The Philadelphia Eagles’ offense has been filled with inconsistent and underwhelming play, along with some off-field drama. Their defense, though, has just about everything solved … except for a nickname.
In a feature for “FOX NFL Sunday,” Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis proposed a nickname that comes from the city’s past.
“I feel like we need to bring back the ‘Broad Street Bullies,'” Davis said. “We play physical. We play tough. We right on Broad Street. So, why not be bullies?”
“If Jordan Davis likes ‘Broad Street Bullies,’ then I love it,” Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean added.
The “Broad Street Bullies” moniker was first given to the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1970s, using their meanness and toughness to win two Stanley Cups and play in three consecutive finals. The Eagles might be on track to have a similar legacy in Philadelphia, getting out to an 8-2 start this season thanks to their defense following last season’s title run. Entering Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles rank eighth in scoring defense (20.1 points allowed per game) and are seventh in defensive DVOA.
And it’s not just one person who is solely responsible for the Eagles’ defensive success. In fact, they don’t have a player who’s among the 10 favorites to win Defensive Player of the Year at DraftKings ahead of Sunday’s NFL slate, using a band of brothers to find success at all three levels.
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Of course, Jalen Carter is the headliner in the defensive trenches. But Davis has had a bit of a breakout campaign so far this season with three sacks as his 29 pressures rank 15th among defensive linemen, per Pro Football Focus.
“Big men lead the way,” Davis said. “That’s what we say. I guess it’s just a Philly thing.”
But as Davis has delivered some hard blows to quarterbacks and made game-winning field goal blocks this season, his teammates seem to be just as impressed by his personality.
“This dude is a monster. He’s a beast. But he’s just hilarious,” Eagles safety Reed Blankenship said. “He makes you laugh every time you see him. I love the guys I play with. You don’t need to change who you are. You can just be who you are.”
Another one of Davis’ teammates called him a prankster.
“What? Prankster? Who told you that? That’s not me,” Davis jokingly said. “I love building the culture up, be a part of the culture because this job is hard enough. Even though I’m serious, you always wanna make time to have fun. At the end of the day, this moment isn’t forever.”
That meanness and physicality extend to the second line of Philadelphia’s defense. Zack Baun is the headliner of the Eagles’ linebacker group, but Dean’s return from a torn patellar tendon he suffered in the playoffs last season has made a difference over the last few weeks. He’s recorded 21 total tackles over the last four games, adding two sacks in the last two games.
“That’s the best part about having Nakobe back,” Eagles defensive back Cooper DeJean said. “He brings that fire every time he steps on that field.”
“Nakobe is the juice man,” Davis added. “That energy. The juice.”
But the difference maker for this Philadelphia defense might be its most recent addition. Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips has a sack and a forced fumble in his first two games with the Eagles after being acquired in a trade from the Miami Dolphins, adding 10 total pressures, per PFF.
“The thing that impressed me was how easy it was for him to transition and become one of the guys,” Dean said of Phillips. “Then, that connectivity and brotherhood kind of spread around the defense.”
Even though Phillips is in the final year of his contract, giving up just a third-rounder for him might already seem paltry. But he’s just the latest find by Eagles general manager Howie Roseman that’s made this defensive unit one of the game’s best.
“If my phone rings and Howie Roseman’s name shows up, I’m not answering,” Charles Woodson said on “FOX NFL Kickoff.” “He always seems to come out on the right side of the deals that he makes. I’m not sending them extra weapons.”
Prior to the Phillips trade, the Eagles’ pass rush was actually kind of shaky. The offseason departures of Josh Sweat, Bryce Huff and Brandon Graham caused Philadelphia to rank just 24th in sacks at the time of its trade for Phillips.
But the addition of Phillips and the return of Graham to go with a secondary that includes cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, DeJean and Blakenship has suddenly made the Eagles’ defense scary. Just ask Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who threw for just 176 yards and was hit eight times in a 10-7 loss to the Eagles in Week 10, or Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who completed just 14 of 37 passes in last week’s loss to the Eagles.
Still, members of the Eagles’ insist that their success is based on their physicality as they believe they can ride it to a Super Bowl repeat.
“You say you play by a standard. You want everybody to live up to that standard and play by that standard,” Dean said. “You yourself gotta do that standard every day. You gotta show the guys that you’re serious in everything you do. …. You need to be physical if you wanna impose your will on the other team.”
“I thought it was kind of like that last year when we went on our run,” Davis added. “I think it’s going to be the same this year.”
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