Hungry For More

D’Andre Swift’s 28-carry, 175-yard effort last Thursday against the Vikings might’ve been more than just lighting in a bottle for the new Eagles running back,

Head coach Nick Sirianni said Thursday that Swift, who logged the most touches of his four-year career in a non-overtime game, could be the recipient of an even larger workload on Monday night against Tampa Bay.

“We’re going to ride the hot hand,” Sirianni said.  “Do I think its sustainable? I mean, shoot, I think his body is ready to go. I don’t even want to put an expectation on anybody. If he’s got the hot hand on Monday night we’ll keep rolling with him.”

GETTY IMAGES: Eagles RB D’Andre Swift is poised for more carries after his 175-yard outburst vs. Minnesota.

Swift and the Eagles look to become 3-0 for the second straight season if they can beat the Buccaneers on prime time at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

Through two weeks, the Bucs have allowed the NFL’s second-fewest rushing yards. They’re known for putting big, athletic bodies at the line of scrimmage and deploying five-man fronts.

The Eagles are coming off another monster rushing attack, the kind they’ve showcased frequently over the past three years under Sirianni. They steamrolled the Vikings for 259 rushing yards in a 34-28 win, with Swift leading the way.

“D’Andre’s an explosive player and explosive playmaker,” offensive coordinator Brian Johnson said Wednesday. “He had really, really good vision. He did a great job staying square.”

For most of his pro career, Swift hasn’t been a high-volume ball carrier and has battled minor injuries.

Even his 33-carry outburst in a 16-16 tie against the Steelers in 2021 was more than twice his normal rushing workload. That season, the most times he carried the ball outside of the Pittsburgh game was 14 time.

The third-most rushing attempts of his career in a game is 16. He actually has more games with 10 or few carries (24) than games with 11 or more carries (17).

Swift, a Philly native and former Georgia star acquired from the Lions in a draft-weekend trade, carried the ball just once in his Eagles debut against the Patriots in Week 1 and only watched his usage increase because of a rib injury that kept Kenneth Gainwell out against Minnesota.

Although Swift has never played never a full regular-season schedule, he’s convinced Sirianni he can handle the high volume.

“We feel good about that work he puts in to make sure his body is right,” Sirianni said. “When you’re running the ball like that it’s hard not to give him the ball 35 times. It’s hard not to do that.”

– Geoff Mosher (@geoffmoshernfl) is co-host of the “Inside the Birds” podcast and staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.

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