Eagles snap counts: Jaelan Phillips plays a ton vs. Bills

Eagles snap counts: Jaelan Phillips plays a ton vs. Bills originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

There was a bit of a scary moment on Sunday when Jaelan Phillips was slow to get up in the second quarter and then limped off the field in Buffalo.

The Eagles’ key midseason addition has played great since coming to Philly, so fans were holding their breath. Especially because Phillips has had seasons end with serious injuries before and it was hard to not think about that as he gingerly made his way to the sideline.

But Phillips just rolled his ankle and he knew relatively quickly that he would be OK.

“Everybody who has played the game or even pickup basketball has rolled their ankle,” Phillips said. “So I knew what it was. I was just hoping in the moment that it wasn’t anything serious and it was good.”

Not only did Phillips survive that injury scare but he played a fantastic game in the Eagles’ 13-12 win over the Bills. Phillips had 6 tackles, 3 pressures, a sack and a forced fumble. And he played 66 of 76 defensive snaps (87%) — his highest percentage since joining the Eagles.

Here’s a look at Phillips usage since getting traded to Philadelphia from Miami:

Week 10 at Packers: 53 snaps — 77.9%
Week 11 vs. Lions: 45 snaps — 76.3%
Week 12 at Cowboys: 59 snaps — 79.7%
Week 13 vs. Bears: 67 snaps — 77%
Week 14 at Chargers: 59 snaps — 79.7%
Week 15 vs. Raiders: 30 snaps — 71.4%
Week 16 at Commanders: 38 snaps — 70.4%
Week 17 at Buffalo: 66 snaps — 86.8%

Phillips hadn’t played that high of a percentage of his team’s defensive snaps in a game since the 2023 season, when he was under Vic Fangio the first time in Miami. 

It’s worth noting that Phillips was traded to Philadelphia before the Dolphins’ bye week and after the Eagles’ bye week. So with one game remaining in the regular season, Phillips has already played 17 games. And if the Eagles play their starters in Week 18, Phillips will play 18 games in the regular season.

Just two other players have done this: Leonard Williams with the Giants and Seahawks in 2023 and Mike Williams with the Jets and Steelers in 2024.

Other defensive notes

• The Eagles’ defense played 76 snaps in the win and five players didn’t leave the field: Cooper DeJean, Reed Blankenship, Quinyon Mitchell, Marcus Epps and Zack Baun.

• Without Nakobe Dean (hamstring), Jihaad Campbell got his first start since Week 8 and played well in 71 snaps. Campbell had tight coverage on James Cook on one play and was able to chase down the ball to recover a fumble in the first half.

• The edge rotation: Jaelan Phillips — 66 snaps (87%), Nolan Smith — 50 snaps (66%), Jalyx Hunt — 36 snaps (47%), Brandon Graham — 7 snaps (9%). Hunt is clearly third in the rotation now but is producing at a high clip. He had a couple of sacks on Sunday. Graham saw snaps inside and outside in this game.

• The DT rotation: Jalen Carter — 58 snaps (76%), Jordan Davis — 47 snaps (62%), Moro Ojomo — 45 snaps (59%), Byron Young — 17 snaps (22%). Carter returned after missing three games; he played a lot and played well.

Offensive notes

• Because the Eagles just couldn’t stay on the field in the second half, they ended up playing just 54 snaps on offense. Jalen Hurts and his entire offensive line played all 54.

• At WR: A.J. Brown — 48 snaps (89%), DeVonta Smith — 46 snaps (85%), Jahan Dotson — 26 snaps (48%), Darius Cooper — 17 snaps (31%). The Eagles didn’t complete a single pass in the second half but Brown had 68 yards in the first half to put him over 1,000 yards for the season.

• At RB: Saquon Barkley — 43 snaps (80%), Tank Bigsby — 5 snaps (9%), Will Shipley — 5 snaps (9%). Barkley finished the game with 19 carries for 68 yards with a long of 16.

• At TE: Dallas Goedert — 43 snaps (80%), Grant Calcaterra — 19 snaps (35%), Kylen Granson — 10 snaps (19%), Cameron Latu — 6 snaps (11%). Goedert caught his 11th touchdown of the season, setting a new franchise record for tight ends.

• Matt Pryor got one snap in the jumbo package, which hasn’t been the same in the last month and a half. Fred Johnson was the extra lineman in that package but he has been starting at right tackle the last games in place of Lane Johnson (foot).

• Cooper DeJean got one snap at the end of the game in victory formation. He has played nine offensive snaps in that role this season.

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