Miles Sanders is the key to a Philadelphia Eagles win against the Bengals

The Philadelphia Eagles need a big game from their star running back.

At the moment, the Philadelphia Eagles have no idea what type of football team they are. They lack identity. They can’t be a pass-heavy offense because Carson Wentz is missing open throws and WRs are already dropping like flies due to injury. They can’t rely on a gritty defense because their front seven looks completely outmatched and their so-called “improved” secondary got torn to sheds against a dynamic LA Rams offense.

The Eagles have zero clue what type of team they want to be, and it’s cost them two seemingly winnable football games. Against the Cincinnati Bengals, that needs to change.

Despite their abysmal showing in Week 1, it looks the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line is starting to figure things out. They handled Aaron Donald with ease last Sunday, Lane Johnson is back in the lineup, and Nate Herbig looks like a legit guy they can trust moving forward at either guard position. With that in mind, the desire to attack teams on the ground needs to be at the front of Doug Pederson’s mind.

More from Section 215

• 4 Eagles on the Bubble Who Have Clinched Their 53-Man Roster Spots
• Best Pennsylvania Sportsbook Promos: Win $650 GUARANTEED Bonus PLUS $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket
• 3 Punters the Eagles Must Target to Replace Arryn Siposs
• Cowboys Trey Lance Trade Proves How Screwed They Are With Dak Prescott
• Devon Allen Took Britain Covey’s Job on Eagles

After an impressive rookie season, former Penn State RB Miles Sanders spent a majority of the offseason talking about how he wants to establish himself as one of the best running backs in all of football. He name dropped Christian McCaffrey as someone he likes to compare himself to, and while he’s nowhere near as credentialed as CMC just quite yet, their play styles are undoubtedly similar.

Sanders has the ability to lure teams to sleep with power running up the middle, can bounce runs to the outside and pick up 10-15 yard gains, and he’s already one of the best receiving backs in all of football. He finished his rookie season with just over 1,100 total scrimmage yards, despite only logging the start in 11 of the team’s 16 games.

When the Eagles went out and drafted three rookie WRs this offseason, fans were clawing at the idea of Wentz finally having some legit speed to work with on offense. With DeSean Jackson returning and JJ Arecga-Whiteside set to “break out”, the hope was that Wentz could finally return himself back into the MVP conversation.

While it’s still early in the season, the dream for a Wentz 2017-esque season seem all but lost, and it’s not all on the veteran QB either. Jackson does not look 100%, JJAW looks as useless this year as he did during his rookie season, both Jalen Reagor and Quez Watkins have suffered injuries, and Zach Ertz‘ mind seems elsewhere due to some frustrating contract negotiations.

With all that in mind, repositioning the offense to that of a “ground and pound” scheme seems like the logical way to operate things moving forward. Sanders has legit Pro Bowl level talent, and the Eagles have some of the best run-blockers (at multiple positions) in all of football. It’s not the most glamorous style of football, but if it notches the team their first win, by all means we should be okay with that.

The Bengals have allowed an average of 185 rushing yards through the first two weeks of the season, so this is a prime game for the Philadelphia Eagles to establish a newfound ground attack. As much as we would all love to see Wentz throw six TDs, building this offense around Sanders for the foreseeable future is the way to go.