Philadelphia Eagles: Frank Clark’s absence is great news for Jalen Hurts

The Kansas City Chiefs are off to a weirdly slow start in 2021.

Now granted, they’ve had about as hard a schedule as any team in the NFL, going toe-to-toe with the Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Los Angeles Chargers over the last three weeks, but when you get outscored 92-95 over a three-game period, it’s not particularly surprising to see a 1-2 record in the standings.

Sidebar: The Philadelphia Eagles, surprisingly, have not been outscored by their opponents through the first three weeks of the season, as they sit at a perfect 64-64 points spread.

Has the Chiefs’ offense remained potent? You betcha. They’re still averaging close to 31 points per game and have actually strengthened their overall depth with the addition of Josh Gordon, even if it’s unclear whether or not he’ll ultimately play in Week 4. But on defense? The KC has routinely been exposed and will be even more so in Week 4, as one of their key pieces won’t be with the team for the second straight week.

Frank Clark’s absence is good news for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Welp, it’s official: Frank Clark is out for the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 4 bout against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The news, originally reported by the NFL Networks’ James Palmer, comes after Clark was a limited participant for the Chiefs all week long following a Week 2 injury hamstring injury suffered versus the Baltimore Ravens, and needless to say, is fantastic news for the Eagles as they attempt to rebound from a pair of ugly outings versus the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys.

Why? Well, that feels rather obvious, no?

For one, Clark is the Chiefs’ best edge rusher. He’s a two-time Pro Bowler, a seven-year veteran with a deep bag of pass-rushing moves, and, most importantly of all, the proud owner of 49 career sacks in 92 career games. Had Clark been back, Chiefs’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo would have been afforded more optionality to move his other two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman, Chris Jones, across his front, instead of being forced to deploy him at a five-tech in order to provide some push on the edge of the pocket.

Considering Jones earned said Pro Bowl appearances as a 4-3 defensive tackle, the more the Chiefs can line him up over (presumably) Landon Dickerson and Nate Herbig, the better the outcomes will statistically be. But with Clark out? Well, Spagnuolo will have a tough call to make.

Does he line up Jones next to his long-time partner in crime, Derrick Nnadi, and start an average-at-best defensive end like Alex Okafor in his place on the outside? Or does he instead keep Jones at end and slot in Jarran Reed, the objectively better player, next to Nnadi?

Neither option is ideal; much to the chagrin of the Philadelphia Eagles.

If Jones lines up over one of Andre Dillard’s shoulders, the Eagles will be able to exploit that side of the field with the Jalen Hurts–Miles Sanders read option. Because Jones is a legit 300 pounds – okay, 298 pounder – he isn’t a particularly effective player in space and could easily provide Nick Sirianni’s offense with a competitive advantage if they send a steady stream of screens his way.

And if the Chiefs run Jones in the middle of the defense? Well, the Eagles can still attack the outside due to the strength of their tackles but will also be afforded more time to get their passing game goings sans any sort of credible rush off the edge. That should present Hurts with more time to work through his progressions in the pocket – which has been an issue in Weeks 1-3 – and even more time to get things going outside of the pocket if Jones and Nnadi collapse the interior.

All in all, both options could be worked around effectively.

Heading into 2021, the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense as a whole wasn’t expected to be a strength. They have one good safety, a trio of average-at-best cornerbacks in L’Jarius Sneed, DeAndre Baker, and Mike Hughes – the latter of whom are first-round burnouts – an okay linebacking corps featuring ex-Cowboy Anthony Hitchens and 2021 second-round pick Nick Bolton, and a defensive line with two excellent players and a few more question marks. Factor out Frank Clark, and suddenly everyone’s job just became a whole lot harder, as some players will have to play out of position while others have to spend longer in coverage sans a reliable rusher to speed up the offense. Throw that all together, and it sounds like pretty good conditions for a Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive rebound in Week 4. Stoping the Chiefs’ offense, however, is a completely different story.