Eagles-Dolphins takeaways: The A.J. Brown-Jalen Hurts tandem has become one of the league’s best

The Eagles pulled off their most impressive win of the season Sunday, beating the Miami Dolphins, 31-17, at Lincoln Financial Field to move to 6-1 this season.

Here’s what we learned from the prime-time victory:

Where does the Jalen Hurts-A.J. Brown tandem rank among quarterback-receiver duos across the NFL right now?

Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are the clear and obvious No. 1 on track record alone, but there’s an argument to be made that no duo is playing better than the two Eagles stars this season. The Eagles shared the field with Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill, one of the league’s other elite tandems, but Brown’s 10 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown further cemented him as one of the best receivers in football.

He tied Calvin Johnson’s record with five straight games of more than 125 receiving yards and has become the steadying force for the Eagles offense in key situations because of his ability to separate, get extra yards with the ball in his hands, or make a contested grab when all else fails.

Through seven games, Hurts and Brown have outpaced duos like Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs, Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, and Tagovailoa and Hill. Brown is responsible for 49.21% of the Eagles’ targeted air yards, which is the highest rate in the league, according to Next Gen Stats. Hill ranks second, Diggs fifth, and Chase 11th.

Among high-volume receivers, Brown is second in yards per route run as well, trailing only Hill. He has the edge on Hill in contested catches with 14 and is also ahead of Diggs in yards after catch.

Advanced metrics aside, Brown has not only assimilated well within the Eagles’ offensive identity but has contributed to it because of his physicality after the catch. Each of the elite teams across the league seems to have a nearly unstoppable offensive tandem, and the Eagles’ is outpacing them all right now.

Before the season, new defensive coordinator Sean Desai said he wanted his players to be “palpable” so that opposing offenses would feel them. Early last week, he doubled down, saying that physical play is an effective way to counteract an offense with as much speed as Miami’s.

On Sunday, Desai proved he’s a man of his word.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how Desai’s game plan against Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and receiver Cooper Kupp, especially with a banged-up secondary, stood in stark contrast to his predecessor Jonathan Gannon’s track record against elite quarterbacks. Allowing just 10 points and 12 first downs by the high-powered Miami offense was an even greater departure from years past, particularly when you look at how Desai went about doing it.

Even against two of the fastest receivers in the NFL, the secondary had plenty of snaps in press coverage with help over the top. The defense got burned for some explosive plays and had a few lucky bounces as a result. Hill caught one touchdown pass after breaking Terrell Edmunds’ coverage over the top and dropped another possible touchdown pass after getting behind the zone coverage, but the aggressive game plan was largely successful.

By putting the emphasis on challenging Miami’s receivers and trying to take away Tagovailoa’s first read, the Eagles were able to get their pass rush involved in the game in a way other teams haven’t been able to against the Dolphins. Tagovailoa came into the game with the quickest time to throw in the NFL at 2.37 seconds, but the Eagles were still able to affect him by taking away his first option on key downs through press coverage or disguised looks.

Turns out, taking chances on undrafted Alabama defensive backs pays off.

The Eagles found a steady backup in second-year cornerback Josh Jobe and may have another one in rookie Eli Ricks.

Ricks, strictly an outside corner throughout his college career at LSU and then Alabama, had 14 coverage snaps against the Dolphins, with almost all of them coming in the slot. Miami targeted Hill three times with Ricks in coverage according to Pro Football Focus, and the rookie came up big. He allowed zero catches and logged one pass breakup. Hill had a drop against Ricks, but even that came with Ricks in decent position against a well-thrown pass from Tagovailoa.

After the game, Ricks said Desai trusted him to match up against Hill for key downs with help over the top. The undrafted rookie who made the team as a long shot said he set out Sunday to validate that trust.

“That was an honor, a sign of respect from my coach,” Ricks told The Inquirer. “That’s what I work for and I got that. So I wanted to make sure I had his back.”

As good as the back end was, the Eagles’ defensive line won the day.

Miami entered Sunday with the most efficient run game in the NFL, according to FTN Fantasy, which measures defense-adjusted value over average. Against the Eagles, the Dolphins had just 45 total rushing yards, including minus-7 yards at halftime. Especially once the Eagles offense stretched its lead, Miami got one-dimensional in a way that favored the Eagles pass rush.

Haason Reddick, Jalen Carter, Josh Sweat, and Jordan Davis all took turns disrupting things up front. Reddick had two tackles for losses early to take away the Dolphins’ outside rushing game for most of the first half and Sweat logged two sacks, drew a pivotal holding penalty that negated a touchdown, and led the team with six pressures, according to PFF.

Carter bowled over Dolphins guard Isaiah Wynn to knock him out of the game and also recorded a tackle for loss and four pressures.

» READ MORE: How Jalen Hurts’ QB battle with Tua Tagovailoa at Alabama helped shape the Eagles star

Even after Hurts tweaked his left knee and needed a soft brace coming out of halftime, he was able to make the necessary plays with his legs.

Hurts’ status in practice this week will be closely monitored. Assuming he doesn’t miss any games, his usage over the next few weeks will be the true indicator of how healthy he is. Aside from quarterback sneaks and kneel-downs, Hurts’ only rushing attempt in the second half was on a scramble. He extended plays when needed, most notably on a 32-yard completion to Brown in the second quarter after limping a few plays earlier, but he wasn’t as big a factor in the run game throughout the second half.

It would make sense to curtail designed quarterback runs with Hurts nursing a knee injury, but the length of that precaution could have a real impact. The offense wasn’t the same when Hurts struggled to find a rhythm as a runner earlier this season and has looked much more dominant since he cut it loose against the Rams on Oct. 8.

Perhaps Hurts can still manage to make the plays he needs with his feet, but the offensive coaching staff will likely need to compensate for a drop in designed quarterback runs, at least in the short term.

Seeing the Eagles go up another level Sunday night was an encouraging sign at the start of this daunting stretch of games.

The Dolphins viewed the game as an opportunity to make a statement and the Eagles rose to the occasion, something they’ll need to do several times in the next eight weeks.

More important, though, is the breathing room they now have in the division while also holding serve in the conference over the 5-1 San Francisco 49ers going into their Monday night matchup against the Vikings. The Eagles now have a 1½-game lead over the Dallas Cowboys with their first of two meetings coming in two weekends. They’ll obviously have to keep their foot on the gas, but the Eagles’ most impressive win keeps them in a strong position nearing the halfway point of the season.