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Eagles secondary buckles up in win over Lamar Jackson and Ravens
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Eagles secondary buckles up in win over Lamar Jackson and Ravens

BALTIMORE — Fifteen minutes into Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, the Eagles secondary still seemed to be waking up from a tryptophan-induced turkey coma.

Lamar Jackson threw six passes for 97 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter alone, thanks in part to his ability to extend plays. On the Ravens’ first drive that ended with a field goal, he escaped pressure from the Eagles’ five-man rush and threw a deep ball to a wide-open Zay Flowers for a 40-yard gain. Flowers made another explosive play on the ensuing touchdown when he slipped behind Cooper De Jean in zone coverage and caught a 20-yard pass.

The Ravens led 9-0 after the first quarter. For the Eagles, Isaiah Rodgers recalled that defensive backs coach Christian Parker and safeties coach Joe Kasper put their unit aside and urged them to find their identity.

“He got on our… you know,” Rodgers said. “He got on our butts and I think we locked up after that.”

» LEARN MORE: Eagles Notes: The offensive line is big against the Ravens, and the entire defense is huge

Quinyon Mitchell insisted that defensive backs simply need to settle in before returning to their roots as one of the stingiest pass defenses in the NFL. They faced a tall task against Jackson and his group of talented receivers who ranked No. 2 in the league in passing touchdowns and No. 3 in passing yards heading into Sunday’s game.

But the secondary stepped up as the stakes rose, limiting Jackson to just 27 net passing yards in the second quarter and 26 in the third, which helped fuel the Eagles’ 24-19 victory. In total, the Ravens had 206 passing yards, which was their fifth-worst passing performance of the year. The key was being prepared for Jackson’s second play.

“When he’s out of the pocket, we’ve got to do a better job of staying on our guys when he’s out of the pocket,” DeJean said. “We knew this would happen. We knew he would struggle. But we didn’t do as good a job in those first two practices staying with our guys. But I think we made a point of doing that throughout the rest of the game.

The secondary played the main role in high-leverage situations when it mattered most, especially in the red zone. The Ravens went 2-for-5 inside the 20, including a deadline touchdown reception from Isaiah Likely. When the Ravens were forced to settle for field goals, the Eagles took advantage of the struggles of kicker Justin Tucker, who missed two of his four attempts.

“I think it was just to make them win everything,” DeJean said of their success in the red zone. “Bend, don’t break the mentality. When they get there, our backs are against the wall. We just realized that we can still stop. That’s what we tried to do.

» LEARN MORE: The Eagles’ defense is the best reason to believe they can win the Super Bowl

They also managed to turn the situation around thanks to a number of reserves which strengthened throughout the match. Rodgers started instead of Kill Dariuswho was ruled out Friday due to a concussion. The 26-year-old cornerback started out shaky, nearly giving up a touchdown pass when Mark Andrews stepped on him on the first drive in the red zone, but the tight end dropped the ball.

However, Rodgers helped contain Jackson as the night wore on and the quarterback looked to extend plays. In the third quarter, Rodgers made an impressive play, using his body to stop a rushing Jackson short of sticks.

Tristin McCollum also got into action, replacing Reed Blankenship, who suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter. The 25-year-old safety nearly picked off Jackson on fourth down midway through the fourth quarter as the Ravens tried to come back to trail 21-12. Jackson had attempted a pass to Flowers deep in the middle of the field, but McCollum maintained perfect depth in the Eagles zone to deny the receiver another explosive reception.

McCollum’s play capped an impressive four-down drive that solidified the Eagles’ victory. On first-and-10 from the Ravens’ 40, Jackson tried to extend the play and find Flowers in the middle of the field, but Mitchell had the receiver well covered. Jalen Carter tackled Derrick Henry on a rush for a loss of one yard on the ensuing down.

On third down, Jackson looked to run wild again with his receivers well covered and the pocket closed. He threw the ball to Henry in the flat on a checkdown, but DeJean batted it away and held it to a 3-yard gain.

“I didn’t really expect to get it back like that,” DeJean said. “I was just doing my job going down and making a tackle. I went through it, I tried to go through it. But he’s a pretty big guy. I felt it a little, that’s for sure. I got a lot of adrenaline from running. But I was just playing my cover.

For only the second time this season, the Ravens finished the game with fewer than 20 points. Still, DeJean wasn’t very proud of the victory considering the strength of the opponent.

“I don’t really think a team’s ranking matters,” DeJean said. “Where is their attack classified? It’s about us. It’s about us going out and doing our job every week. They could be the No. 1 offense, but we still have to do our job and defend it.