The Philadelphia Eagles late-season turnaround on special teams didn't transpire by coincidence. It was only after an especially poor performance against an NFC rival and subsequent tongue-lashing from an assistant coach that the Eagles' special teams' unit began matching the dominance of its offensive and defensive counterparts.
Philadelphia racked up 500 yards of total offense and picked off Aaron Rodgers twice in its 40-33 win over the Green Bay Packers in late November, another dominant performance in a season full of them. But Green Bay still stayed within striking distance in large part due to allowing kickoff returns of 38, 52 and 53 yards to Keisean Nixon, a symptom of the Eagles' sustained special teams struggles that consistently gave the Packers great field position.
After the game, Philadelphia special-teamers were chastised not just by Nick Sirianni, but typically mild-mannered special teams coach Michael Clay.
“If he’s mad, you done f—ed up,” wide receiver Zach Pascal said of Clay, per Bo Wulf of The Athletic. “Because he ain’t even ever mad for real. So if he’s mad, oh yeah, you done f—ed up. Like, he’s serious about this.”
That fiery response from Clay didn't just elicit some self-reflection from Eagles special-teamers, but a players-only meeting led by Pascal, linebacker Shaun Bradley, safety K'Von Wallace and cornerback Zach McPhearson that ultimately sparked that phase of the ball to new heights over the remainder of the regular season and into the playoffs.
“We just told the guys what it was,” said McPhearson. “Majority of the guys were defensive guys. Like, you gotta have some grit out there. We play defense, we gotta be dirty players, bring the energy, that’s what we do.
“We had [energy], but it wasn’t synchronized… A lot of times, just to address it, you gotta have an identity check. What’s going on? Special teams is all a want-to. All them tackles, turnovers, it’s just from want-to if you really wanna go out there and do it.”
The result? Since that ugly performance against the Packers, Philadelphia ranks third in special teams DVOA—ahead of both its vaunted offense and defense over that timeframe.
There's obviously no guaranteeing the Eagles beat the San Francisco 49ers with a Super Bowl berth on the line. Apart from most games during the regular season, though, Philly fans can take solace knowing their team's chances in the NFC Championship likely won't be doomed by a major special teams mishap.
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