In a tale of cruel irony, just when the Eagles rookie play-caller decides to give Miles Sanders the football, he sprains his ankle. Eagles fans have been screaming for Miles to get more touches; deservingly so. Miles Sanders has been one of the most efficient and productive backs over the last several years for the Philadelphia Eagles.

That has been the constant theme this season. Refresh Twitter, and you will see everyone screaming for the Eagles to run the football. You can’t expect a young quarterback to succeed without establishing any sort of run game. It seemed the Eagles’ offense finally had some rhythm and identity after that first drive on Sunday, but all hell broke loose when Sanders went down. When the Eagles turned to Kenneth Gainwell, he fumbled almost immediately, giving the Raiders excellent field position.

Regardless of how you feel about Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ passing game, the running game must become a staple of this offense. With Miles Sanders missing some time, there’s a move this team needs to make.

Jordan Howard

The Philadelphia Eagles need to call up Jordan Howard from the practice squad. This Sunday against the 0-7 Detroit Lions is the perfect time to do it. Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell both cannot handle the bulk of the carries. Unless, of course, Scott is playing against the Giants. Then it is a different story. Ideally, Gainwell is an incredible complementary piece to a workhorse style of running back. The same with Boston Scott.

When the Eagles leaned on Jordan Howard back in 2019, he was tremendous for Doug Pederson’s offense. Howard had over 525 yards and six touchdowns in a ten-game span, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. Although he hasn’t been a primary focus on offense in several years, Jordan Howard is only 27-years-old. Every season in Chicago, Jordan Howard was around a 1,000-yard rusher and was on pace for that in Philadelphia.

Jordan Howard brings a level of physicality that even Miles Sanders can’t provide. To compare, Howard is an inch taller and 15 pounds heavier, providing some more durability. Until Sanders is back and Gainwell gets more snaps, Nick Sirianni needs to feature Jordan Howard in the run game. Gainwell would still be your third-down back, however, as well as the two-minute drill back.

Unfortunately for Howard, Sirianni’s idea of offense doesn’t feature a power back, which seems crazy to me. He was very productive in training camp to the point where I thought he was going to beat out Boston Scott for that final running back spot. We shall see what the Eagles decide to do. They will need to think fast with next week’s game just around the corner.

Mandatory Credit; USA Today Sports