McLane: Schwartz dials up blitzes and defense roars

Jim Schwartz ripped a page out of Mike Zimmer's playbook and blitzed the sleeves off Sam Bradford. The Eagles defensive coordinator sent extra rushers from the edges, he sent them up the middle. He sent safeties, he sent linebackers. Even when he sometimes only sent four, it was disguised as a blitz.

Schwartz doesn't typically like to blitz. But the Eagles needed a jolt after a woeful defensive outing against the Redskins last week. And Bradford and the offensive line-hobbled Vikings offered the perfect opportunity for Schwartz to dig into his bag of pressures.

"You kind of know going into the game that they're going to come after Bradford," said Zimmer, who is renowned for his blitz packages. "I didn't go to Harvard, but I can probably figure that out."

But the Minnesota coach and his offensive assistants couldn't solve much else. The Eagles sacked Bradford six times, forced four turnovers and kept the Vikings off the scoreboard on their first three trips inside the red zone as they won a defensive slugfest, 21-10, Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

One of the popular story lines this past week was whether Bradford or the Eagles defense would have an advantage based on familiarity. There's a flip side to every coin, but it was clear that Schwartz and his group had a bead on the quarterback after a full offseason of practicing against each other.

A few zone blitzes, in particular, had given Bradford difficulty during training camp, and Schwartz made sure to bring those pressures early.

"We knew traps would give him trouble," Eagles defensive end Connor Barwin said. "We knew when he gets pressure he likes to get the ball outside right away."

Most of the early heat came from the ends, though. A Carson Wentz interception - his first of two first-quarter picks - gave the Vikings the ball on the Eagles 2. But on third down and goal, defensive end Brandon Graham bull-rushed past right tackle T.J. Clemmings and hit Bradford as he threw. The ball floated in the end zone and Rodney McLeod snatched his third interception of the season.

A series later, again after another Wentz turnover - this time a fumble - the Eagles needed only one play to get the ball back. Barwin wheeled around left tackle Jake Long and was able to strip Bradford for a fumble that Malcolm Jenkins recovered.

It was a notable start considering how slow the Eagles defense had been in the previous two losses, and really, for most of the season. Coming into the game the Eagles had only three sacks and two turnovers in the first halves of their first five games. And here they had two of each on back-to-back possessions.

"That was our goal. We had to start fast," Graham said. "That was our message. We couldn't start from behind, especially with a team like that. Once they smelled blood, they were coming."

But it was the Eagles who started to circle like sharks, particularly as the game progressed and it became apparent that Bradford had trouble recognizing Schwartz's intentions before the snap.

"The good thing about today is that we didn't do much man blitzing," Jenkins said. "We did a lot of zone blitzing, so when the pressure did come, now Sam is throwing into a defense where people are looking at him and people have eyes on the football."

The blitzes off the corners were especially effective. Clemmings, Long, and Jermiah Sirles, who were filling in for the injured Andre Smith and Matt Kalil, struggled to pick up odd-man pressures. In the second quarter, McLeod rushed off the edge and knocked the ball loose and into the hands of Beau Allen. Bradford was holding the ball too long and like a ham sandwich.

"Their offensive line almost punt-protects. They kind of backpedal," Barwin said. "And Sam doesn't move, so it becomes a small pocket. If you're going to bull rush and get in close, start swinging at Sam because you might be able to hit the ball."

Defensive end Steven Means would also later swat the ball out of Bradford's hands, although the Vikings retained possession. But nearly everything else that could have gone wrong for Bradford, who had a sun-kissed start with the Vikings after the trade out of Philadelphia, did.

Schwartz had noted the quarterback's immobility on Thursday, but Bradford had been successful this season because of his quick trigger and accuracy. But no team had blitzed him the way the Eagles did on Sunday.

"It was part of the game plan. First, second and third down - we had them all on every down," said Hicks, who also had a sack. "Love the aggression."

The Eagles were embarrassed in Washington. They recorded zero sacks and got their mitts on quarterback Kirk Cousins only twice. But to Schwartz's credit, he went back to his chalkboard - or iPad - and schemed an attack that was partly out of his comfort zone.

"I think he is a prideful guy," Barwin said. "Just like I didn't play well, it was a tough week for me; it was a tough week for a lot of guys in our room, just like our coach. I think he just went back to kind of the basics and what his real core values are for that defense."

Schwartz challenged his unit. He challenged Barwin and Graham because they were going up against backup tackles. He challenged Hicks, who had his best game of the season, and Bradham, who had his worst performance last week. He made sure to remind his players that it was the Vikings who were being labeled the NFL's best defense.

"Defensively as a unit that feels like we're best in the league, we wanted to be able to compete," Jenkins said. "We knew it was going to be a defensive battle. We knew we were going to have to be patient and go blow for blow with that team. And we answered the bell."

Thanks to Schwartz's defense, the Eagles' bell is far from tolling.

jmclane@phillynews.com

@Jeff_McLane