Eagles-Browns: Myles Garrett trouble; Jalen Hurts against the blitz; and other matchups to watch

After a well-timed bye week, the Eagles begin the next stretch of their season at home on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.

While Cleveland has struggled in a 1-4 start to the season largely due to a stagnant offense, the team has enough talent to challenge the Eagles in several areas.

Here are five matchups to watch:

Even roughly 13 months later, the visual of Myles Garrett wrecking parts of the Eagles’ joint practice against the Browns last training camp is hard to forget.

Lined up primarily against Jordan Mailata during that August afternoon, the all-world edge rusher showcased why he’s considered one of the most dominant players in the NFL even when matched up against quality opposition. He had a handful of plays where he beat Mailata in pass protection, both by using his quickness to beat him around the edge or pushing the gargantuan tackle backward in Jalen Hurts’ lap.

That showing confirmed, even against one of the league’s best tackle duos in Mailata and Lane Johnson, Garrett is still the type of player that requires accounting for.

“That was a long day,” Mailata said. “But I have confidence in myself ... and I’d like to think I got better.”

Containing Garrett is the first and most difficult problem to solve when facing the Browns. The 6-foot-4, 272-pound edge is explosive off the ball and strong enough to alternate between finesse and power rushes. According to Pro Football Focus, Garrett has 23 pressures this season despite having limited opportunities to rush the passer relative to his fellow elite defensive linemen. His 28% win rate ranks second among qualifying edge rushers and, according to Next Gen Stats, he leads the NFL in pressures under 2.5 seconds.

» READ MORE: Eagles vs. Browns predictions: Our writers make their picks for a pivotal Week 6 clash

“I don’t even need to say anything,” Mailata said when asked what makes Garrett so special. “His film is a great example, you can just turn it on. I don’t need to say anything about him, just watch the film and see how explosive he is, how reactive he is. He’s got the fastest get-off in the league, I’m pretty sure. ... You see the length that he plays with, the strength that he plays with, he’s got a higher football IQ.

“I’m trying to find weak spots. When you find a weak spot, let me know. I’d love to know. It’s hard to find, if anything, a weak spot in Myles’ game. Because that guy is a specimen. But we’ve got a good game plan this week.”

The Eagles can typically go into games with the expectation that Johnson and Mailata can hold up on an island without additional help from tight ends or running backs. That’s a tall assignment against a player like Garrett.

The Browns’ offense ranks dead last in defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA), a metric that measures efficiency with strength of the opposition factored in, meaning this could be an opportunity for the Eagles defense to hit the ground running on the other side of the bye week.

Doing so will require the group to tackle more effectively than it did against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers two weeks ago, when defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said the coaching staff counted 15 missed tackles in the 33-16 loss.

The staff has responded by amending tackling drills in practice this week, something that will get a legitimate test this weekend against Browns running back Jerome Ford. One of the few favorable metrics for Cleveland’s offense is Ford’s 3.9 average yards after contact, which ranks 10th in the NFL. Especially with how much Deshaun Watson has struggled this season (more on that in a moment), a run-first approach would make sense for the Browns to test the Eagles’ tackling.

Through five weeks, no quarterback has been sacked as many times as Watson’s 26.

That metric, along with the group’s aforementioned DVOA and most counting stats, help illustrate how dysfunctional the Browns’ passing offense has been so far. Watson is completing just 60% of his passes and has been pressured on 40% of his dropbacks behind a banged-up offensive line missing several starters.

» READ MORE: The simplest fix to the Eagles offense could be having A.J. Brown and reinforcements back

The Eagles go into Sunday ranked 28th in pressure rate and tied for 29th in total sacks, making Sunday a meaningful chance to reverse course from a quiet start to the season.

Reviewing the film of the Browns’ defense may have evoked some memories for Jalen Hurts going against Jim Schwartz’s defense in practice as a rookie.

Schwartz, the former Eagles defensive coordinator now holding the same title with the Browns, has authored a similar scheme to the one he ran with the Eagles with a few noticeable differences. A key distinction so far this season is the frequency with which he sends extra rushers. The Browns have the third-highest blitz rate this year, with Schwartz sending pressure looks 35.3% of the time. By comparison, his Eagles defense had a blitz rate of 22.2% during his final season with the team in 2020.

Especially If Schwartz is able to generate pressure against Hurts, the quarterback’s struggles to avoid turnovers will face another stiff test this Sunday against the Browns’ talented defense.

If the Eagles can protect Hurts and Hurts can protect the football, the return of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith will give them a chance to test a Cleveland secondary dealing with multiple injuries. Cornerback Denzel Ward (hamstring) is questionable for the game while fellow corner Grant Delpit (concussion) has been ruled out. Starting safety Juan Thornhill is also on injured reserve, meaning the Eagles could see another familiar face in Rodney McLeod filling in at safety.

Potential advantages in the passing game aside, the Eagles should be able to run the ball effectively against the Browns.

Cleveland has given up the second-most rushing plays over 10 yards this season and ranks 29th in rushing yards per attempt. Against the Washington Commanders last week, the Browns conceded seven explosive runs, including three to rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Enter Saquon Barkley, who is averaging six yards per carry and has 10 carries for over 10 yards in four games this season, and Hurts. Both in the conventional running game, the run-pass option game, and with Hurts as a scrambler, the Eagles should be able to get the ground game going.

The Eagles play in Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.