Eagles' defensive front passes first test

THE STATS are unofficial yet instructive: three sacks, four quarterback hits, three passes batted down, six tackles for losses, one forced fumble, one fumble returned for a touchdown. Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Mychal Kendricks, Connor Barwin, more: For the guys who play in the front of the Eagles' defense, it was a very good day.

We have spent the last months throwing around two terms - "pass rush" and "playmakers" - and wondering often where the Eagles stood in those terms. There was not enough of either component on last season's defense. There was talk of square pegs and round holes and, well, you know.

As it turned out, the concerns of last January were identical to the concerns of last week. First, could they get to the quarterback on a consistent basis? Then, could they force mistakes and, just as importantly, do something with them?

We now have one game's worth of evidence. And what we saw was an Eagles defense that gave up 17 early points, largely because of quarterback Nick Foles' turnovers, and then gave up nothing after that. What we saw was an Eagles defense that stopped the avalanche until Foles and the offense were ready to begin climbing.

And it started up front - smothering the run and then, gradually, wearing down and then overwhelming the Jaguars and quarterback Chad Henne. After a reasonably bizarre afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field, and what turned out to be a 34-17 Eagles victory, it was probably the best news of the day.

That is, the Jaguars were 2-for-14 on third down and never scored in the red zone and the Eagles' front and their pass rush made the difference.

"We liked the pressure that we had - the third downs, the red zone," defensive coordinator Bill Davis said. "But we knew that. We were working on that all year. We knew that we had put an emphasis on it and the guys responded and stepped up and put pressure on him. We got off the field on third down, which gives the offense back the ball quickly."

The day needs to be put into context, for sure: one game, against Jacksonville, against Henne. That does not diminish what happened. Rather, it just better informs the conversation. It gives some texture to the numbers and to the events. Trailing by 17 at home against Jacksonville is different than trailing by 17 on the road against Denver, after all.

But this was a test, as it turned out, and Davis was thrilled with the way his team accepted its fate and then turned it around.

"That's not the way you want it scripted," he said. "It's not the way any of us wanted to start - but it's the way we did start. Like all games, it's ebbs and flows. Adversity is going to hit. How do you handle it is the big question. It was really impressive how those guys handled it."

And, "I love the way we responded. That was the key to the game . . . I just love the way we dug ourselves out of that hole."

They all talked about it - Graham, Barwin, DeMeco Ryans. True, it is an easy enough thing to say after you just survived a flirtation with disaster. But because it happened, the memory can also serve as a resource in the future. As new safety Malcolm Jenkins said, "Those are the type of wins that, when we look back on them, these are the ones that build and define your team. You fight the adversity and not doubt whether you're going to win the game or not."

And then, in theory, you do it again.

The season is a mosaic, and one tile is now cemented in place. You can look at it and decide whatever you want, knowing that the full picture is still weeks away from making any sense. Just know this:

The Eagles' defense has now taken the field in 18 games under Bill Davis, including the playoffs. They averaged more than 14 points allowed in the second half of the first 17 of those games. Yesterday was the first time they pitched a shutout in the second half.

And it began up front.

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