Miles Sanders deserves more from the Philadelphia Eagles

The second-year running back has been nothing but productive when the Philadelphia Eagles decide to give him the ball.

Back in May, Miles Sanders made it clear he wanted an expanded workload for the Philadelphia Eagles.

The second-year pro out of Penn State even went as far as to claim he had his eyes set on the league MVP award for the 2020 season. While that idea may have been a bit farfetched, his confidence was certainly warranted.

After an incredibly productive rookie season that saw him produce over 1,300 yards of offense on 229 touches, it appeared the sky was the limit. Unsurprisingly, Sanders has continued to be anything but unproductive.

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The biggest concern this year has been staying healthy, as Sanders has only played in six of the Birds’ ten games. Through those six games, Sanders has produced 519 yards rushing on 86 carries, for an absurd six yards per carry. Another 101 yards receiving on 14 receptions can be tacked on to that total.

For you stat guys, this equates to 103 yards of offense per game on about 16 touches. Yeah, pretty darn good.

At this moment, the biggest issue that lies with Sanders and the Eagles offense has to be the continued desire to throw the football.

Even with the current struggles at the quarterback position and the missing pieces/poor play from the pass catchers, the Birds’ just continue to sling the rock all over the field. You would think with how well Sanders has played; the gameplan would be to get the ball into number 26’s hands. It seems week after week, we are left scratching our heads wondering why the heck the Eagles’ abandoned the run.

This was so apparent following the awful 27-17 loss to the Giants this past Sunday – where Sanders had 85 yards on 15 carries, good for 5.7 yards per carry. To hammer his efficiency home even more, his longest run of the game was for 14 yards. So what that tells you is how he consistently was picking up chunks of yardage each time he touched the ball. Failing to continue to feed him the rock is inexcusable from the coaching staff.

As the Eagles now hit the back end of their schedule, the competition gets a lot more fierce, which is daunting, considering the Birds’ sit at 3-5-1 at the moment. Matchups with the Browns, Seahawks, Packers, and Saints all lie ahead.

Heading into this tough stretch, you would think the idea would to get the ball into your best player’s hands and let his workload dictate your gameplan. Keeping the ball on the ground and away from guys like Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees (if he plays in their matchup) appears to be the best way to win. I mean seriously, the way things have been going right now clearly is not the answer.

So why not, ya know, give the ball to your best player and control the clock?

I mean, one of the underrated things about the Eagles Super Bowl run in 2017 was their ability to dominate time of possession. Heck, it would even make things easier for Carson Wentz, as it could open up passing lanes down the field and would allow you the ability to run some more bootlegs and play-action, which seems to be two of his better areas.

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I could go on and on with why the Philadelphia Eagles need to get Miles Sanders more involved in their offense. But I don’t need to; the number speak for themselves. If Doug Pederson wants to find a way to salvage this quickly fleeting 2020 Philadelphia Eagles season, the place to start would be giving the ball to number 26.

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