Howard’s progress has Eagles rushing to end streak
PHILADELPHIA >> Jordan Howard was 13 yards from becoming an Eagles folk hero, or at the every least, the answer to a trivia question.
Including the playoffs, it’s been 37 games (though it feels like 37 years) since an Eagles player rushed for 100 yards.
Howard was on the brink of ending that streak when he gained the last of his 87 yards on 15 carries with 5:17 remaining in a 34-27 win over the Green Bay Packers. Three carries too few, it was.
Then again, rookie Miles Sanders rushed for 72 yards on 11 carries, and turned the game with a 67-yard kickoff return with the Eagles down 10-0.
The running-back-by-committee approach enabled the Eagles to rush for a season-best 176 yards and two touchdowns, both by Howard.
“In preseason we didn’t really play together in the games,” Howard said of the top backs and offensive line. “So I feel like we had to get that down pat. Since we’ve got the run game going, obviously we’re going to be hard to stop now.”
The Eagles knew they’d be able to run on the Packers. Almost every team does. It’s not the same with the New York Jets, who the Eagles oppose Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Jets (0-3) haven’t done much right this season other than keeping the points down and stopping the run. They’re allowing an average of 88.7 rushing yards and 23.3 points.
The Jets allowed the Buffalo Bills 128 rushing yards, with workhorse Frank Gore getting just 11 runs for 20 yards in a 17-16 decision. In Week 2, Nick Chubb rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown to lead the Cleveland Browns to a 23-3 triumph. Yet the Jets allowed only 70 rushing yards. In a Week 3 loss to New England, the Patriots ran for two TDs but just 68 yards on 27 carries.
Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams always has an interesting game plan for the Eagles, dating to his days in Washington.
Howard rushed for 100 or more yards 14 times with the Bears, who went 8-6 in that span. The last time Howard hit the century mark was late last December in Minnesota, collecting 109 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries to spark a 24-10 victory. That was his next-to-last game with the Bears, who shipped him to the Eagles for a sixth-round pick.
No NFL team has gone longer without a 100-yard rusher than the Eagles, who haven’t seen one since LeGarrette Blount erupted for 136 yards in a 26-24 win over the Chargers in 2017.
Conversely, the Eagles’ have given up six 100-yard games since Blount did his deed and lost four of them, both victories against Saquon Barkley and the hapless New York Giants.
“I’m just trying to make plays any time my number is called,” Howard said. “I’m just trying to not let them down for having faith in me.”
The way the Eagles are progressing with the run game, that albatross could end any week. When rookie center Nate Herbig studies film of the offensive line, he can see the pain in the opposition. Heck, he feels it during practices when he holds the blocking dummies.
“Brandon (Brooks) and Lane (Johnson) coming and hitting you at the same time, it doesn’t feel good,” Herbig said. “It’s like getting hit by a truck, and then another truck comes behind it and hits you again. It’s unbelievable. It’s just practice but I have to try to keep my balance just so I don’t fall down.”
Brooks, a perennial Pro Bowler, was mildly surprised to hear it had been so long since an Eagle hit the century mark. But he wasn’t fazed.
“How many of those games did we win?” Brooks asked. “That’s all I care about. For me it’s about how many you’ve won.”
So ... the Eagles are 25-12 (.675) in a streak that one of these days, maybe soon, will end.