Philadelphia Eagles: Miles Sanders has come full circle
After a rough start to the season, Miles Sanders’ season came full circle with a commanding performance in the Philadelphia Eagles’ second win over Washington.
When Miles Sanders made his NFL debut against the Washington Redskins all the way back in Week 1, it left a lot to be desired for Philadelphia Eagles fans.
Sure, Saquon Barkley‘s former backup showed some promise, highlighted by a 19-yard run, but on 11 total carries, Sanders only picked up 25 yards, making it hard to be too optimistic about the ex-Nittany Lion.
And then Week 3 happened.
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Facing off against the Detroit Lions one week removed from a head-scratching loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Sanders put the ball on the ground twice and watched his offensive touches shrink with each passing week.
But boy howdy, what a difference three months can make.
Fast forward to the Eagles’ second contest of the year against Washington’s football team, and it was Carson Wentz fumbling the ball two(!!!) times while Sanders flew high as the team’s offensive focal point.
Heck, if we’re being honest, Sanders was the Eagles’ offense with a little pinch of Boston Scott for good measure.
We’re talking 19 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown on the ground plus an additional six catches for 50 yards and a touchdown as a receiver for a grand total of 172 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns on the afternoon – the most combined yards of any Eagle in any game this season.
But wait, there’s more.
Not only did Sanders turn in the best overall statistical performance of the year, he also became the first Eagles player to pass the century mark as a rusher since LeGarrette Blount accomplished the feat back in Week 4 of the 2017 season.
Sanders now holds the franchise record for most rushing yards as a rookie and the most all-purpose yards as a rookie, while also ranking in the top five for total touchdowns, total receiving touchdowns, total rushing touchdowns, and rushing attempts.
And believe you me, the Eagles needed every one of Sanders’ yards to keep their playoff hopes alive just outside of our nation’s capital.
With only three wide receivers on the active roster in Greg Ward, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and Robert Davis – four, I guess, if you count Boston Scott – Sanders accounted for 35 percent of the team’s total offensive touches – the second-highest share behind Wentz.
What more could you ask for?
Next. Signing Janoris Jenkins just isn’t worth the trouble. dark
While the absence of Jordan Howard has still hung heavy post-bye week, giving Doug Pederson carte blanche to completely abandon the run for seemingly no reason, Miles Sanders’ expanded workload has done wonders for his development as a player, and the Philadelphia Eagles’ development into one of the most effective offenses in the league at utilizing receivers out of the backfield. If there’s a chance this team makes waves down the stretch, it will fall solely on the shoulders of a second-round rookie out of PSU who was largely overlooked over his college career.