Roob's Stats: Makai Lemon Shows Up Again And 2nd-half Defense Doesn't

Roob's Stats: Makai Lemon shows up again and 2nd-half defense doesn't originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

It’s pretty amazing that a team that’s lost seven straight games can produce any positive stats.

But we are going to pull it off.

We’ve been doing this Roob’s Eagles Stats column for five years now, so we’ve never had to deal with last-place records, long losing streaks or blowout losses. But welcome to the 2026 Eagles.

When they’re good, the stats just write themselves. Now? Not so much. You really have to be creative to come up with a few.

But thankfully we have Makai Lemon, Braden Mann, Zack Baun, Dallas Goedert and a few others to start with before we move on to the reality that this is one of the worst Eagles teams ever.

THE GOOD NEWS SECTION

MORE MAKAI LEMON: This is becoming a weekly tradition. Because Lemon has been one of this team’s few bright spots. With six more catches for 61 yards, Makai Lemon increased his season totals to 37 catches for 312 yards. He already has the 8th-most catches by an Eagles rookie in a season, and he’s now tied with the Browns’ K.C. Concepcion for most catches this year by a rookie. Lemon’s 27 receptions in the last five games are 2nd-most ever by an Eagles rookie in any five-game span and most in 86 years. In 1940, Don Looney had 28 catches in games against the Dodgers, Steelers, Lions, Steelers and Washington.

BAUN WITH THE WIND: With his second two-sack game, Zack Baun became only the fifth Eagles linebacker with multiple games with multiple sacks. Seth Joyner had four, William Thomas three and Baun and Garry Cobb had two each. In all, Baun has nine sacks as an Eagle, 6th-most all-time by an Eagles linebacker behind Joyner (37), Thomas (34), Mychal Kendricks (14), Jeremiah Trotter (12) and Cobb (12). No Eagles linebacker has had more than 4.0 sacks in a season since Willie T. had 5.0 in 1997.

OUR FIRST JOE MILTON STAT: Welcome to Roob’s Eagles Stats, Joe! Milton’s 24-yard run in the fourth quarter matches the longest by an Eagles quarterback in his first career start in 62 years. Late in 1964, the Eagles beat the Cowboys 24-14 at Franklin Field, and Eagles QB Jack Concannon had a 29-yard run in his first start. Jalen Hurts also had a 24-yard run in his first career start, late in 2020 against the Saints at the Linc.

GOEDERT PILING UP THE STATS: With five catches for 50 yards, Dallas Goedert increased his career totals to 440 catches for 4,984 yards. With 16 yards Sunday against the Steelers, Goedert will become the 11th Eagle with 5,000 yards and another 35 yards will move him past A.J. Brown and into the all-time Eagles top-10. Goedert also needs 13 catches to pass Pete Retzlaff and move into third place in Eagles history in receptions behind only Harold Carmichael (589) and Zach Ertz (582). With 60 catches, Goedert will be the 22nd tight end with 500 receptions. And with 16 yards he’ll become the 45th tight end with 5,000 yards.

RUN DEFENSE FOR A CHANGE: Devin Singletary ran 21 times for 31 yards Sunday, and his 1.5 rushing average is 3rd-lowest ever against the Eagles on 20 or more carries. In 2016, Jeremy Hill of the Bengals was 23-for-33 (1.4 average) in a 32-14 Bengals win at Paul Brown Stadium and in 1993 Neal Anderson ran 20 times for 24 yards (1.2 average) in a 17-6 Bears win over the Eagles at the Linc. Singletary’s average was lowest by a Giants running back on 20 or more carries in 75 years, since Eddie Price was 20-for-15 for 0.8 yards per carry in a 37-31 win over the New York Yanks in 1951 at the Polo Grounds.

LET’S TALK ABOUT BRADEN MANN’S PUNT (the good one): We won’t talk about Braden Mann’s negative-two-yard punt in the fourth quarter after he couldn’t handle Rocco Underwood’s snap. But despite that punt, Mann still averaged 48.0 yards per punt Sunday, thanks in great part to his historic 86-yard punt just before halftime. Mann punted from the Eagles’ 8-yard-line down to the Giants’ 6, and that is the 2nd-longest punt in Eagles history. The only longer punt was by Randall Cunningham, who sailed a 91-yarder over Dave Meggett’s head against the Giants at the Meadowlands in 1989. Mann’s 86-yarder is tied for 10th-longest in NFL history and was the longest in 25 years, since Rodney Williams of the Giants had a 90-yarder against the Broncos at altitude at Mile High Stadium from the Giants’ 10-yard-line into the end zone. So that was only a 70-yard net. Mann’s 86-yarder is the longest not at altitude since 1991, when Shawn McCarthy of the Patriots had a 93-yarder down to the Bills’ 1-yard-line at Rich Stadium. Mann also had two punts inside the 20 and no touchbacks. Through nine games, Mann has 22 punts inside the 20 and two touchbacks. In four years with the Eagles he has 67 inside the 20 and just 18 touchbacks.

THE ROCCO UNDERWOOD STAT: Rocco Underwood’s fumble recovery of a muffed punt by Giants returner Charlie Jones was the first fumble recovery by an Eagles long snapper in 22 years. On the final day of the 2004 Super Bowl season, in a meaningless game against the Bengals, Mike Bartrum recovered his own fumble after catching a pass from Jeff Blake.

THE BAD NEWS SECTION

LONGEST STREAK EVER: The Eagles have allowed 10 or more points in the second half of their first nine games for the first time in franchise history. Their longest previous streak of games to start a season allowing double-digit points after halftime was seven in a row in 2020. Going back to last year, the Eagles have allowed 10 or more 2nd-half points in 11 straight games, most in franchise history. They had streaks of nine straight games over the 1972 and 1973 seasons and the 1994 and 1995 seasons. The longest previous streak of double-digit second halves in the same season was seven in a row in 1967, 2012, 2015 and 2020. 

FIRST TIME IN 50 YEARS: The Eagles have been outgained by over 100 yards per game during their seven-game losing streak, the first time they’ve been outgained by over 100 yards per game during any seven-game span in 50 years. The seven teams the Eagles have faced during the losing streak have out-gained the Eagles by 912 yards – 2,595-1,683. That’s the most yards the Eagles have been outgained by in a seven-game span since 1976, when they were outgained by 976 yards from Week 5 through Week 11 by the Cards, Packers, Vikings, Giants, Cards, Browns and Raiders. The Eagles have also been outscored by eight or more points in each of their last four games, the first time that’s happened since 2012 and only the third since 1976. 

THE EAGLES HAVE NEVER BEEN THIS BAD IN THE SECOND HALF: After getting outscored 13-3 in the second half Sunday, the Eagles have been outscored 126-40 this year after halftime, and that 86-point 2nd-half scoring differential is the largest in franchise history through nine games. The previous largest point differential through nine games was 81 in both 1971 and 1972. Only the Ravens have been outscored by more points in the second half – an incredible 96 points. The Eagles’ 86-point 2nd-half deficit is 11th-largest by any NFL team in the last 40 years. The Eagles’ 4th-quarter deficit of 58 points (85-27) is also largest in franchise history, breaking the previous record of 51 set in 1935, the franchise’s third year of existence. The 85 points the Eagles have allowed in the fourth quarter is also most in franchise history, breaking the previous high of 84 set in 1973. Their opponents’ 126 2nd-half points is 4th-most in franchise history and most since the 1995 team allowed 129. 

THERE’S MORE! The Eagles’ 13 points in the third quarter so far is their fewest through nine games since 1999, when they scored just 10, and their 27 points in the fourth quarter is also fewest since 1999, when they scored 26. So naturally their 40 total 2nd-half points is fewest since 1999, when they had 36, which you could have already figured out. Since 1942, the only other year the Eagles scored as few as 40 2nd-half points through nine games was 1972, when they managed just 26. 

EVERYBODY GETS A SACK: The Giants had seven sacks Sunday and the Eagles had six, and that made this only the fourth game in Eagles history where both teams had at least six sacks. In 1984, the Falcons beat the Eagles 26-10 at Fulton County Stadium, and the Falcons had eight sacks and the Eagles nine. In 1986, the Eagles beat the Raiders in overtime at L.A. Coliseum, with the Eagles recording six sacks and the Raiders 11. And in 2023, in a loss to the Saints at the Linc, the Eagles had seven sacks and the Saints had six. The seven sacks were the most by any team against the Eagles since 2020, when the Washington Football Team had eight and the most by the Giants against the Eagles since they had 12 in the Winston Justice Game at the Meadowlands in 2007. It was the most sacks the Eagles have allowed at home in 23 years, since the Patriots had eight in a 31-10 win at the Linc early in the 2003 season, and the most the Giants have had in Philly since they had nine in a game at the Vet in 1997.

COLE PAYTON, ANYBODY? Eagles quarterbacks have had a passer rating below 80 in all seven games during the losing streak. That’s Jalen Hurts against the Bears, Rams and Jaguars, Tanner McKee vs. the Panthers, Cowboys and Commanders and Joe Milton against the Giants. This is the first time since 2006 Eagles QBs have gone seven straight games without a passer rating of 80. In 2006, the Eagles had nine straight sub-80 passer ratings – one by Donovan McNabb and seven by Mike McMahon. Before that it last happened in 1971. 

‘DOES ANYBODY REMEMBER INTERCEPTIONS?’ The Eagles don’t have an interception in their last four games, the 4th-longest streak in franchise history without an INT. They went eight straight games in 2012, six in a row in 1976 and five in a row in 2020. They’ve faced 133 passes since Quinyon Mitchell picked off Trevor Lawrence in London in the third quarter in Week 5. The Eagles have been held without an INT seven times in their first nine games. The most games in a season they’ve been held without an INT is 11 in 2012.