Over the past three weeks, the Eagles have had the league's best rushing attack, averaging 209.3 yards per game.
Well, it's about to get even deeper.
The Eagles activated running back Miles Sanders from the Injured Reserve list on Saturday. Sanders suffered an ankle/foot injury in Week 7 against the Raiders. To make room on the active roster, the Eagles placed center/guard Jack Anderson on Injured Reserve. Anderson was ruled out for Sunday's game with a hamstring injury.
Head Coach Nick Sirianni said this week that Sanders "is our starter" if he's ready.
"He's one of our better players, so he's definitely going to go if he looks healthy," Sirianni said.
A third-year player out of Penn State, Sanders gained 300 yards rushing and another 118 receiving in the first seven games of the year. He's averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
In Sanders' absence, the Eagles called up Jordan Howard from the practice squad and he posted 211 ground yards and three touchdowns in the past three weeks. Boston Scott has stepped up in a bigger role. Last week alone, he gained a career-high 81 rushing yards in the win at Denver. In Detroit on Halloween, Scott scored two touchdowns and accounted for 60 rushing yards.
Sanders' return comes at an important time as the New Orleans Saints boast the league's best run defense, allowing just 72.9 yards per contest.
"They're really stout up front. They're really good in that front seven, and I'm not taking anything away from the back seven – or the back end either because they're good there, too. They just have a lot of good pieces there," Sirianni said.
"I've always had a lot of respect for (Saints Defensive Coordinator) Dennis Allen defenses. When I was in the AFC West, he was in the AFC West a lot of those years, as well. His scheme and his ability to coach the technique to the guys and how the guys play for him have always really stood out to me. I just have a lot of respect for him as a coach."
The Eagles hosted the Saints at Lincoln Financial Field last season. Sanders and quarterback Jalen Hurts each rushed for over 100 yards in the win. Sanders, in fact, scored one of his two touchdowns on a career-long 82-yard rushing play. The Eagles snapped the Saints' nine-game win streak in what was Hurts' first career start at quarterback. Sanders and Hurts also put an end to the Saints' run of 55 straight games without allowing a player to gain 100 yards.
