Even after Craig James made the game-saving play in Green Bay last week, he had a total of just three NFL defensive snaps under his belt.
That changed in a big way in Sunday's 31-6 win over the Jets.
James, 23, played all but two defensive snaps for the Eagles: 57 of 59. It was the first start of his career.
And 32-year-old Orlando Scandrick, who wasn't even signed until last Friday, played 35 defensive snaps (59 percent) and had a monster day with 4 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble return touchdown.
I know the Jets' offense is completely inept and they had an unprepared backup quarterback playing behind an awful O-line, but give James and Scandrick credit. They held up. Give credit to Jim Schwartz and Cory Undlin for getting them ready too. There's a tougher test next week.
James started in place of Sidney Jones (hamstring). Jones was active, but did not play. He'll get a chance to rest another week before the Vikings game.
Philadelphia Eagles
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More defensive notes
• Malcolm Jenkins was the only defensive player to play all 59 snaps, so he's the only one this season who hasn't left the field, which is just what he does. He's 334/334 on the season and has also played 24 special teams snaps. Jenkins was 1,180/1,180 in the regular season and playoffs last year.
• As the Eagles work Kamu Grugier-Hill (MCL sprain in training camp) back into the defense, he has been splitting snaps with Nate Gerry, who had a huge pick-6. Gerry actually played more snaps than KGH again (22 to 20). Nigel Bradham and Zach Brown are still playing the most among LBs.
• The Eagles used their dime defense less, so Andrew Sendejo's playing time was limited to 17 snaps (29 percent). He played 65 of 81 snaps last week. This week's usage is more ideal.
• The last couple weeks, Josh Sweat has played one more snap than Vinny Curry in each game. Something to keep an eye on.
• Brandon Graham had a sack once every 13.7 snaps against the Jets. That's almost as impressive as Daeshon Hall, who had one sack on seven snaps. If he just played the whole game, he would have had eight sacks. That's how this works, right?
Defense
Malcolm Jenkins: 59 (100%)
Rasul Douglas: 58 (98%)
Rodney McLeod: 58 (98%)
Craig James: 57 (97%)
Nigel Bradham: 55 (93%)
Fletcher Cox: 46 (78%)
Derek Barnett: 43 (73%)
Hassan Ridgeway: 41 (69%)
Brandon Graham: 41 (69%)
Orlando Scandrick: 35 (59%)
Zach Brown: 31 (53%)
Nathan Gerry: 22 (37%)
Kamu Grugier-Hill: 20 (34%)
Akeem Spence: 20 (34%)
Josh Sweat: 19 (32%)
Vinny Curry: 18 (31%)
Andrew Sendejo: 17 (29%)
Daeshon Hall: 7 (12%)
T.J. Edwards: 2 (3%)
Eagles offensive notes
• The Eagles were incredibly balanced in their running back rotation. Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard each got 29 snaps. While Howard is clearly their best option to run the football right now, Sanders has emerged as a receiving threat. The two players combined for 126 scrimmage yards on Sunday.
• Nelson Agholor and Mack Hollins played a combined 92 snaps and had one catch for 20 yards on four targets. Hollins' only target came on the play with the high snap when Carson Wentz just threw it away to avoid a sack. In the last two games, Agholor has played 117 snaps and has one catch. That production isn't good enough.
• With that lack of production, it's fair to wonder about J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, who played just two snaps. But Arcega-Whiteside is Alshon Jeffery's backup in the offense and Jeffery played all but five snaps on Sunday.
• With Dallas Goedert over that calf injury, his snaps and Zach Ertz's snaps were more even. Ertz played 58 and Goedert played 50. They were in 12 personnel a bunch.
Offense
Brandon Brooks: 68 (100%)
Lane Johnson: 68 (100%)
Jason Kelce: 68 (100%)
Isaac Seumalo: 66 (97%)
Carson Wentz: 63 (93%)
Alshon Jeffery: 63 (93%)
Jason Peters: 63 (93%)
Nelson Agholor: 61 (90%)
Zach Ertz: 58 (85%)
Dallas Goedert: 50 (74%)
Mack Hollins: 31 (46%)
Miles Sanders: 29 (43%)
Jordan Howard: 29 (43%)
Darren Sproles: 10 (15%)
Halapoulivaati Vaitai: 8 (12%)
Andre Dillard: 6 (9%)
Josh McCown: 5 (7%)
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside: 2 (3%)
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