How Micah Parsons’ dominance off the edge, Jordan Mailata’s status impact the Eagles vs. the Dallas Cowboys

When Nick Sirianni was an assistant coach, he’d often be the subject of a surprise question from the leader of the staff.

Whether it was former Chargers coach Mike McCoy or Colts coach Frank Reich, the habit of reminding the offensive assistants about whichever top edge rusher loomed that weekend was passed down enough to burn into Sirianni’s memory.

“‘Did you think about Von Miller today?’” Sirianni remembered McCoy asking him and Reich during their shared time with the Chargers. “Or ‘Did you think about Khalil Mack today?’ when we were playing the Raiders.

“I can’t remember which one it was, but I said, ‘Everybody in his life didn’t think about him as much as we thought about him today.’”

McCoy’s pop quizzes are being echoed by the Eagles second-year coach this week as the team prepares for the Dallas Cowboys edge-rushing duo of Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence in a Sunday night home game.

Parsons is tied for the league lead with six sacks, and his 28 pressures trail only Nick Bosa according to Pro Football Focus. The Harrisburg native and former Penn State star has played primarily on the edge this season but still spends some time at the inside linebacker position he occupied at times last year as a rookie.

“He has to be accounted for on every play,” Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen said. “He flies around. They line him up all over the place. Really good pass rusher. He has speed. He has power. So, we have to be aware of him.”

» READ MORE: Eagles’ explosive offense will be tested by Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys’ stingy defense

When Steichen thinks about Parsons and Lawrence this week, he’ll have to make an educated guess as to who will be tasked with keeping him away from Jalen Hurts. Lane Johnson figures to anchor the right side, but the rest of the Eagles offensive line is banged up going into the week of practice.

Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, and Isaac Seumalo were all listed as limited on Wednesday’s injury report. Sirianni switched Wednesday’s practice to a walk-through to give the players some extra rest, so the injury report is an estimation of availability if the team had practiced.

Dickerson missed chunks of Sunday’s game at Arizona with a foot injury and was eventually taken out for good on the final drive. The second-year guard has been managing an ankle injury and said he’s hopeful to play against the Cowboys.

When asked if the injury is something he’ll deal with all season, the former Alabama standout said he “cannot predict the future.”

“I will do everything in my power to treat it and keep moving forward,” Dickerson said. “I’m going to try every day to play regardless of what’s going on with me.”

After missing last Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury, Mailata is the biggest question mark. The 6-foot-8, 365-pound left tackle hoped to play against the Cardinals but was ruled out on Saturday and advised to stay home and rehab rather than travel with the team.

Mailata told The Inquirer on Wednesday that he has made progress and was going to use the walk-through to test his shoulder in hopes of being cleared to return in time for Sunday night’s game. If he’s not 100%, he said he’ll let the Eagles medical and coaching staffs decide if he plays.

“It’s more of meeting the trainers and coaches halfway,” Mailata said. “I’ll be as honest as I can with them, and they’ll make the final call. Today is a walk-through. I’ll probably be the fastest one out there so I can really play the drill, see how my body feels, how my shoulder feels when I’m getting out of my stance. Obviously, I know this week is a big week.”

Mailata’s injury status Wednesday was a step forward for the 25-year-old. He missed all of last week’s practices and was replaced by third-string left tackle Jack Driscoll because Andre Dillard is still recovering from a fractured forearm.

Driscoll has played the better part of the last two games in place of Mailata, who suffered the shoulder injury in the first series of the Eagles win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 4. The former Auburn starter has been passable, which is better than most teams could expect from a depth tackle, but not without some hiccups. Driscoll allowed six pressures against the Cardinals, according to PFF.

Possibly in part to help Driscoll with chip blocks and extra leverage, the Eagles used a decent amount of heavy personnel groupings against the Cardinals. They ran roughly two dozen plays out of 12- and 13-personnel packages, which employ two or three tight ends, respectively. The offense was successful running a handful of plays each game out of empty sets as well but ran just four plays with no running back in the backfield against Arizona. Going into Sunday, the Eagles ran 33 plays out of empty and were among the top 10 offenses in the league in estimated points added out of the formation according to TruMedia Sports.

The Eagles were able to effectively identify defensive coverage presnap and identify favorable matchups out of empty sets, but it puts extra stress on the offensive line. It’s an easier decision to make when you have bookend tackles such as Mailata and Johnson.

“When they choose to go empty, it shows they have faith in us,” Mailata said. “At the same time, we know that, as much as the [defensive line] is equipped, we’re equipped with the answers as well.”

It’s worth noting that the Cardinals are one of the most blitz-happy teams in the league, and that certainly played a factor in the Eagles’ reliance on running backs in the protection plan. Even though the Cowboys blitz less frequently, things could be the same against the Dallas front led by Parsons and Lawrence.

The use of heavy sets comes at the expense of A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Quez Watkins sharing the field in 11-personnel. Brown played just 74% of the Eagles’ snaps against the Cardinals partly as a result of the reliance on 12- and 13-personnel. Smith was often the lone wide receiver when the Eagles used three tight ends.

With such a talented defensive front on the other side, Brown said the onus will fall on the receivers to create separation early to relieve stress on the offensive line.

“We got to do our job, getting open quick,” he said. “This week is a prime example of what we have to do. They’ve got a good D-line, we’ve got to get open quick.”

Inquirer Eagles beat reporters EJ Smith and Josh Tolentino preview the team’s Week 6 game against the Dallas Cowboys. Watch at Inquirer.com/EaglesGameday