Imagine if one mistake at our occupations meant jeopardizing everything. No matter what accomplishments or accolades were completed or recognized, someone would be replacing us and our peers excited about it. Aside from losing your job, it’s near the pressure a surgeon faces. They can be in an operation room for 24 hours straight, but one slip up could mean life or death. Why is it that Anthony Brown has earned this pedestal among the Cowboys community? The well-deserved adoration for Jourdan Lewis has mistakenly blinded fans to the contributions Brown brings to this secondary.
Let’s dive in.
Eagles Targets Since Week 10
Ertz – 16, 3, 8, 10, 8 (45)
Jeffery – 8, 5, 3, 5, 9 (30)
Tate – 4, 8, 8, 7, 3 (30)
An issue that surfaced within the first couple of weeks of Tate’s arrival in Philadelphia was how would they be able to get him the ball? Quite confusing as Tate has been a talented, impactful receiver as far as anyone could remember. Thriving against the Washington Redskins catching all 7 of his targets for 85 yards and a touchdown, the flow seemed to catch some consistency between him and Wentz. Against Dallas, Tate would only be present on the field for 38% of the Eagles snaps, lining up in the slot 18 out of the 20 times. Limiting Tate to just two targets for one 7 yard reception, Brown played lights out in the slot.
Not only that, Brown found work against Agholor and Ertz as well on the night. For Agholor, he wounded up as the slot WR for 20 of his 49 snaps ending with no targets, and the one Ertz received could have probably been picked if Brown turned his head.
Though Brown finished the evening with simply one tackle, he affects so much more than box score numbers. For the Eagles to pass 32 times in comparison to only running the ball 14, Brown clamped an area of an offense that loves to play quick. Underrated in what they do, nickel cornerback’s value is steadily rising with the volume of passing increasing in the league. They don’t typically cover the great, number one receivers, but their instincts have to be off the charts to be dominate. Dallas has their guy in Anthony Brown, and he deserves to be applauded just like the rest of this defense.
