Philadelphia Eagles: Josh Sweat is heating up at the perfect time

Sacks don’t equal success in the NFL.

I know there’s nothing more fun to watch than a defensive end bursting off the edge and demolishing an unsuspecting quarterback, but the outcome of a play doesn’t always tell the whole story.

For example, on some screen calls, teams actually allow free rushers to burst through the line on purpose, in order to have more lead blockers on space. If that call gets botched even a little bit, you’re looking at an embarrassing sack.

Alternatively, a defensive lineman can do everything right, beat their man, and either have a sack get nullified due to a penalty call or just watch as the opposing QB slings it a second or two before he breaches the pocket.

With that in mind, not only is Josh Sweat starting to rack up sacks for the Philadelphia Eagles, but he’s doing so by playing some of his most consistently good football of the season right when the team needs him most.

Josh Sweat is living up to his contract extension, Philadelphia Eagles fans.

When Howie Roseman gave Josh Sweat a new contract, his second of three to members of the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2018 NFL Draft class, it looked like very real money for future production.

Sure, Sweat was coming off a good season and clearly possessed better measurable and on-field production than Derek Barnett, but the Florida State product only had 10 sacks, 22 quarterback hits, and 29 pressures over 841 defensive snaps. Would Sweat ever be able to live up to his three-year, $40 million contract, with ranks 14th among defensive ends in average annual value?

If you fell into the camp that disliked the deal, you had plenty of ammunition to back up your disapproval.

After failing to earn a start over the first three games of the season, Sweat amassed only 1.5 sacks, six QB hits, and 23 tackles over his first seven games of the season, with his best individual performance coming in a Week 6 loss to Tampa Bay. Sweat wasn’t consistently providing pressure, and considering he’s never been a particularly good run stuffer, that became a point of concern rather quickly.

But in Week 8, much like seemingly every other player on the Eagles’ roster, things turned around in a hurry. Sweat recorded only the second two-sack game of his career on only 30 snaps – remember, the starters sat out the fourth quarter – and that propelled him to a much better second half of the season, where his average sacks, hits, tackles, and pressures all improved from the first segment of the season.

Since that embarrassing loss to the New York Giants at the end of November, Sweat has picked up four sacks, a forced fumble, and three quarterback hits. He’s consistently found ways to get into the backfield, helped to collapse the pocket, and given quarterbacks like Jake Fromm, Mike Glennon, and Taylor Heinicke – all of whom have started in the NFL this season – fits as a speeding bullet coming off the edge. If Sweat was a slightly better finisher, he might just have finished out Week 17 with more than 1.5 sacks, but ultimately, when push came to shove, it was his pressure that helped to shut down Heinicke’s efficiency over the final two frames of the game, and was a critical part in securing the W.

If Jonathan Gannon can just call more man coverage in the first half and maybe, just maybe, shake up his pressures from around the defensive front, Sweat’s rushing abilities could become all the more lethal against a quarterback who can neutralize the rush by dink and dunking his way down the field with perfect accuracy. I don’t know, just a thought.

When you talk about defensive ends, it’s impossible not to talk about sacks. Sure, there are other stats of note, like hurries, pressures, and QB hits, but those all can be relatively hard to identify for a fan watching at home and don’t provide the same sort of game changeability as a sack, a fumble, or an interception. Standing at 7.5 with a game to go, Josh Sweat’s sacks are right in line with his paycheck, but it’s what he does on his non-sacking rushes that are setting up his “wow” plays, which have been far more consistent than in seasons passed. Mark my words, Sweat and Javon Hargrave will remain a very effective end-tackle tandem for years to come.