There was safety Sydney Brown, leaping to high-point a Drew Lock pass with only seconds remaining in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the New York Giants and coming down with an interception to seal the Eagles' 12th win in 13 games. A takeaway by the Eagles' defense? A perfect way to conclude the regular season.
It was the 10th takeaway in the final three regular-season games for the Eagles and it pushed them to a +11 in the turnover ratio department for the year. Context here is important: While the +11 is very, very good – the Eagles rank sixth in the NFL in that category – what Philadelphia did from the time of its 2-2 start to the campaign to its 14-3 conclusion was downright remarkable.
In that time, 13 games, the Eagles went from -6 in the turnover ratio department (30th in the NFL at the time) to +11. Not so coincidentally, the Eagles won 12 of those 13 games.
Takeaways rule.
And the Eagles have ruled in this department in the last 11 games of the season – after six games in 2024, the Eagles had recorded just two takeaways. Since then, the numbers are mind-boggling: 24 takeaways, including two three-game stretches with 10 takeaways in each series of three games.
"We're aggressive. Taking the football away, that's always on our minds," Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jalen Carter said. "We are always talking about it. We can change a game with a takeaway."
According to league statistics, the Eagles scored 104 points after those 26 takeaways (and including the Saquon Barkley two-point conversion scored against Green Bay) to rank third in the NFL (Buffalo, 128 points; Green Bay, 117 points). That's huge. That is changing football games.
And that's what the Eagles – who have 10 takeaways in the last three games, including 5 against Washington and 4 against Dallas when the starters played – hope to continue to do when the playoffs begin on Sunday against Green Bay, which, as noted in the above statistic, has made its own living on takeaways and points scored after takeaways in 2024.
"This is always something we preach and something that we work hard to accomplish," linebacker Nakobe Dean said. "Everybody, go to the football. Run to the ball. Have that mindset that you might have a chance to take the ball away. I think we've done that all year. We go after the football with the idea that we're going to make something good happen for our team."
It can be a tricky approach for teams who look to gamble and then risk giving up a big play on the other end. Rule 1 for this defense is to minimize – eliminate is the goal, of course – the "X" plays, gains of 20-plus yards. The Eagles have been able to accomplish both – keeping teams from winning down the field and also taking the ball away.
Is this some kind of magic from Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio? He downplays the idea.
"No," he said. "I just think sometimes those opportunities present themselves in some games and other games they don't."
And when they present themselves, it's incumbent upon the defense to take advantage. Pro Bowl linebacker Zack Baun ranked tied for second in the NFL during the season with five forced fumbles and, for him, it was just a matter of going all out and attacking the football and the ballcarrier on every play. There was no, he said, special sauce.
Just great effort, excellent technique – which the Eagles emphasize every day in practice in the ball-security drills they conduct – and good fortune from an outstanding football player.
"I'm just out there playing my game and giving it everything I have, like everyone else on this defense," he said. "We're all hungry. We're all out there playing within the scheme and being aggressive and if there is a ball on the ground, our mindset is that it's our football. That's just the way we play."
Whatever it is, it has been a key to the Eagles' 14-3 season and will be a critical factor in the team's postseason success. Take the football away! It is part of the fuel for the fire of the NFL's No. 1-ranked defense.
