No panic for Eagles' Fletcher Cox: Sacks will come

Two games. Just two sacks.

The Philadelphia Eagles pass rush hasn't produced in the sack department, thus far.

Following a career-high 10.5-sack season in 2018, four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Fletcher Cox has been emblematic of those struggles as he's yet to tally a sack and has only two quarterback hits over two games.

There's no reason for alarm in the eyes of the eight-year pro. He's coming for the quarterback and he's going to get there and his teammates will be meeting up with him, he stresses.

"It's going to happen. Trust me," Cox said via the team website. "We're in no panic in the D-line room about getting sacks. We've hit the quarterback a lot in the past two weeks. The sacks will come and when they come, they come in bunches. We gotta be patient about it and not force it and we'll get there."

Perhaps stats don't lie, but they can fib a bit.

While only two sacks have been registered by the Eagles, Derek Barnett has 12 quarterback pressures and Brandon Graham has 10, fitting both of the Philly edge rushers in the top five in that category heading into Week 3.

Still, the Eagles' pass defense has been woeful as a whole, having allowed 680 yards through the air, which is 31st in the NFL. The problem extends past the current campaign, as well, with the Eagles having allowed 300-plus passing yards in five of their last six regular season outings.

Pressuring the QB is going to help that, but sacking the opposing quarterback is going to help a lot more.

A fitting test likely lies ahead on Sunday as the Lions have allowed ironman quarterback Matthew Stafford to be sacked but three times. However, all three came against an underrated Cardinals' pass rush in Week 1 before the Detroit offensive line pitched a shutout against the Chargers' defensive front. The Chargers, consequently, match the Eagles with only two sacks in the season thus far.

Individually, Cox is on the comeback trail from offseason surgery on a bum toe. As a team, the Eagles are dealing with the losses of defensive linemen Malik Jackson and Tim Jernigan to injury.

So, perhaps Cox's patient approach is the correct one. After all, the pressure is there.

"The most important part about it is finding a way, finding a way to get one-on-ones, finding a way to beat double-teams, and beat slides," Cox said. "Don't get frustrated about it. The time will come where I can get there."

While time may be on Cox and the Eagles' side, the home crowd most assuredly will be when the Lions come to Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.

"We just got to do our job. Every guy just has to do their job and not try to make the big plays and we'll be fine. Continue to play team ball," Cox said. "The Linc will be loud and I think that'll help us out a lot."