Today is Brandon Graham’s last chance to work on his Pro Bowl resume.
Not that it’s foremost on his mind.
Graham has been stuck on seven sacks since Nov. 1. Just as long as the Eagles have been stuck on three wins.
When the Eagles beat the Cowboys for their last win, Graham had 7.0 sacks and ranked 4th in the NFL, behind only Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (9.0), Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (9.0) and Saints defensive end Trey Hendrickson (7.5).
But after being held without a sack for four straight games, Graham has dropped from 4th to 17th in the NFL in sacks.
“I’m getting chipped every game, a lot of things are happening, but I’m trying to get a W,” Graham said. “With a W, stats usually come with it, so I have to make sure I continue to keep working. I try not to even focus on it too much, other than just making sure I do my job.”
Among NFC defensive ends - which is all that matters for Pro Bowl purposes - B.G. now trails Hendrickson (10.5), who faces the Eagles on Sunday, as well as Jason Pierre-Paul (8.0) and Kerry Hyder (7.5).
NFL
Three defensive ends will make the NFC Pro Bowl team, but since there is no actual Pro Bowl this year, there won’t be any alternates.
Sunday’s game is Graham’s last chance to add to his total because players and coaches vote on Friday.
But he’ll still have three more games to achieve another goal, which is to reach double figures for the first time.
Graham recorded a career-high 9 1/2 sacks during the 2017 Super Bowl season and had 8 1/2 last year.
Graham’s 58.0 career sacks are 4th-most in Eagles history behind Reggie White (124.0), Trent Cole (85.5) and Clyde Simmons (76.0).
He has the second-most sacks without a Pro Bowl among active players. Mario Addison of the Bills has 59.0 sacks in 10 seasons without a Pro Bowl.
“That’s how things have happened for me,” Graham said. “I have four games left, who knows what’s going to happen? I think that a W will definitely make everything feel a lot better.”
Graham hasn’t gone five straight weeks without a sack since 2013. In his career, he has only 5.0 sacks in 33 games the last quarter of the season.