Eagles’ productive run game persists in win against Jets, even without the threat of Jalen Hurts’ running ability

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The quarterback was different, but the Eagles offense looked mostly the same.

With Gardner Minshew under center and Jalen Hurts on the sideline with an ankle injury, the Eagles’ offensive identity didn’t see a significant shift during the team’s 33-18 win over the New York Jets on Sunday.

There were fewer zone-read plays and no quarterback runs; Minshew contributed just 11 yards on four carries, but the Eagles’ rushing offense was about as productive as its been for the last five games. Miles Sanders finished as the team’s leading rusher with a career-high 24 carries for 120 yards.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has, on several occasions, said the offense found an identity with a run-heavy scheme, and he stuck with it even without Hurts’ presence as a threat to the back side of a defense.

“That’s who we are,” Sirianni said. “That’s a big part of who we are is the type of run game we want and the physicalness and the toughness. It’s obviously great to see it flow the way it did today.”

» READ MORE: Eagles-Jets analysis: Gardner Minshew leads the Birds to victory with Jalen Hurts out

Hurts has been a massive part of the Eagles’ rushing success this season. Even with Sanders’ 120-yard day putting him at 578 for the season, the quarterback still leads the team in rushing yards with 695. The Eagles’ running backs have often talked about the way Hurts’ running ability opens things up for them, and Sanders conceded after the game that things were tighter because of Hurts’ absence.

“Obviously Jalen and Gardner are a little different,” Sanders said. “People are going to play us different when Jalen’s back there. I can say there’s much tougher yards to get, but that’s just football.”

Sanders took it as a vote of confidence that Sirianni stuck with the run even without Hurts keeping the back-side defensive ends in limbo on zone runs.

“That’s him trusting us and knowing that we’ve rushed for over 200 yards the last few weeks for a reason,” Sanders said. “We stuck to the plan, we stuck to what’s working, and we got the W.”

The Eagles threw the ball plenty in the early portion of the game to keep stride with the Jets, but eventually shifted the focus to the run as they tried to protect a second-half lead. They ran for a total of 185 yards, with 111 coming in the second half with the Jets trailing.

“We’re trying to establish the run every game,” Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson said. “I think we did that sometimes. I wish we could’ve converted some of those field goals to touchdowns and made it easier on ourselves.”

The Jets did have their defensive approach set by the time Hurts was ruled out of the game, so they didn’t have much time to adjust to Minshew. The Jets’ defense is also one of the worst against the run, according to Football Outsiders’ defense-adjusted value over average.

Still, the Eagles’ efforts on the ground, sparked by Sanders and the offensive line, helped keep the game out of reach for the Jets, who had the ball for just 1 minute, 10 seconds in the third quarter.

“I think it goes back to the offensive line and Miles being a dynamic player,” Sirianni said. “There’s still an element of our offense that they have to [respect]. I think Gardner had a 9-yard run ... he’s still an athletic quarterback that demanded some respect on the back side if he would have pulled it.”

Sanders became the first Eagles’ rusher to surpass the 100-yard mark in a game this season after starting the week limited in practice because of an ankle injury he aggravated on Nov. 28 against the New York Giants. He first hurt the ankle against the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 24 and missed three games while on injured reserve.

He was sidelined for the end of the game after hurting the same ankle again, but Sanders said he’ll use this bye week to recover. The Eagles don’t have a game until Dec. 19, when they’ll host the Washington Football Team.

Sanders started the week limited in practice but returned on Thursday. His increased role in the offense came in part because of injuries to his position-mates: Jordan Howard is out with a knee injury and Boston Scott had a limited role after missing all week with a non-COVID-19 illness.

Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell were the two relied-upon running backs, something Sanders said he was prepared for even though he’s banged up.

“I’m just ready for whatever, “Sanders said when asked if he was expecting such a large workload. “The way I train, I just expect for the most and I feel like it paid off today.”

The Eagles announced that offensive line coach and run-game coordinator Jeff Stoutland was taken to the hospital before the start of the game. Assistant offensive line coach Roy Istvan took over Stoutland’s game-day duties, which mostly involve working with the offensive line between series.

It’s unclear what the nature of Stoutland’s medical situation was, but it was pressing enough for the team to send him to the hospital for further evaluation. He was eventually cleared and returned to the sideline by the end of the first half.

“Any time you have something like that it’s a scary situation,” Johnson said. “You’re not going to keep the guy out. He was rushed to the hospital. I guess they did multiple tests on him. You’re not going to keep the guy away.”