In their Week 1 win over the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense was playing at a huge disadvantage, as defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected in the first quarter for spitting on Dak Prescott. While not having Carter on the field wasn’t ideal, the Eagles did see a couple of players on the defensive line step up, such as Jordan Davis and Josh Uche.
The former played a career-high 53 defensive snaps and looked like the prospect we saw coming out of Georgia. Meanwhile, Uche was a pleasant surprise as he got four pressures on Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, despite not getting a sack.
The veteran pass rusher also had the highest pass rush win rate at 48.3% after Week 1, according to Thomas Petersen. In fact, Uche’s pass rush win rate was higher than Nik Bonitto's (42.9%) and Trey Hendrickson’s (41.7%), which is quite impressive.
Josh Uche Already Proving to be Impact Player on Eagles’ Defense
Furthermore, Uche was the highest grade player on the Eagles’ defense in Week 1, per PFF. He had a stellar 93.9 overall defensive grade, along with an outstanding 92.7 pass rush grade in only 19 snaps (18 pass rush).
Uche’s performance against the Cowboys gives the Eagles’ coaches something to look forward to heading into Week 2 and the coming weeks. When the defending Super Bowl champs took a flier on the veteran edge earlier this offseason, no one knew exactly what to expect from him.
The former second-round pick had a disappointing 2023 season with the New England Patriots (three sacks) and a lackluster 2024 season with the Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs (two sacks).
The hope was that Uche would return to his 2022 form, where he notched a career-high 11.5 sacks and 25 QB pressures as a rotation player. But that never happened, even in his short time with the Chiefs, who needed another pass-rushing threat.
Luckily for Uche, the Eagles needed multiple pass rushers after seeing Brandon Graham retire and Josh Sweat sign a four-year deal in free agency with the Arizona Cardinals.
A one-year deal to see what Uche can do in Vic Fangio’s system was worth the chance. He didn’t make a ton of noise in the preseason, but seeing him apply pressure against a so-so Dallas offensive line is a good sign.
And the fact that he was on the field, and not Azeez Ojulari and Ogbo Okoronkwo, who were both healthy scratches in Week 1, is a promising sign for Uche.
Eventually, fans will want to see sacks from Uche as they remember the Bryce Huff experience from last season. However, those will come sooner than later, especially with Carter back on the field, who commands a double team in the middle of the defensive line.
If Carter is getting double-teamed, Uche will have 1v1 matchups against the opposing team’s offensive tackles, which he has to win. If Uche can record 4-6 sacks this season, it will go a long way in helping this defense, and it could get him a multi-year deal in Philadelphia or elsewhere next season.