The Eagles secondary is focused on stopping the ‘second play’ with CeeDee Lamb

Stationed on the Lincoln Financial Field sideline while dealing with a pectoral injury, nickel cornerback Bradley Roby had a front-row seat to the Eagles’ matchup against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9.

The outcome, ultimately, was positive — the Eagles defeated their rival, 28-23. But the Cowboys racked up 333 passing yards, the third-highest total the Eagles defense has allowed this season, with 191 of those yards coming at the hands of star receiver CeeDee Lamb. As Roby looked on, it became increasingly clear why the Cowboys were having success through the air, especially in the first half.

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“A lot of the stuff last game was like the second play,” Roby said. “They were extending the plays, and they were just freestyling and running everywhere. So that’s just really what it was, in my opinion, that [quarterback] Dak [Prescott] would extend the play and they would run another route and we would just not win on those routes.”

Now, fresh off a 42-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in which they allowed touchdowns on six consecutive drives, the Eagles defense will look to rebound against a quarterback and a receiver who gave them fits in the passing game a month earlier. On his career-best night in terms of receiving yards, Lamb had only one reception of single-digit yardage (a 9-yard grab in the fourth quarter), while five of his 11 receptions were for at least 20 yards.

In the first half, Prescott excelled at evading pressure up front aside from taking two sacks. On one occasion early in the second quarter on third-and 14, Prescott shirked the outstretched arms of edge rusher Haason Reddick and rolled out to his right. Lamb, running out of the slot, got behind cornerback Eli Ricks in coverage and corralled a 20-yard reception for a first down.

Ricks initially had him covered, but once Lamb realized that Prescott was flushed from the pocket, he continued his route. The rookie cornerback gave up his inside leverage and lost his balance.

“Guys were kind of able to uncover and make some plays on the back end,” safety Kevin Byard said. “And I think that’s where a lot of our explosive plays came from in that game. So I think just going into this week, being conscious of that, like, OK, we could be really good on the first play, but also making sure to, hey, Dak can get outside the pocket and extend those plays. So we have to be really good, just make sure we’re plastering receivers down the field. We may have to cover two or three routes within one play.’”

Given Prescott’s ability to avoid pressure, escape the pocket, and extend plays, Byard understands the importance of his role as a safety in trying to limit the explosive plays the Eagles defense gave up handily in Week 9.

“Simple things, just like being [as] deep as the deepest,” Byard said. “Understanding that you can have an aggressive mindset. But at the same time, you have to be careful, because you can be trying to jump some underneath receivers and things like that. But when he does extend those plays, you don’t want somebody to get behind you. So just being conscious of that, and also just making sure we’re helping out elsewhere on the field. When guys uncover, being able to be the eraser when things like that happen.”

The Eagles did a better job of containing Prescott in the second half and even managed to sack him three more times. But ultimately, Ricks emphasized the importance of the “little tiny things” that the Eagles defense did to secure the win.

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For example, when the Cowboys scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter, trailing the Eagles 28-23, they attempted to go for two points. As Prescott scrambled for the end zone, defensive end Brandon Graham ran him out of bounds at the 1-yard line, preventing the Cowboys from making it a three-point game. On the final play of the game, a swarm of Eagles tackled Lamb roughly 5 yards short of the end zone.

“When you hustle, it really changes the game,” Ricks said. “A play like that, even if one tackle was broken, he would have gotten tackled by the four other players that were there. So that’s the energy we need the whole game.”

Finally healthy for this go-around with the Cowboys, Roby is looking forward to being a part of the Eagles’ solution for Lamb, who lined up in the slot on 60% of his snaps in Week 9 according to Pro Football focus. Last week, Roby played only 44% of the snaps (26 total), seeing as the 49ers don’t often deploy wide receivers in the slot and use 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end) at the second-highest rate in the league.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys utilize 11 personnel on 61.4% of their plays (No. 22 in the league), which is a much higher frequency than the 49ers’ (37.9% of their plays, No. 31), according to Sumer Sports. Regardless of whether Lamb is lining up in the slot or outside, Roby is looking forward to contributing whenever his number is called.

“Just more opportunity to go play,” Roby said. “Show what I can do on the field, how I can help the team. It’s always fun when they like to pass the ball. That’s what everyone wants to see anyway. Nobody cares about the running backs no more.

“It makes the game fun. And that’s what I like to do, cover, try to get the ball from the offense.”

The Eagles will visit the Dallas Cowboys in an NFC East showdown on Sunday night. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.