Chris Long helped the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl in 2017-18, recording five sacks and four forced fumbles on what was a dominant defensive line.
Long, speaking on the Upon Further Review podcast with Zach Brook, says this 2021 Eagles defensive line is actually better than the Super Bowl winning d-line.
"You can take away Atlanta looked terrible upfront offensively," Long said when asked about the Eagles-Falcons game. "Well, I also think the Eagles d-line is better than the d-line we had in 2017, so I think they're going to be relatively dominant upfront.
"I also think you can look at it and say, well the Eagles offense looked pretty dominant as well, and they did at times—Atlanta's defense is a total grain of salt defense where you got to take it with a grain of salt after Week 1."
One player that stands out on this Eagles defensive line is 28-year-old tackle Javon Hargrave. The second-year Eagle recorded five tackles and two sacks in Sunday's win against the Falcons.
Both teams are anchored by defensive tackle Fletcher Cox on the inside and Brandon Graham on the outside. The 2017 d-line has Tim Jernigan instead of Hargrave, Vinny Curry, Derek Barnett, and Long in the rotation.
This year's team added veteran pass rusher Ryan Kerrigan to go along with Graham, Cox, Barnett, Hargave, and ascending youngsters in Hassan Ridgeway and Josh Sweat.
Long also gave his opinions on new Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and second-year QB Jalen Hurts, both of whom have earned raved reviews all across the NFL after Philadelphia's 32-6 Week 1 win.
"I thought Jalen Hurts exceeded my expectations in Week 1," Long said of Hurts. "I am a fan of the guy. I think from a leadership standpoint he's obviously magnetic for guys on the team, he's a guy you'd love to play with. But he's a young quarterback. Last year, how much did you really learn? This was a really good sign because it was a good sign because I think Nick Sirianni and Jalen have a good relationship, that's obvious. When he put in the game plan it allowed Jalen to showcase his skills, and it was also friendly enough to not be to much to ask of him in Week 1. It's a new scheme, a new offense, and I think Nick did a great job man."
Audacy insider Brian Baldinger echoed similar sentiment when discussing Sirianni's offense, comparing it to Chip Kelly's offense when he was with the Eagles.
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