Eagles Quietly Reducing Key Defender to Bench Role in Postseason

The Philadelphia Eagles' defensive line had an outstanding performance in Sunday’s divisional round win over the Los Angeles Rams. The Eagles defensive line had five sacks on Rams QB Matthew Stafford and forced two fumbles in the fourth quarter.

Second-year defensive lineman Jalen Carter stole the show as the Rams’ offensive line had no answer for him. Carter had five total tackles, three quarterback hits, two tackles for loss, and two sacks.

In addition to Carter, Nolan Smith Jr., Moro Ojomo, and rookie Jalyx Hunt all had one sack each in the thrilling win. While those guys on the defensive line were making plays, Jordan Davis did not play a huge factor in Vic Fangio’s game plan.

The second-year lineman played 17 defensive snaps in Sunday’s win, tying him with Hunt on the defensive line. Davis only had one tackle and had a PFF grade of 51 (second-worst on the defensive behind Isaiah Rodgers) in those 17 snaps.

Now unlike the other guys on the defensive line, Davis will not put up crazy stats as he’s more of a run stuffer than a pass rusher. However, seeing Ojomo receive two more defensive snaps (19) than Davis (17) is eye-opening, especially considering Davis’ snap count in the wild-card round.

In last week’s game against the Green Bay Packers, the former Georgia defensive lineman only played 13 defensive snaps.

Heading into the NFC title game against the Washington Commanders, the Eagles hope Davis can make more of an impact as they can run the football. In Washington’s upset win over the Lions, the Commanders had 182 rushing yards and three scores on the ground.

In the two regular-season meetings against the Commanders, Davis only had four total tackles, while playing 26 and 17 defensive snaps. That said, if Davis only sees 15-20 defensive snaps in the title game, he must make the most of his opportunity.

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