The Philadelphia Eagles defense may need its best game of the season Saturday if the team is forced to play against the Dallas Cowboys without quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Hurts’ status is in question due to a reported shoulder strain, prompting the spread to move sharply in favor of the Cowboys who are now 5.5-point favorites at BetMGM.
But one player doesn’t get a team to 13-1 alone. Philadelphia’s defense has been one of the best in the NFL all year, and according to edge rusher Brandon Graham, the front seven keeps things competitive between themselves to stay effective as a group.
How? They bet on sacks.
For the first time in Eagles history, they have 6+ sacks in 3 straight games
Brandon Graham says there are friendly bets with the Dline about who is going to sack the QB first
“We know if one cracks the one, everybody’s hungry for the next one” pic.twitter.com/Bql6G7U99Y
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) December 19, 2022
“It’s great competition. It’s not like we’re allowing it to separate us or anything. It’s just more about us just having bets — fun little bets — on who’s going to get there first.”
It’s working. The Eagles lead the NFL with 55 sacks, six more than the second place Cowboys. They average nearly four per game, and that’s up to six over their last three games where they have a combined 19 sacks.
Two players — Haason Reddick (12) and Javon Hargrave (10) have double-digit sacks. And three more — Josh Sweat (9.5), Graham (8.5) and Fletcher Cox (6) could join them before the season is over. In all, 11 different players have at least half a sack, and that doesn’t include first-round pick Jordan Davis.
And the Eagles owe Dallas some pay back. Their win over the Cowboys in Week 6 was the only game all season the Eagles didn’t record a single sack.
