion large enough to afford a regression to the mean, even against a team like the 49ers or Cowboys who are also vying for the No. 1 seed.

They’ve managed this cushion without having yet played their best football with all of their best players, which very well could be a necessity in a few months.

It’s true, this year’s team doesn’t look quite like last year’s. The advanced metrics, point differential, and turnover differential for this team will tell you as much. But the good news for the Eagles is that 2022 team isn’t on the schedule, and this year’s group is good enough to beat anybody.

Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter’s respective imprints on Sunday’s game shouldn’t go unnoticed.

Each of the Georgia first-rounders got called into extra duty once Fletcher Cox suffered an injury in the first half and played sparingly thereafter. Davis played 62 of the Eagles ridiculous 95 defensive snaps, shattering his previous career high by nearly 20 plays. Carter had an even greater number, logging 76 defensive snaps, 25 clear of his previous high.

Carter’s game-changing play wasn’t on any of those 76 snaps, which he trudged through despite coming off with apparent back and hand injuries at different points in the game. Carter got his left hand — the one trainers looked at moments earlier — in the way of Bills kicker Tyler Bass’ 34-yard field-goal try late in the first half, blocking the kick and keeping the Eagles in the game as the offense sputtered.

Davis’ biggest play will go down as a half-tackle. The 6-foot-6, 340-pound nose tackle chased down Bills quarterback Josh Allen on a pivotal third down in overtime, successfully keeping pace as Allen barreled toward the sideline and out of bounds. According to Next Gen Stats, Davis reached a top speed of 16.96 miles per hour, which is the second-fastest top speed reached by a player over 330 pounds this season.

Getting that type of effort and dirty work done by two first-round picks isn’t always a given, but the Eagles needed everything they got from the two tackles on Sunday.

With the Cowboys and CeeDee Lamb looming on the schedule in two weeks, the Eagles’ defensive performance and plan for Stefon Diggs was encouraging. Diggs lined up in the slot about a third of the time and had matchups against several Eagles defensive backs as defensive coordinator Sean Desai made a point of mixing up looks for the star receiver.

Diggs was most targeted when lined up against James Bradberry on the outside, but also had snaps against Kevin Byard, Bradley Roby, Darius Slay, and Eli Ricks. The Pro Bowl receiver had seven catches for 74 yards and a touchdown, but he didn’t wreck the game in the way Lamb did against this Eagles secondary a few weeks ago. The point production at the end of the game isn’t flattering for the defense, but considering how the offense fared for much of the first three quarters puts the performance in proper context.

Roby, who missed the game against the Cowboys with a shoulder injury, is the biggest difference between the two games and should continue to be so. Whether it’s the 49ers, Cowboys, or Lions, the Eagles’ ultimate postseason goals will most likely involve a team with a dynamic player spending time in the slot. They’ve been better at containing things inside, which will be important down the stretch.

Assuming he makes it out of his reported visit with the Cowboys without signing a contract Tuesday, the Eagles should make a strong push to sign Shaquille Leonard to bolster the linebacker position.

This time last week, the question as to whether Leonard would view the Eagles as a clear-cut opportunity for playing time was at least a hangup, but Zach Cunningham going down with a hamstring injury midway through the Bills game was a sobering reminder of how thin the team is at the position.

» READ MORE: Sources: Eagles’ increased interest in Shaquille Leonard dependent upon Zach Cunningham’s injury

Leonard, 28, had back surgery in the offseason and has yet to return to the level of play that earned him three All-Pro nods in his six-year career. Much will hinge on the intel the Eagles are able to obtain on the shape Leonard is in — Nick Sirianni spent time around him in Indianapolis and former Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen had an up-close view as Colts head coach this season — but he’s likely the best depth option the Eagles can hope to add at this point in the season.

Even if Cunningham’s injury isn’t serious enough to hold him out, adding another option to the depth chart would be significant. Also, perhaps Leonard’s recovery from the injury would make him a long-term solution at a position the team doesn’t invest heavily in.