National Football League

This Super Bowl has superstars. But Eagles' real edge: Defensive line depth

Published Feb. 11, 2023 8:56 a.m. ET

SZA may have made ‘big boys' trendy thanks to her SNL parody song, but there's no denying linemen on both sides of the ball go underappreciated in the NFL.

Look, we get it. They don't (often) score points or make mind-bending catches. They don't stiff arm guys in the open field to escape for long runs or throw a dime into the waiting hands of a receiver in the end zone. But what they actually do is no less important and in Super Bowl LVII, they could end up being the deciding factor.

The Philadelphia Eagles have the edge on both sides of the trenches, hands down. On the offensive line, they boast two sure-fire future Hall of Famers in center Jason Kelce and right tackle Lane Johnson. But their defensive line is excellent, too. And more importantly, it's deep — especially on the interior.

Veterans like Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph are depth pieces. Fletcher Cox is a rotational player at this point, too. In fact, Javon Hargrave is the only interior defensive lineman who played over 60% of the team's defensive snaps in their NFC Championship win over San Francisco.

[Ndamukong Suh is on his third straight Super Bowl team. What's his secret?]

"It's about keeping guys fresh," said Cox about the defensive line's near-constant rotation. "I think all the guys appreciate it and I think everyone knows their role. I have a role on the team, BG [Brandon Graham] has a role on the team, Suh got a role on the team. Everyone has a role and we accept our roles and keep going with it. The biggest part about that is knowing the guys in your room and knowing that it is still a competitive group and we all have to go out and win as one."

"We all got different roles," continued Joseph. "Like I know I'm here to stop the run, so I'm not on the field on third down. But the same time if something happens and I'm ready, I have been to each and every meeting, I'm watching everything because you're may only get one opportunity for something and so whenever you get that opportunity, you want to make the best of it."

You don't often see this degree of rotation, much less in a 4-3 base defense like the Eagles deploy. It's a collaborative effort in every sense of the word, which has made the unit extremely close. Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker told me about a key componentat Philadelphia's media availability ahead of their Super Bowl matchup with the Chiefs this Sunday: Overcommunication.

"What I like about the room the most is when we go over film, and then coach will ask us a question," Joseph said. "Suh will see it one way, I can see it one way, Fletch will see it one way, but we always get an answer that's better than we expected to get."

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Rocker has been coaching defensive linemen for nearly 30 years between the NFL and collegiate levels. All that experience leads his players to trust him, given that the rotation itself isn't an exact science.

"It's a touch and feel for me," said Rocker. "But I try to see, where's the game going? Where's the ball placed on the field? Where are we located? What's the scoreboard saying? What's the clock saying? But the deal is let them play. They can play, they know how to play and I feel comfortable putting them in. It's not, ‘Oh we won't want to play this situation. No, we're in the game. Let's go and understanding we need to keep the standard up here. There's no drop off and I think that's what we're fortunate that they do."

This all doesn't happen without the organization itself prioritizing the trenches. The Eagles are built from the inside out. Surprise, surprise — they're in the Super Bowl. General manager Howie Roseman never stopped tinkering with the roster, either. He added Suh and Joseph past the season's midpoint to make sure the line would hold up. Roseman could have gone after more skill players. He could have favored depth in the defensive backfield. But he fortified the defensive line, in particular, and it's nothing new, according to 13-year Philadelphia Eagle Brandon Graham.

"I know the Eagles always want to have big guys up front and I know that every year, they're going to bring in the best available at that position because you see how deep we are and how much we complement each other," he said. "It's definitely been helping in these games and it always starts up front. It starts with who is knocking who off the ball and who's affecting who up front. And I think we got a bunch of great guys that's healthy and excited to try to get after [Chiefs quarterback Patrick] Mahomes this weekend."

That's what is going to be key about this matchup and why the trenches are going to matter so much. With the way Mahomes can extend plays, you need coverage players floating all around the back two levels of the defense. That makes it crucial to get pressure with four up front, so as to put five defensive backs on the field as much as possible. You'll also need to get creative with how you pressure him. If you can push the pocket all along the defensive front, you'll have a much better shot of throwing him or his offensive line off.

"They are solid," said Rocker. "They're very good solid up front. They got five good linemen, a magician at quarterback. They got receivers, running backs and there's really no dropoff. It's a well-oiled machine. And I think the most important for us is that we do not get frustrated. [Mahomes is] a magician. He's gonna make plays. So for us, it's just let's just keep playing, but not let it stop us from performing. We have our hands full and I think he has a really good O-line that does a really great job of protecting him and they play together. You can see it in the way they play, they're a close-knit team."

So while there will undoubtedly be some fireworks from Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, or Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver AJ Brown, keep your eye towards the line of scrimmage come Sunday, especially the personnel coming in and out. You may just notice the difference in the game.

Carmen Vitali covers the NFC North for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.

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