A little over a month ago, Doug Pederson admitted that undrafted rookie Josh Adams had become the Eagles' feature running back.
That didn't last long.
In the Eagles' 20-14 loss in New Orleans on Sunday, Adams didn't get in the game once. That means in the Eagles' two playoff games, Adams played just one offensive snap. He had one carry for two yards.
Against the Saints, Darren Sproles got 27 snaps, Wendell Smallwood got 23 and even Boston Scott, who joined the team in December, got two defensive snaps. Before the Rams game, Smallwood had just 11 snaps in the previous four weeks combined. This whole season has been a shuffling act at RB.
After the wild-card win over the Bears, head coach Doug Pederson said the reason Adams didn't play was game-specific. But it seems like that wasn't the whole story. In the Rams and Texans games, Adams had 26 carries for just 49 yards (1.88 per attempt) and had a big fumble in the Texans game.
So in these playoffs, the Eagles completely abandoned a guy they named their feature back a little over a month earlier. It's pretty clear they need a talent infusion at that position this offseason.
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Sure, no one knew Jay Ajayi and Corey Clement were going to get hurt, but Ajayi is going to be a free agent and Clement hasn't proven he can be "the guy," so the Eagles will need to be in the market for a new back.
Other offensive snap count notes
- Brandon Brooks played just 14 snaps (27 percent) before he got carted off after tearing his right Achilles tendon. That's a devastating injury that will very likely linger into next season. Stefen Wisniewski played 37 snaps, replacing Brooks.
- Nelson Agholor played 46 snaps, the most of any receiver, and didn't have much to show for it. Just one catch for six yards. He nearly made a huge play but there was a miscommunication with Nick Foles and the ball got there before he turned his head.
- Jordan Matthews played just 18 snaps and had just one catch, but it was a 37-yard touchdown catch. It was his first career playoff touchdown.
Defensive snap count notes
- Malcolm Jenkins played all 77 snaps. That means for the regular season and playoffs, Jenkins played 1,180 of 1,180 defensive snaps this season. He also chipped in a total of 158 special teams snaps. He's so important to that unit.
- Jim Schwartz got some flak for not blitzing more against the Saints, but Josh Hawkins played 21 snaps. Hawkins was promoted to the active roster on Christmas Eve, but was forced into action when Rasul Douglas (who played 21 snaps) hurt his ankle and needed to come out for a bit.
- Fletcher Cox played 42 snaps despite a foot injury that probably should have kept him out. But there was no way he way was going to stay out of this game. It was noticeable when he was out there.
Offense
Isaac Seumalo: 51 snaps (100 percent)
Lane Johnson: 51 (100)
Jason Kelce: 51 (100)
Nick Foles: 51 (100)
Nelson Agholor: 46 (90)
Alshon Jeffery: 45 (88)
Stefen Wisniewski: 37 (73)
Jason Peters: 37 (73)
Darren Sproles: 27 (53)
Golden Tate: 24 (47)
Wendell Smallwood: 23 (45)
Dallas Goedert: 20 (39)
Jordan Matthews: 18 (35)
Halapoulivaati Vaitai: 16 (31)
Brandon Brooks: 14 (27)
Boston Scott: 2 (4)
Richard Rodgers: 2 (4)
Defense
Malcolm Jenkins: 77 snaps (100 percent)
Corey Graham: 77 (100)
Avonte Maddox: 71 (92)
Nigel Bradham: 71 (92)
Brandon Graham: 65 (84)
Michael Bennett: 62 (81)
Cre'Von LeBlanc: 57 (74)
Rasul Douglas: 54 (70)
Jordan Hicks: 49 (64)
Fletcher Cox: 42 (55)
Tre Sullivan: 39 (51)
Chris Long: 36 (47)
Tim Jernigan: 36 (47)
Haloti Ngata: 35 (45)
Treyvon Hester: 24 (31)
Josh Hawkins: 21 (27)
Kamu Grugier-Hill: 15 (19)
Daeshon Hall: 7 (9)
Nate Gerry: 5 (6)
LaRoy Reynolds: 4 (5)
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