Reuben Frank shares his two biggest takeaways from the Eagles’ Week 1 win over the Lions in Detroit.
How rare is it to have four different players with a rushing touchdown in the same game?
Who was the last Eagle with a pick-6 on opening day?
Who’s the last Eagles WR with more yards than A.J. Brown in a season opener?
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All that and tons more in our Week 1 edition of Roob Stats:
1. The Eagles had four rushing touchdowns, which is unusual enough. It’s the 23rd time in the franchise’s 90-year history the Eagles have scored four rushing TDs in a game. But here’s the crazy thing: Four of the last six times they’ve done it, it’s been against the Lions – a team that’s not even in their division. The Eagles also had four rushing TDs against the Lions in 2007, 2013 and 2021 – so that's four of the last nine times they’ve faced Detroit!
2007: Brian Westbrook 2, Correll Buckhalter 1, Tony Hunt 1
2013: LeSean McCoy 2, Nick Foles 1, Chris Polk 1
NFL
2021: Boston Scott 2, Jordan Howard 2
2022: Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Kenny Gainwell, Jalen Hurts
When they were the Steagles, they also rushed for four TDs vs. the Lions in 1943! (Roy Zimmerman, Bob Thurbon, Jack Hinkle, Johnny Butler).
This was the first time the Eagles had four different players with a rushing TD in a game in 61 years. Last time it happened was Oct. 22, 1961, in a 43-7 win over the Cowboys at the Cotton Bowl. Clarence Peaks ran for two TDs and Billy Ray Barnes, Ted Dean and Theron Sapp had one each.
Last time the Eagles had 200 rushing yards and four rushing TDs on opening day was in 1944, when they recorded 205 yards and four TDs in a 28-7 win over the Boston Yanks at Fenway Park.
2. Hurts increased his combined passing and rushing yardage total to 5,452 yards in 20 career starts. That’s 13th-most in NFL history by a QB in his first 20 starts. Of the 12 ahead of him, only six won more games than Hurts, who evened his career record at 10-10 (Patrick Mahomes, Tony Romo, Andrew Luck, Deshaun Watson, Daunte Culpepper, Foles). Hurts’ 1,146 rushing yards are second-most ever by a quarterback in his first 20 games. Lamar Jackson had 1,573.
3. Until Sunday, the Eagles had lost 24 consecutive games over 71 years when they allowed 180 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns, a streak that dated back to Dec. 2, 1951, when Washington ran for 181 yards and three TDs, but the Eagles won 35-21 at Griffith Stadium. Overall, the Eagles are now 2-31 when they allow 180 rushing yards and three rushing TDs.
4. James Bradberry became the first player with a pick-6 in his first game as an Eagle in 82 years. In 1940, Don Looney had a 37-yard pick-6 off Arnie Herber in a game the Packers won 27-20 at City Stadium in Green Bay. Looney also had 8-for-115 receiving with a TD catch in that game and remains the only player in Eagles history with a receiving TD and interception return TD in the same game. Bradberry’s pick-6 was the first by an Eagle on opening day since 2000, when Jeremiah Trotter had a 27-yarder off Troy Aikman in the Pickle Juice game in Dallas.
5. With 96 yards on just 13 carries, Sanders increased his career rushing average from 5.04 to 5.1 (5.097) and moved past Mercury Morris [5.087] and from 8thinto 7th place in NFL history among running backs with at least 500 carries. He trails only Bo Jackson [5.5], Jamaal Charles [5.4], Nick Chubb [5.3], Jonathan Taylor [5.2], Jim Brown [5.2] and Dan Towler [5.103].
6. With 144 rushing yards on just 15 carries, D’Andre Swift became the first player to rush for 140 or more yards on 15 or fewer carries against the Eagles in 62 years (and only the second ever). On Sept. 25, 1960, Bobby Mitchell of the Browns was 14-for-156 in the Browns’ 41-24 win at Franklin Field. Swift’s 50-yard run 33 seconds into the season was the longest run against the Eagles on opening day since Tiki Barber had a 72-yarder in the 2004 opener (with two minutes left and the Eagles up 21). It was the longest run against the Eagles that early in any game since Marshall Faulk had a 57-yarder on the first play of the final game of the 1999 season, a game the Eagles went on to win 38-31 over the eventual Super Bowl-champion Rams.
7. The Eagles’ 24 second-quarter points are tied for 7th-most in franchise history in a second quarter. It was their most in a second quarter since they had 24 in Miami in a 26-10 win in 2011 and matched their most in a second quarter since they scored 28 at Carolina in a 38-10 win in 2009. Their most 2nd-quarter points came – of course – vs. the Lions in that 58-37 playoff win at the Vet in 1995. The Eagles had never previously won a game by fewer than seven points when they scored 24 points in any quarter.
8. This was the first time the Eagles led a game by 17 points after three quarters and won by three or fewer in 59 years. In 1963, they led the Cowboys 24-7 after three quarters at the Cotton Bowl before winning 24-21.
9. Brown’s 155 yards are 3rd-most ever by an Eagle on opening day and the most in 50 years. In 1963, Tommy McDonald had 179 yards in a tie against the Steelers at Franklin Field, and in 1972 Harold Jackson had 161 yards in a loss to the Cowboys at Texas Stadium. His 10 catches are tied for 2nd-most ever by an Eagle in an opener. Duce Staley – who was on the opposite sideline – had 11 in the 2001 opener, an overtime loss to the Rams at the Vet. Jordan Matthews also had 10 – in the 2015 opener, a loss in Atlanta. Brown also broke the record for most yards by a player in his first game as an Eagle. Donte’ Stallworth had 141 in the 2006 opener in Houston.
10. With 216 rushing yards Sunday, the Eagles have now had six 200-yard rushing performances since last year’s opener. That’s the most in the NFL, and only six other teams have more than one. In their last five 200-yard rushing performances, the Eagles haven’t had a single run from scrimmage of 40 yards.
