‘My confidence is never shaken’: Eagles corner Josiah Scott has moved on from third-and-30

It may take a while for many to get over “third-and-30,” but Josiah Scott has already moved on.

That’s probably the best way the Eagles cornerback could have handled the worst moment of his young NFL career.

“My confidence is never shaken,” Scott said on Thursday, five days after he allowed the longest third-down conversion against the Eagles in at least 28 years. “As a [defensive back] in this league, as a DB in general, you’re going to have a bad play regardless of what level. I don’t think you can name one DB in this league who hasn’t had a bad play.

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“And so, you have that mindset where you just don’t want to let it happen again. But it doesn’t really shake your confidence as most people might think.”

When you play arguably the most unforgiving position in the NFL, a short memory is a necessity. But if Scott was to suffer a crisis of conviction, those who have been in his shoes would understand.

Darius Slay was once benched multiple times during his rookie season. He was in the end zone seven years ago when an Aaron Rodgers moon shot landed in the arms of Richard Rodgers for a game-winning Hail Mary.

And as many fans blamed the veteran cornerback for T.Y. Hilton’s 52-yard reception that spearheaded the Cowboys’ comeback victory over the Eagles last Saturday. Slay, who declined to single out Scott’s blown coverage after the game, knows what it’s like to be in the middle of a maelstrom.

“I’m not going to go throw my teammate under the bus,” said Slay, who took to Twitter shortly thereafter nonplussed by the public criticism. “I would never do that. But some stuff gets to you because you know how much work you put in during the week.

“At the end of the day, man, I’m having an amazing time doing the job I’m doing, competing every day, Sundays. Who else gets to do that in their lifetime? I just chalked it up to the game and onto the next.”

The next game still has great meaning. A win over the 6-9 New Orleans Saints would give the 13-2 Eagles the much-coveted No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Scott is likely to get the call in the slot again with regular Avonte Maddox out for at least the regular season and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson — a candidate to move to his former position — still on injured reserve.

While “third-and-30″ had been placed in the rearview mirror by midweek, the Eagles first addressed what went wrong on film and then made corrections. Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon publicly fell on the sword for not “coaching what I want out of that call,” he said on Tuesday, but Scott’s job in that Cover 2 zone was the deep half.

“I don’t really want to get into it, but it was definitely my fault on that play,” Scott said when asked about the particulars. “I’ll just try to continue to get better and execute my assignment.”

Gannon said he liked the call. When asked if there was disguise, he said it is built into every call. In this case, the Eagles had two safeties deep pre-snap. But Scott, who was about 10 yards off the line, was responsible for dropping and splitting the back end with Marcus Epps, while Reed Blankenship became the “Robber” in the middle.

Scott could be seen communicating with Slay up until the snap, but he had an appropriate amount of time to track back to his spot. He started off with inside leverage, but he inexplicably flipped his hips toward an in-breaking route and was late to Hilton.

If Scott executed the technique properly, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott might have been reluctant to make the throw. At the bare minimum, he likely gets to the receiver in time.

“That’s just him being a young guy,” Slay said. “We could have said no disguise and just get back there. But that’s just him doing what he was taught. You can’t blame him besides not making the play. Other than that he’ll be alright.”

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But did Gannon even need to call a play with disguise on third-and-30? Since the NFL started logging individual plays in 1994, only eight third downs of 30 yards or longer have been converted.

Former Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz used to line up seven defenders near the marker on long third downs, essentially daring quarterbacks to check down underneath into yards of space. He had variations of the “sticks” or “picket fence” zone, but percentage-wise it was overwhelmingly successful.

What can be construed as ironic about Gannon’s semi-aggressive call is that the most common gripe from locals about his play calling is that it is too often passive. Whatever the label, his scheme has for the most part produced winning football, and the numbers back it up.

In today’s pass-heavy NFL, having the No. 1-ranked pass defense means a little more. And it’s been Gannon’s matchup zone coverages that have contributed significantly to opposing offenses averaging just 5.52 yards per pass attempt.

Matchup zones, in a nutshell, allow defenders to utilize man-coverage principles. They may maintain zone techniques like dropping into a landmark and keeping vision on the quarterback, but they’re also reading routes and, when applicable, using man skills.

Defensive backs have to be knowledgeable, quick thinking, and, especially at the inside spots, versatile enough to play multiple disciplines.

“It’s effective here because we have players who can play multiple positions who have seen multiple looks,” Scott said. “We can show man, but play zone. The defense is so multiple. If you study hard enough, I’m sure you can get a bead on what we could possibly do. But there’s so many things we can do in our defense where it’s effective.”

Scott had never played safety, per se, until training camp. But Gannon cross-trained several hybrids for scheme-related reasons and to deepen his bench. But it wasn’t until the Bears game two weeks ago that the coordinator had Maddox play both positions.

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Injuries played a part in the switch. The Eagles were down Gardner-Johnson and Blankenship and getting the flexible Maddox on the field for more snaps than reserve safety K’Von Wallace made sense.

Blankenship returned for the Cowboys game, but when Maddox left early with a toe injury, Scott was once again pressed into duty. He struggled initially when starting in place of Maddox against the Jaguars in October. But Scott would have to spell the injured Maddox for five more games, and while there were inconsistencies, he settled down.

“Josiah has played really good ball for us,” Gannon said, “when Avonte has been out a couple times this year.”

But if there’s a concern – and, in the bigger picture, the defensive coordinator is at the forefront of it – it’s that better offenses with higher-level quarterbacks will pick apart the safeties and inside cornerbacks in the Eagles’ zones.

The now oft-repeated stat of Prescott completing all 24 of his passes against Gannon’s zones – for 300 yards and three touchdowns, no less – isn’t exactly nuanced. Matchup zones and split coverages make deciphering those coverages an inexact science. But either way, Gannon’s record vs. the better throwers of the NFL the last two seasons isn’t good.

“I don’t know any stats that get put up,” he said, “but we’re a defense that does multiple things to defend people. There’s always going to be elements of what looks like zone when we’re playing zone, when it looks like zone when we’re playing man, when it looks like man, we’re playing zone to one side and man to another side.

“I think that’s pretty common around the league.”

Disguising coverages pre-snap is imperative against the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow – the three most likely quarterbacks the Eagles could face if they were to reach the Super Bowl – and straight-up man defense can be easy to decode and exploit.

But Gannon, more than anything, wants to cover space to limit explosive plays.

“The way offenses move now,” Scott said, “it’s crazy how they get the ball in their hands with five yards of space and what they can do.”

Playing cornerback can be a thankless occupation. Slay was the toast of Philly through the first half of the season. Only the Carolina Panthers’ Jaycee Horn had a lower passer rating against, per Pro Football Focus, among NFL corners during that span. Over the last seven games, though, the Pro Bowler has dipped to 24th.

Qualifying performance by analytics can be slippery. But even the best cornerbacks can have lulls.

“It’s the hardest position,” Slay said. “It’s not even close.”

Slay lost his mojo several times as a rookie when Schwartz, then the Lions head coach, benched him twice.

“It blew my whole confidence,” said Slay, who turns 32 on Sunday. “But [former Detroit cornerback] Rashean Mathis talked to me every day, all day, teaching me, and next thing you know, it built my confidence back up. But you got to have great leadership for that.”

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Scott, 23, was acquired in a trade with Jacksonville before the 2021 season. He played sparingly as a rookie the year before and only slightly more last season with the Eagles. But his role has increased this season, and even if he’s to lose Maddox’s spot once Gardner-Johnson returns, Slay said the only opinions he should care about are at the NovaCare Complex.

“We’re with him. They’re not in this locker room. We are,” the Pro Bowler said of Scott and his critics. “We know we need him for the long haul. Got to keep him up. He already knows. He’s a strong individual fellow.”