Breaking down Philadelphia’s passing game and how the Panthers plan to stop it

It’s fitting for a team that plays in the “The City of Brotherly Love” to share the love on offense.

Fourteen different Philadelphia Eagles have caught a pass this season — compared with 10 Panthers. Through six games, 60.1 percent of the Eagles’ receptions belong to their tight ends, running backs and a backup quarterback.

In an offense like Philadelphia’s, everyone is a receiver — including occasionally Nick Foles.

“At the end of the day, they’re all wide receivers if they get the ball thrown to them,” Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson said. “They’re all good out the backfield. … We’ve just got to go out there and play our ball. Do our technique, it’s going to be technique over anything, and go out there and compete.

“At the end of the day, it’s going to be a one-on-one matchup between the linebackers and safeties versus the tight ends and running backs.”

The Eagles are one of the most dedicated short-passing teams in the NFL, throwing to the short-right area of the field 93 times this season and the short-left area 73 times — good for first and ninth in the league, respectively.

They do so efficiently, completing 74 percent of their passes to either side. And that’s a direct result of the weapons at quarterback Carson Wentz’s disposal.

Tight end Zach Ertz ranks second in the league in receptions, leading all non-wide receivers. He’s one of the league’s best at his position, recording at least 70 catches and 800 yards in each of his past three seasons — but this might end up his best yet.

Ertz is on pace to shatter his career-bests of 5.6 catches and 58.9 yards per game, averaging eight catches and 80 yards on a career-high 11.2 targets per game.

Eagles coach Doug Pederson said his offense tries to create matchups for Ertz, using his 6-foot-5, 250-pound frame against typically-smaller-than-a-tight-end safeties.

That’s something Carolina is prepared for.

“We treat the elite tight ends in this league as wide receivers,” Panthers safety Mike Adams said. “We see them as wide receivers, not tight ends. That’s where our mind triggers — we look at them different, we approach them different.”

“You’ve just got to give him different looks,” Panthers safety Rashaan Gaulden said. “You’ve got to give him a bunch of different things and find out within your technique what is working best for you. He’s a very good tight end, all over their passing game he’s finding soft spots in zones.”

Beyond Ertz, the Eagles feature three active running backs with a combined 218 yards on 26 catches. Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement weren’t actively involved in the passing game last week — the team’s first game without injured running back Jay Ajayi — but both are players the Panthers’ linebackers will keep an eye on.

“They utilize each and every one of those guys,” Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis said. “I think Jay Ajayi was a guy that they didn’t use as much in the passing game but everybody that’s on that team now, they figure out ways to get them out of that backfield and create mismatches against certain teams.

“We understand that that’s who they are as an offense and that’s how they’re built, so we’ve got to be prepared for that as a team.”

Not to be forgotten, Philadelphia’s starting receivers Nelson Agholor and Alshon Jeffery have combined for 521 yards and four touchdowns on 50 catches.

Both are notable deep threats but neither gets the ball terribly far from the line of scrimmage.

Jeffrey leads the Eagles at 7.42 yards through the air per reception — the second-lowest mark of any NFL team’s leader in that category. Both he and Agholor average fewer than 5 yards after the catch, as well.

Still, with 21 combined career touchdowns of 20 or more yards between them, the two have the respect of the Panthers defense.

“They’ve got certain guys who, when they have the ball in their hand, are dangerous. Nelson Agholor is speed, quicks — he has it all,” linebacker Luke Kuechly said. “Zach Ertz is a top-five tight end in the league and then Alshon. Those guys all present a different challenge — some are big, some are quick, some run really good routes and some kind of do it all. They’re good after the catch, as well.

“That’s what makes the team difficult. If you have one guy it makes it easy to kind of figure out where they’re throwing the ball, but if you have multiple guys like these guys do, it makes it more difficult.”

This story was originally published October 18, 2018 at 5:22 PM.