Eagles’ secondary buckles down on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens’ top-ranked offense
Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and the rest of the Eagles' defensive backs brushed off a slow start with game-defining big plays.
BALTIMORE — Fifteen minutes into Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, the Eagles’ secondary seemed as if it were still waking up from a tryptophan-induced turkey coma.
Lamar Jackson threw six completions for 97 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter alone, in part thanks to his ability to extend plays. On the Ravens’ opening drive that ended with a field goal, he evaded pressure from the Eagles’ five-man rush and launched a deep ball to a wide-open Zay Flowers for a 40-yard gain. Flowers made another explosive play on the ensuing touchdown drive when he slipped behind Cooper DeJean in zone coverage and snagged a 20-yard pass.
The Ravens went up 9-0 after the first quarter. On the Eagles sideline, Isaiah Rodgers recalled that defensive backs coach Christian Parker and safeties coach Joe Kasper pulled their unit aside and urged them to get back to their identity.
“He got on our … you know,” Rodgers said. “He got on our behinds and I think we locked in after that.”
» READ MORE: Eagles grades: Offensive line comes up big against the Ravens, and the entire defense comes up huge
Quinyon Mitchell insisted that the defensive backs simply had to get settled in before returning to their roots as one of the stingiest passing defenses in the NFL. They faced a tall task against Jackson and his cadre of talented receivers that ranked No. 2 in the league in passing touchdowns and No. 3 in passing yards going into Sunday’s game.
But the secondary buckled down as the stakes increased, limiting Jackson to just 27 net passing yards in the second quarter and 26 in the third, which helped fuel the Eagles’ 24-19 victory. In total, the Ravens mustered 206 passing yards, which was their fifth-worst performance through the air this season. The key was being prepared for the second play from Jackson.
“When he got outside the pocket, we’ve got to do a better job of staying on our guys,” DeJean said. “We knew it would happen. We knew he’d scramble around. But we weren’t doing as good of a job in those first two drives of sticking with our guys. But I think we made a point of emphasis to do that going throughout the rest of the game.”
The secondary starred in high-leverage situations, particularly in the red zone. The Ravens went 2 for 5 inside the 20, including a garbage-time touchdown reception from Isaiah Likely. When the Ravens were forced to settle for field goals, the Eagles benefited from the struggles of kicker Justin Tucker, who missed two of his four attempts.
“I think it was just making them earn everything,” DeJean said of the red-zone success. “Bend, don’t break mentality. When they get down there, our back’s against the wall. We’ve just got to understand that we can still get a stop. That’s what we tried to do.”
» READ MORE: The Eagles' defense is the best reason to believe they can win the Super Bowl
A number of reserves made big plays throughout the game. Rodgers started in place of Darius Slay, who was ruled out on Friday with a concussion. The 26-year-old cornerback started off shakily, nearly conceding a touchdown pass when Mark Andrews had a step on him on the opening drive in the red zone, but the tight end dropped the ball.
Rodgers helped contain Jackson as the game wore on and the quarterback looked to extend plays. In the third quarter, Rodgers made an impressive play, using his body to stop a scrambling Jackson short of the sticks.
Tristin McCollum also jumped into action while filling in for Reed Blankenship, who sustained a concussion in the fourth quarter. The 25-year-old safety nearly picked off Jackson on fourth down halfway through the fourth quarter with the Ravens trailing 21-12. Jackson had attempted a pass for Flowers deep over the middle, but McCollum maintained perfect depth in the Eagles’ zone to deny the receiver another explosive reception.
McCollum’s play capped an impressive four-down sequence that solidified the win. On first-and-10 from the Ravens’ 40, Jackson attempted to extend the play and find Flowers over the middle, but Mitchell had the receiver well-covered. Jalen Carter tackled Derrick Henry for a 1-yard loss on the ensuing down.
On third down, Jackson sought to scramble again with his receivers well-covered and the pocket closing. He tossed the ball to Henry in the flat on a check-down, but DeJean drove him back and limited him to a 3-yard gain.
“I didn’t really expect to pick him up like that,” DeJean said. “I was kind of just doing my job of coming down and making a tackle. Ran through him, trying to run through him. He’s a pretty big dude, though. I felt it a little bit, for sure. Had a lot of adrenaline running. But I was just playing my coverage.”
» READ MORE: Eagles stats analysis: Punt game, Jalen Carter’s dominance, and Jalen Hurts’ steadiness
For just the second time this season, the Ravens finished with fewer than 20 points. Still, DeJean didn’t take any extra pride in the win considering the strength of the opponent.
“I don’t really think it matters where a team’s ranked,” DeJean said. “Where their offense is ranked. It’s about us. It’s about us going out and doing our job each and every week. They could be the No. 1 offense, but we’ve still got to go out and do our job and defend it.”