September 22, 2026
Steve Roberts/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Jalen Hurts has been brilliant on third down, but are the Eagles living on the edge by being in 3rd-and-long so much?
The Eagles are 2-0 again, Jalen Hurts is playing at a high level and injuries piling up for their opponents only makes them even more of a favorite to repeat as NFC East champs and contend for the conference crown.
Are they really good, really lucky, or a combination both?
Some of what they're doing feels unsustainable – they have one of the NFL's worst first-down offenses and best third-down offenses – and their own injuries are starting to pile up as the schedule toughens over the next three weeks.
Here are five thoughts on the Eagles as they prepare for their Monday night showdown against the Bears, the first of three straight opponent who made the postseason in 2025:
The Eagles have shown a penchant for defying odds through two weeks. Against the Titans, they turned the ball over twice on Jalen Hurts interceptions, making them one of 10 road teams this season to commit at least two turnovers in a game.
How many of those 10 were able to win?
Literally, just the Eagles.
Of those nine other teams that turned the ball over twice on the road, five of them lost by at least 17 points and the total average margin of defeat for those nine teams was by 12.2 points – almost two possessions.
Basically, most teams that turn the ball over twice on the road get whacked easily. The Eagles figured out how to win.
The Eagles are also defying logic on third down. They converted 61 percent of third downs against the Titans – the Niners led the NFL last year with a 50-percent conversion rate – despite living in third-and-long for most of the game. For the season they are converting 53 percent of third downs despite having the exact same number of 3rd-and-long scenarios (7+ yards) as 3rd-and-medium (3-6 yards) and 3rd-and-short (1-2 yards) combined.
Talk about living on the edge.
The timing of Ertz's signing to the practice squad suggests the Eagles were reacting to Dallas Goedert's knee injury that will sideline him several weeks, but the reality is the Eagles needed tight end help way before Goedert went down.
Outside of a few snaps for TE3 E.J. Jenkins, the Eagles have mostly played with just Goedert and inline blocker Johnny Mundt, and have operated heavily from 11 personnel (3WR/1TE). Their 75-percent rate of 11 personnel is second-highest in the NFL.
New OC Sean Mannion's offense would like to feature 12 personnel (2WR/2TE) more prominently, especially to help the under center run game and under center play action game, but the team's depth issue prevents him from doing so.
Ertz can help in the long term, but what can be reasonably be expected from him by Monday? He's 35, coming off ACL surgery from December, and didn't spend time with any team in OTAs or training camp. Ertz has had no ram-up period.
Is it really worth elevating him to play a smattering of snaps – if that's even feasible – after just a few days of practice?
Look for the Eagles to be heavy 11 personnel against Chicago, which means they will need rookie Makai Lemon to be more impactful as the No. 3 receiver.
For some reason the Eagles aren't giving Jordan Davis many opportunities to rush the passer despite handing him the kind of contract this offseason given to elite interior d-linemen who can stop the run and rush the passer. Several times the Eagles have praised Davis' improvement in the pass rush despite an iffy first three seasons for the 2022 first-round pick.
But against Tennessee, Davis rushed the passer just six times, per Next Gen Stats, compared to Moro Ojomo's 21 pass rushes. For the season, Davis has rushed the passer 22 times – fifth on the defense and just once more than situational pass rusher Arnold Ebiketie. Ojomo's 50 pass rushes are second on the defense behind Jalen Carter.
So, Davis got the big money while Ojomo, in the final year of his rookie deal, is bound to leave in free agency after this season, even though the Eagles are asking Ojomo to rush the passer more than twice as often as Davis has?
It's not just rushing the passer, either.
Ojomo has played 75 percent of the total defensive snaps while Davis has played 47 percent, a major difference in playing time especially compared to last year, when Ojomo played 65 percent of snaps and Davis played 61 percent.
Check out the season pass rush projections compared to last year:
| 2026 pass rushes (proj.) | 2025 | |
| Moro Ojomo | 425 | 421 |
| Jordan Davis | 187 | 355 |
On the subject of pass rush, the Eagles can't get Jonathan Greenard back fast enough, and maybe the two-time Pro Bowl edge will make his debut Monday night against the Bears.
Just like last season, the edge duo of Nolan Smith Jr. and Jalyx Hunt has shown to be good, not great, and not nearly skilled enough in actually taking down the quarterback. Smith and Hunt have very good pressure rates – 25% for Smith, 19% for Hunt – and overall the Eagles have the NFL's fourth-best pressure percentage (45.2%), but Smith and Hunt have combined for just one sack and the Eagles have just three sacks as a defense.
This is isn't a pressure generation issue, it's a finishing issue. Only eight NFL teams have a lower sack/pass attempt rate than the Eagles (5.56%).
Greenard's speed off the edge brings another dimension to the pass rush. That's why Howie Roseman traded two third-round picks to get him and then gave him a bigger bag. If he plays against the Bears, even just as a rotational piece, Greenard should help the Birds convert some pressures into sacks.
The Eagles truly stole a win from the Titans in Nashville because Jalen Hurts sliced up the Tennessee secondary with the precision of a sous chef. But did Titans coach Robert Saleh also help Hurts and the offense a little too much?
Saleh's decision to have Joey Slye kick off into the end zone after Tennessee took the 20-17 lead automatically gave the Eagles possession at their own 35-yard line, with no timeouts and just 1:56 to play. Saleh could have asked Slye to kick shy of the end zone and force a return, and maybe the Titans get a stop before the 35 – the Eagles are averaging 25 yards per return this season on three returns.
Per former Eagles football analytics strategist Ryan Paganetti, a key voice in Doug Pederson's ear during for the Birds' first Super Bowl win in 2017, the Titans are the NFL leaders in kicking into the end zone by a mile.
Titans chose to kickoff into the end zone and give the Eagles a free start at the 35 yard line with 1:56 left and no timeouts.
— Ryan Paganetti (@RyanPaganetti) September 22, 2026
Of course, every yard and second ended up being extremely valuable as they scored a TD with very little time remaining.
Through 2 weeks, Robert Saleh… pic.twitter.com/t2D9dnEBwr
Slye had been penalized earlier in the game for failing to get his kickoff in the landing zone on the opening kick of the second half, giving Eagles possession at their 40. Maybe Saleh didn't trust his kicker to execute a short kickoff. Maybe it's chicken-egg and Slye's penalty was the result of not enough real-game opportunities to execute a kickoff into the landing zone.
Either way, every extra yard and second helped the Eagles go 65 yards to pay dirt.
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