On Sunday afternoon, the Eagles will try to do something Father Time hasn’t been able to: stop DeAngelo Williams.
At 33 years old, the Steelers’ running back is leading the NFL in rushing yards with 237. He has 41 yards more than the next closest player.
Williams, who is filling in as Pittsburgh’s starter during Le’Veon Bell’s three-game suspension, doesn’t look like a 33-year-old running back, does he?
“I can only go on what goes on tape,” defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “They don’t ask for a birth certificate before the game. If you gain a yard, they don’t give you nine yards to go if you’re over 30. You still gotta get 10.
“He’s a patient runner, he’s compact, he’s strong. He can test every area of your run gaps. If we’re nosey, if we get out of our gaps, he’s a guy that can make you pay. A lot of that comes from his experience. I think that that’s served him well. He’s been in the league for a while. He understands the run game and it’s not just where the ball’s supposed to go. He can test every gap and we have to play sound defense.”
Williams’ 143-yard game in the opener is the sixth-best rushing game ever for a running back at 33 or older. His 237 yards are the most in NFL history for a running back 33 or older in the first two games of the season.
And if he’s able to rush for 63 yards against the Eagles, he’ll pass Walter Payton — who was 32 in 1986 — as the oldest player to rush for 300-plus yards in his team’s first three games.
“That’s not surprising at all,” his former teammate and current Eagles running back Kenjon Barner said. “What he was able to do with Le’Veon’s absence last year and this year. I’ve seen the guy work, I know what kind of guy he is, so to me, it’s not surprising at all.”
Barner said the one thing he really learned from Williams during their time together in Carolina wasn’t X’s and O’s related. Williams taught him to have fun on and off the football field. After Barner’s rookie season, he spent a lot of time with Williams and got to know him better as a person.
As far as on the field, what stands out to Barner is what stands out to most people who watch Williams play: his patience.
“He always used to tell me, ‘Slow to, fast through,’” Barner said. “And that’s how he runs. He’s slow to the hole, he waits for the play to develop in front of him and once he sees it, he’s fast through.”
Williams’ patience has been a big topic of talk within defensive meeting rooms this week. Discipline will be key to stopping him, or at least slowing him down.
“He finds guys that are out of their gap,” Fletcher Cox said. “And we have to be patient and real mentally locked in on what we have to do, as far as the way we scheme him up and guys up front have to stay in their gap.”
Just how impressive has Williams been? Well, through two games, he has accounted for 303 of the Steelers’ 847 total yards. All of the Eagles’ running backs combined have accounted for 258 of their 683 yards.
No, Williams isn’t Bell, who might be the best all-around back in the league. But at 33 years old, he’s still a dynamic player. And the Eagles don’t feel like they’re catching a break.
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“I think DeAngelo is leading the NFL in rushing yards,” middle linebacker Jordan Hicks said. “That speaks for itself. He’s a dynamic back, he’s a proven back, can catch the ball. Obviously has great vision. No, absolutely not. No matter who’s back there, we have to be ready and I think we will be.”
