Murphy: Jim Schwartz could be difference vs. Redskins

THERE WAS a familiar ring to what Jim Schwartz was saying Thursday morning as he provided a quick autopsy of the Eagles' 24-23 loss to the Lions last Sunday. He talked about his defense's inability to get off the field despite limiting Detroit's big-play opportunities. He talked about Matthew Stafford's ability to get rid of the ball and put it on target.

"They just methodically moved the ball," Schwartz said.

That changed in the second half, and that's a good thing, because on Sunday, the Eagles are set to square off against a team that in 2015 did to them twice what the Lions accomplished in the first half.

Last season offered no shortage of moments that seemed to surmise the Billy Davis era, but one of the most memorable occurred in Week 4, when the Eagles punted to the Redskins while holding a 20-16 lead with 6:05 remaining in the fourth quarter. Starting from their own 10-yard line, head coach Jay Gruden and quarterback Kirk Cousins orchestrated a 15-play, 90-yard drive that culminated in a touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon with 26 seconds remaining.

Twelve weeks later, as if to finish off the work they'd started back in October, the Redskins rolled up 418 yards of offense en route to a 38-24 pasting of an Eagles team that ended up firing its head coach the following Tuesday. Davis followed Chip Kelly out the door shortly thereafter.

Most of what we've seen since has suggested that the chief problem plaguing last year's defense was the guy responsible for putting players in an optimal position to make plays. Through four games, opponents have scored on just 18.6 percent of their possessions against the Eagles, the lowest rate in the league. Schwartz's defense has generated turnovers on 16.3 percent of drives, sixth-best in the NFL, including a pivotal one last week in the third quarter that set up a field goal that cut the Eagles' deficit to one point. They're allowing 7.0 yards per pass attempt (12th) and 3.9 yards per rush attempt (12th).

The last two quarters of the loss to the Lions seemed like a presentation on the benefits of having a seasoned NFL mind at the helm of a defense. In the first half, the Lions rushed 17 times for 77 yards; in the second half, 10 times for three yards. In the first half, the Eagles did not record a sack, and Stafford completed 11 of 15 passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns. In the second half, they recorded four sacks, and Stafford went 8-for-10 for 58 yards and no touchdowns. One of Davis' biggest failings last season was his inability to generate pressure with the same portfolio of pass rushers that is thriving this season. There was a certain uninventiveness to his scheme. Take the third-quarter fumble by Stafford. The Lions were playing a backup at left guard, thanks to a neck injury suffered by Laken Tomlinson in the first half. On the snap, Vinny Curry ran a twist from right defensive end behind Bennie Logan, bursting free through a hole created when Tomlinson's replacement held his block on Logan instead of sliding to take the free man. The pressure flushed Stafford from the pocket, at which point he lost the ball.

"There's no dodging the fact we played a poor half of football in the first half," Schwartz said. "Three drives, three touchdowns, penalties, third-down conversions. There was a lot not to like in that. But I think we've all seen teams or been around teams that that 21 points in the first half could have easily led to 45. But they were prideful. We found a way to get things a little bit better in the second half. I'm proud of the guys for that."

As good as the numbers have been, this Eagles defense still has plenty to prove, particularly at linebacker, where Schwartz spent part of last Sunday's game using a combination of Mychal Kendricks and Stephen Tulloch after Nigel Bradham and Jordan Hicks were on the field for the Lions' two long touchdown drives to start the game. The Eagles are allowing just 3.9 yards per rush, but they were gashed throughout the first half and have benefited from playing a string of teams that didn't rely heavily on their rushing attack. Teams have attempted just 76 carries against the Eagles, fewest in the NFL. Opposing offenses are averaging just 19 rush attempts per game, tied for the fewest in the NFL. The Redskins are averaging 6.0 yards per play, sixth best in the NFL (for comparison's sake, the Eagles are averaging 5.9). They have scored on 43.4 percent of their possessions, which also ranks sixth (the Eagles are second at 51.2 percent, trailing only the Falcons). Cousins has been sacked on just 4.0 percent of his dropbacks, third fewest in the NFL, behind the Raiders and the Saints.

Gruden and Schwartz have faced each other once before, when Schwartz was the head coach of the Lions and Gruden was the offensive coordinator of the Bengals. Andy Dalton completed 24 of 34 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns, including six for 155 to A.J. Green, in a 27-24 Bengals win at Ford Field in Week 7 of the 2013 season.

The Redskins utilize a lot of different pass catchers and Cousins gets rid of the ball quick, a combination that Davis simply could not counter last year. The thinking all along has been that this is the kind of game in which Schwartz can be the difference.

@ByDavidMurphy