By the numbers: Jonathan Gannon’s 2022 defense with the Philadelphia Eagles

He may have been the last domino to fall, but Jonathan Gannon is officially the new head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

The former Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator is getting a lot of flack for his team’s performance in the second half of a 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII on Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.

In just his second year as the Eagles DC, he led his team to a historic season en route to an NFC Championship title and Super Bowl appearance.

Here is Gannon’s 2022 season in Philadelphia by the numbers:

78

The Eagles amassed a total of 78 sacks across the regular season and playoffs. That metric is the third-most in NFL history behind the famous 1985 and 1984 Chicago Bears teams who finished with 80 and 82, respectively.

Philadelphia compiled 70 of those sacks prior to the postseason to lead the league while also finishing second in quarterback pressures (168), which were forced on 25.5% of QB dropbacks faced — the second-highest percentage in the NFL.

Compare that to the Cardinals defense last year, who were tied for the ninth-fewest sacks (36) while having the second-highest blitz percentage per dropback (34.5%).

179.8 and 301.5

Gannon’s defense allowed 179.8 passing yards and 301.5 yards total yards per game last season, which ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the NFL, respectively.

Arizona came in at No. 24 and No. 21 in those same metrics, allowing 230.3 passing yards and 348.9 offensive yards per contest.

27-17-10

The Eagles were ballhawks in 2022, racking up 27 turnovers to finish tied for the fourth-most takeaways in the league.

Philadelphia split those up between 17 interceptions and 10 fumbles, with the former also finishing tied for the fourth-most in the NFL.

The Cardinals totaled only 20 takeaways last season, which was tied for the ninth-fewest in the league.

20.2

The Eagles allowed 20.2 points per game, which was tied for the seventh-best scoring defense in 2022.

Philadelphia kept its opponents to just three scores (up to 24 points) in 15 of its 20 games, which included the 20-17 win over the Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on Oct. 9.

Arizona had the NFL’s second-worst scoring defense last season by allowing 26.4 points per contest.

2

“Coaches coach and players play,” is an old football saying.

And Gannon certainly had some players on his defense, two of which made the Pro Bowl in cornerback Darius Slay and linebacker Haason Reddick, with the latter needing no introduction to Cardinals fans.

Arizona’s lone Pro Bowler in 2022 was safety Budda Baker.

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