The Eagles learned they will have a key piece to their offense back when they look to upset the defending champions on Sunday. Starting running back Miles Sanders will be active for the team’s Wild Card game against the Buccaneers (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Zach Berman).
When speaking to the media, head coach Nick Sirianni said “No limitations for Miles. He’ll be our guy”, clearing the way for the 24-year-old to potentially carry a starter’s workload. Sanders has been out of the lineup since suffering a broken bone in his hand in Week 16. That put an end to what had been a productive third season in the NFL. In 12 games, Sanders totalled 754 rushing yards on 137 carries, along with 26 catches for 158 yards. While he failed to find the endzone, his 5.5 yards per carry were a career high, and he seemed to be on his way to a third consecutive 100-plus yard rushing performance prior to the injury.
Sanders hasn’t been the only piece in the Eagles’ league-leading rushing attack, of course. The team has gotten contributions from fifth-round rookie Kenneth Gainwell (544 scrimmage yards, six total touchdowns), along with veterans Boston Scott (456 and seven) and Jordan Howard (425 and three). Four running backs with over 400 total yards each is impressive enough, but that stat doesn’t even include the team’s leading rusher, quarterback Jalen Hurts, with 784 yards.
The Eagles will bring a full running back committee to Tampa Bay, hoping to continue its midseason transformation as a ground-and-pound team to pull off an upset.
If weather is as bad as predicted, running the ball will be brutal.
Easier than passing…