The reinforcement is constant.
The Philadelphia Eagles will hold a team meeting Thursday on how to force turnovers and review ball security film after each practice.
On Saturday, coaches will show clips of 10 to 15 recent league turnovers to learn from, head coach Nick Sirianni said.
Sometimes college or high school film comes into the conversation.
Because while the Eagles’ current five-game winning streak has multiple ingredients, they’re not downplaying how winning the turnover battle has contributed.
Philadelphia lost the turnover battle the first four games of the season, winning 2-2. Since then, they have defeated it in five games and won them all.
The strong correlation dates back much earlier than this series
“For any team it’s a huge statistic, but even more so for us because we’re 23-1 above league average when we win that turnover battle,” Sirianni said. “For us it’s a huge statistic.”
TruMedia data confirmed that the Eagles are 23-1, with 23 straight wins, under Sirianni, while posting a better turnover ratio than their opponent. Not surprisingly, caring about the football has led to winning, but their winning percentage of .958 is well above the league average of .769.
Only the defending conference champions have fared better, the San Francisco 49ers (28-1) and the Kansas City Chiefs (17-0), as they turned the ball over fewer times than their opponents since 2021.
Without that edge? The Eagles are 18-18 (.500) when producing the same or more giveaways than their opponents.
So the emphasis will remain.
“We want them to always think about it,” Sirianni said Monday. “We’re constantly thinking of new ways to teach it. We’re constantly trying to come up with new ways to implement it. … For us, it’s a huge statistic.”
The problem: As the 7-2 Eagles host the 6-3 Washington Commanders on Thursday, with first place in the NFC East on the line, Philadelphia will have a hard time beating the Commanders.
Only once this season has Washington lost the turnover battle. The Eagles understand why.
Jayden Daniels’ rookie year is not only notable for the spectacular plays he makes and the deep balls he throws. The 2024 second overall draft pick has done a lot more than combine skill and luck for an exciting Hail Mary, and he’s done a lot more than just expand the game by scrambling, though he’s done that well.
Daniels has done more for emerging commanders by, in one category, doing less.
Like Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud the year before him, Daniels has made his success possible by not wasting opportunities.
He has thrown just two interceptions on 262 pass attempts, with Daniels’ 0.8% intercepted passes ranking fifth in the league among qualified and third among current team starters. The two starters with better clips: Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers at 0.4% and Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens at 0.8%.
His only two credited fumbles have gone out of bounds and not into his opponent’s hands.
Overall, the Commanders’ four total giveaways are tied with the Chargers for the best in the league. And while a less opportunistic defense puts the Commanders at plus-6 in seventh place, they are nevertheless better in this category than the 14th-ranked Eagles.
“He’s only thrown two interceptions, which is actually unreal,” Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “Kudos to him for what he has achieved. Kudos to the coaches there who coached him, because that’s not an easy offense.”
Daniels’ efficiency isn’t simply the result of conservative play-calling and low-risk plays. While offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury made Daniels comfortable for a few weeks, he soon started making deep shots. Only three quarterbacks have averaged more than Daniels’ 8.54 air yards per attempt, and five more than his 8.2 yards per attempt.
Daniels’ study habits and mental coverage over five years of college seem to be paying off.
“He knows what he can get away with and what he can’t,” Kingsbury said. “And then he also knows the protections and he knows when he needs to be picked up and when he is warm. And so he can let guys know, ‘Okay, that’s the free rusher. I can trap him and get away here or there.”
“It’s a combination of his knowledge of the system and then just pure athleticism.”
The commanders’ clean slate won’t stop Eagles from trying
The Eagles can win, and have won, without winning the turnover battle.
They will have the advantage of playing at home with a team whose core has been together much longer than the Commanders, who are in front of a first-year quarterback, first-year general manager and first-year (for this organization) head coach. .
The Eagles’ explosive offense should be able to find opportunities against a Commanders defense that ranks 20th in passing efficiency and 12th in rushing efficiency, according to Next Gen Stats. As long as Philadelphia can fend off the pressure Washington’s defense has put on, Hurts will have a chance to take advantage of a stable of weapons that includes Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith.
But Philadelphia should know: Even as their defense has reduced missed tackles and created more turnovers, Washington’s offense is much healthier than Philadelphia’s defense in most key categories.
Their surest route to changing the calculus is a turnover.
It will be tougher than any of the five Philadelphia jams Sunday against a reeling Dallas Cowboys team missing quarterback Dak Prescott.
Philadelphia will undoubtedly believe it has a chance.
And to increase that opportunity, watch the film about the Eagles’ own turnover creation in meetings and the best turnover methodology in the entire league. Watch the takeaway exercises in practice and the coaches who are happy to provide feedback.
“You put them in drills, you put them in practice, we practice on them,” Sirianni said. “Any time there’s an opportunity missed in practice, it’s going to be at the team meeting the next day, as far as, ‘Hey, we’ve got this vice tackle here.’ You don’t shoot the ball, or you Are take a shot at the ball.” So it’s on our minds.
“I think what’s also happening is I’m glad the players are talking about that in terms of, ‘Hey, we look at this all the time.’ It’s etched in their memory, and that’s what you want.”
Eagles players recently texted each other when they saw the turnovers in other games. They assessed the player’s ball carrier. And most importantly, for Sirianni, they brought it to the top of their minds.
“That’s what you want,” he said. “That’s when you know your culture is the way you want it to be, when they’re constantly thinking about all that stuff. It sounds like that is the case.”
