Dameon Pierce is rapidly blossoming into one of the most exciting running backs in the NFL, but the Eagles know their run defense need to be more buttoned up.
Although he didn’t hit paydirt, the Houston Texans rookie back gashed the Eagles defense for 139 yards on 27 carries. Philly won 29-17 against the one-win Texans, but Pierce exposed a flaw in the Eagles defense, which had a hard time bringing him down.
It’s not the first time Pierce has done damage. He put up 131 yards with a score on the ground against the Chargers in Week 4, and had rushed for at least 92 yards in two of his previous three games entering the Thursday matchup.
So, the Eagles were prepared for him to be a point of emphasis.
“We had seen it on film, we knew what we were going up against,” Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham said in his weekly appearance with "Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Team” on Tuesday. “We weren’t the only ones he was bouncing off tackles, he has good balance. He reminds me of (Alvin) Kamara, just a little more bullish. He runs hard.
“I will say that we knew going in it was one of those games where we had to get him on the ground. We didn’t do that to the best that I know we could.”
Likening Pierce to Kamara is high praise, but it’s easy to see where Graham is coming from. Few in the NFL run as hard as Pierce, and he only should become more dangerous as he gets more acclimated to the NFL.
As for the Eagles, tackling and their run defense will be addressed ahead of Monday’s matchup with the Washington Commanders.
“We’ve got to just working on tightening up the run (game)," Graham said. "I think that’s definitely going to serve us well, taking some of the L’s of getting run on 130 (yards), that’s unacceptable. We know that. We don’t like it at all as players so I know the coaches definitely are going to get on us.
“If us as players don’t like it and we want to do something about it, I feel like we’re going to do something about it. Because a lot of guys felt the same way I felt, 130-something yards is unacceptable, 100 yards is unacceptable, especially when we know we can be better, and I know we can be better.”
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