Eagles snap counts vs. Giants: Jalen Hurts, CJ Gardner-Johnson successfully return from respective injuries
The Philadelphia Eagles secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC along with the NFC East title after defeating the New York Giants in the regular season finale. It wasn’t pretty, but Philly got it done, thanks in large to the return of key starters on both sides of the ball.
A look at the official snap counts from Week 18.
Offense
Notes
RB Boston Scott (AKA The Giants Killer) saw his largest workload of the season, logging 24 snaps (33 percent of the offensive snaps). In turn, he led the team in rushing with 54 yards on nine attempts. He also managed to score the lone touchdown of the day for the Eagles.
All in all, the backfield share was pretty even. Miles Sanders saw the most snaps of any back at 29, followed by Scott and Kenneth Gainwell. This is the second week in a row Sanders has tallied under 30 offensive snaps. Perhaps his knee is still bothering him a bit, or the coaching staff is just trying to preserve him for the postseason. It’s hard to say.
As expected, Jalen Hurts saw every offensive snap in his first game back under center since injuring his shoulder against Chicago. It was clear QB1 was hurting a bit on Sunday, and Nick Sirianni confirmed that during his postgame press conference. He finished the day completing 20-of-35 passing attempts for 229 yards and one interception. The rushing numbers weren’t there for Hurts, either. He recorded just 13 yards on the ground on nine attempts.
WR DeVonta Smith and TE Dallas Goedert played 100 percent of the Eagles offensive snaps at their respective positions – not surprising. What is a little surprising, is AJ Brown’s snap count. He logged 58 snaps (79 percent). Again, this can probably just be attributed to the coaching staff’s attempts to preserve their talent.
Every offensive lineman outside of Landon Dickerson played 100 percent of the snaps. Andre Dillard was briefly subbed in for Dickerson late in the game for two plays.
>> Read More: Eagles Week 18 PFF Grades: Jalen Hurts struggles in his first game back under center; Kyzir White bounces back
Defense
Notes
In his first game back from injured reserve, S CJ Gardner-Johnson played every single snap for the Eagles defense. He had one of his best games to date as well, posting a 78.1 PFF defensive grade while tallying seven combined tackles and one tackle for loss.
Throughout the year, CGJ has played primarily in the safety spot. This week, he went back to his roots in the nickel, logging 46 snaps there compared to just 11 at free safety. He’s a swiss army knife for Jonathan Gannon and we should expect CGJ to continue seeing time in both alignments until Avonte Maddox gets back on the field.
Marcus Epps, TJ Edwards, Darius Slay, James Bradberry all played 100 percent of the Eagles defensive snaps as well.
Along the defensive line, the Eagles rotated their personnel frequently – as they do every week. Haason Reddick led the way with 50 snaps (79 percent), followed by Brandon Graham (44), Javon Hargrave (41), and Fletcher Cox (39). Both Ndamukong Suh and Milton Williams saw over 20 snaps as well.
Rookie Jordan Davis, however, only logged eight snaps on the day. It was one of his lowest snap counts this year, just squeaking past his six-snap outing against Tennessee. The early portion of the season aside, Davis has been pretty underwhelming for most of his rookie campaign. The Suh and Linval Joseph signing certainly play a role in Davis’ miniscule snap share, but it would be reaffirming to see Davis make an impact in the playoffs.
Mandatory Credit: USA Today Sports
