After the debacle of Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher as the Philadelphia Eagles starting cornerbacks last season, the Eagles knew that they had to address the secondary in the 2015 NFL Draft. They did that in Day Two selecting Utah defensive back Eric Rowe. Rowe, the 6-foot-1, 204 lb. defensive back, spent the first three years at Utah at free safety then played cornerback in his senior season.
Because of Rowe’s versatility, there was a bit of a conundrum. The Eagles necessarily did not know where they wanted to play Rowe. In the preseason, the Eagles put Rowe at cornerback, and he started off playing well until the final preseason game against the New York Jets, where he struggled mightily. As the regular season began, Rowe did not get many defensive snaps as Nolan Carroll was starting opposite of Byron Maxwell.
Finally, when given the opportunity to see playing time, Rowe made a play against the New York Jets in week three of the regular season. Rowe intercepted Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in the third quarter as he was looking for wide receiver and rookie speedster Devin Smith. Against the Jets, Rowe played 15 defensive snaps but most of this time playing special teams (17 snaps).
After the Week 3 matchup against the Jets, Rowe had nine total tackles in the next seven games. He saw his playing time increase dramatically on Thanksgiving Day when Nolan Carroll left the game with a season-ending ankle injury. With Carroll out of the game, Rowe had the dubious task of covering Detroit Lions star Calvin Johnson. Johnson took the rookie to school in that game as quarterback Matthew Stafford targeted that side of the field multiple times.
On eight targets, Johnson finished with six receptions for 83 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
With the 45-14 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day embedded in many Eagles fans’ minds, last week, the Eagles faced a tougher task taking on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Against the Patriots, Rowe made the first start in his NFL career. The Patriots — who were without wide receiver Julian Edelman that day and for the foreseeable future — played a number of wideouts including Keshawn Martin whom Rowe was tasked to cover. Unlike Thanksgiving Day, Rowe played much better. On three targets, Martin was held to two receptions for 26 receiving yards.
Rowe made two outstanding plays against the Patriots noted below.
Eric Rowe reads and reacts, attacks the ball carrier. #eagles https://t.co/RAENBWtlTG
— Jovan Alford (@Jovan10) December 10, 2015
The first play shows Rowe making a play on the ball and going through Patriots running back James White with a solid tackle and hit. This shows me a rookie, who is showing improvement.
Moment of truth late in the 4th. Eric Rowe great defense on LaFell. #eagles https://t.co/XJUIZ7aHrr
— Jovan Alford (@Jovan10) December 10, 2015
The second play shows Rowe in crunch time, one-on-one on an island against wide receiver Brandon LaFell. Rowe flips his hips and runs with LaFell the entire way, not allowing the big play.
Against New England, Rowe played 96 total snaps, 86 of them on defense (97 percent), which is higher than his season average of 27.7 percent.
Finally, with four games left in the regular season, Rowe still has a few tests coming up beginning on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. The Bills (6-6) are fighting for a wildcard spot. Their offense isn’t bad as they have playmakers at the skill positions.
On Sunday, Rowe will be matched up with Bills wide receiver Robert Woods. This season, Woods has 38 receptions for 402 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Woods’ numbers have been pedestrian this season as the Bills’ offense is more predicated on the run.
Rowe should be fine going up against Woods but he may also be matched up with receiver Sammy Watkins a few times during the game. For the Eagles to make a playoff run, they will need their rookie cornerback to keep on improving.
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