Eagles coach Nick Sirianni began his press conference Monday by saying he’s “hopeful” that running back Miles Sanders will be able to play this Sunday in the first round of the playoffs against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Health wasn’t Sanders’ issue the first time the two teams played this season, back on Oct. 14.
Usage was.
Sanders had just 1 carry for 1 yard in the first half. He didn’t get his third carry until 4:19 remained in the third quarter. Sanders gained 5 yards on that carry. The Eagles got a sarcastic standing ovation from the Lincoln Financial Field crowd.
It was a far cry from the run-based offense the Eagles evolved into. Since then, the Eagles committed to establishing the running game, to the point where they averaged 189.6 yards per game on the ground over the final 10 games.
The Eagles ended up setting the franchise rushing record for a season, with 2,715 yards in 17 games, breaking the previous record of 2,607 yards in 1949 during a 12-game season.
The Eagles led the NFL in rushing with an average of 159.7 yards per game.
