I love when a scheme design ends up working just like it’s drawn on the page. The Eagles have had lots of these in the run game this season. They have mixed in all sorts of runs ... zone, gap runs, some draws. All of it has worked well so far this season. Here’s a fantastic example of that on Sunday.
The Eagles drew up the perfect play to beat the Cowboys’ defense
The Eagles rattled off an easy 71-yard gain by designing a play to exploit a hole in the Cowboys’ defense.
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
The Eagles run a ton of outside zone from this formation and alignment of the back. The Cowboys are in their base defense, which is Cover 2. In a Cover 2 defense, you’re typically a man short in the box so the defensive line will pirate. A pirate is a front side spike by the defensive tackle and the defensive end. The idea is that this forces runs to bounce outside, where the outside linebacker will be waiting or the middle linebacker coming over the top.
If you don’t play this defense often — it’s not run much in the NFL right now — it can be tough up front to handle all the movement. No matter how many times you run it in practice, you have to see it live.
So how do the Eagles deal with it? They cut the defense right where the pirate would be. It’s brilliant. I love it. Also, I have no clue what this safety is doing down in the box. But otherwise, enjoy this video!
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