The rushing yards were, for the most part, hard to come by Sunday afternoon.
Ryan Matthews ran 22 times, averaged 3.5 yards per carry and didn’t have a run over seven yards.
And Doug Pederson did something that his former boss, Andy Reid, wouldn’t have done.
He stuck with the run.
The Eagles averaged only 3.9 yards per carry in their 29-10 win over the Browns, but Pederson remained committed to the running attack and it paid off. The Eagles controlled the clock, controlled the game, controlled the Browns, and found their way to 1-0 with a quarterback making his first NFL start.
Reid was notorious for abandoning the running game at the first sign of trouble, and it cost him.
Pederson, who played for Reid and coached under Reid both here and in Kansas City, appears to have learned the value of sticking with the running game by watching his former boss.
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“I think the hard thing for any play-caller is to stay patient with the run game,” Pederson said. “Sometimes you abandon it too soon when things aren't going so well. If you keep throwing ... mud against the wall, eventually something is going to stick.”
Mathews’ numbers are deceptive.
Yeah, he averaged only 3.5 yards per carry, but he kept moving forward, he kept the clock going and he certainly ran physically tough, helping to wear down the Browns. His fourth-quarter touchdown turned a 12-point lead into a 19-point lead.
“Tough game,” Mathews said. “Some tough sledding.”
But this is the value of sticking with the running game even when it’s not producing huge results.
“You’ve just got to keep hammering away and chiseling away and eventually something's going to give,” Pederson said. “And it just opens up the rest of the game plan.”
Reid never would have given a guy 22 carries if he was averaging 3.5 yards a pop.
In fact, from 2000 through 2010, no Eagles back had 22 or more carries and averaged 3½ yards per carry or lower.
Kenjon Barner helped out with a career-high 42 rushing yards on just four carries. Sproles ran five times for just 12 yards, and rookie Wendell Smallwood gained one yard on his one carry.
In all, the Eagles ran 34 times for 133 yards and held the football for nearly 40 minutes.
That certainly took a lot of pressure off rookie quarterback Carson Wentz, who threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns in his NFL debut.
“It aids in everything you do offensively,” Pederson said of the running game. “[Mathews] is such a powerful back. A lot of times, those runs are up inside the tackle-box area and we had a couple chances just off-tackle to make some big gains.
“Kenjon made a couple of nice runs. Darren made a couple nice runs. But to keep feeding a guy like Ryan, he's so powerful and punishing that (at some point) it's going to take a toll defensively. ”
Mathews has never had more than 144 yards in a game, but when he carries 20 or more times, he’s gained 74 or more yards 17 out of 18 games. So he won’t have those huge games like Shady used to, but he’ll almost always keep the chains moving.
Mathews got more than 13 carries only once last year, when he was buried behind DeMarco Murray.
But if he stays healthy, Pederson will keep feeding him the rock this year, something he hasn’t had since 2013 in San Diego, when he rushed for over 1,200 yards.
“It’s nice,” Mathews said. “You still have to prepare either way. We have a lot of good running backs with K.B., Smallwood, Sproles — we’re all getting carries and giving different looks. We’re all ready when our number’s called.
“But it’s nice to get in there and start getting a rhythm going and feel everything out.”
A young quarterback’s best friend is his offensive line, but the running game isn’t far behind, and with Wentz severely limited in reps and experience, Pederson seems determined to protect him as much as possible with an authoritative ground attack.
“It’s good to start with the running game,” Mathews said. “They like to run the ball and I do too. It’s good to start with and I think it’s going to take a little bit of pressure off 11.”
