CHARLOTTE—Offenses and defenses, in general, like to keep each other guessing. Different schemes, ploys, and disguises are employed to keep the other side of the ball in flux.

Then there are the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Philly offense is 27^th overall in passing offense, but first in rushing offense. The Eagles have run the ball 442 times, compared to 307 passes. Everyone on the field knows what the Eagles are doing. Everyone in the stadium and watching at home knows what they're doing. On the backs of Saquon Barkley, on a generational run, and Jalen Hurts, they are going to run the ball and dare a defense to stop them.

So how do you stop them?

"Just play ball," defensive end A'Shawn Robinson offered. "Line it up and you got to play so no matter what they do or whatever their plan is, we have a plan, everyone has to execute their plan at the end of the day when it's given."

Cornerback Mike Jackson has seen that sort of offense before. The Miami Hurricanes product had to face Georgia Tech every year, something he has referenced before and probably will again, because it is such a good example.

"Just me personally, like I played Georgia Tech in college, and we knew they were running a triple option," Jackson shared Wednesday. "So, it's like, it make you have to focus in and just be more physical."

Knowing it and doing it can be two different things.

According to Next Gen Stats, Saquon Barkley has generated +452 rushing yards over expected, the most by a running back through Week 13 since Barkley entered the league in 2018. He has also posted career-highs in both explosive play rate (13.0%) and yards after contact per carry (3.7). The 3.7 yards after contact help factor in to his 6.1 yards per carry overall, the best of his career.

It's a perfect marriage of offensive line play and a big back, Dave Canales explained Wednesday.

"I'll always start with what happens up front and this is a really good offensive line that he's playing behind and it's also the commitment of the run game where they're going to run it early, they're going to run it late.

"It's the attrition that takes place that they continue to stick with it and have success that way."

So, we ask again, how do you stop it?

"Every hat to the ball," linebacker D.J. Wonnum said as to solution. "I mean, at the end of the day, he's human. So, I mean we don't look at him like no machine. We going to come, we going to hit him, we going to bring our feet, we're going to take him to the ground."

It's something the Panthers have admittedly struggled with at times this season. The defense is giving up an average of 166.8 yards per game on the ground, last in the league.

"It always comes down to being in run fits" nickel corner Chau Smith-Wade explained this week as to what could be causing some of the issues. "If they're gashing us in the run, then maybe somebody's out of the run fit or maybe they're not hitting it hard enough or fast enough. So, I believe that can be the case and we just got to play faster, and we can finish."

The Eagles' run game is centered around Barkley, but Hurts has been a huge impact as well. The veteran passer has been dominant through the air. He's completed +11.2% of his downfield passes over expected, a career-high and the 2nd-highest among qualified quarterbacks this season, according to Next Gen Stats. He also has the 3rd-highest success rate (57.4%) on passes of at least 10 air yards this season.

But it's his legs that make him dangerous.

"He's complex in his game," Robinson said. "Having great stability like a running back to be able to have that control and vision to be able to run having that. He's spent his whole life (as) a dual threat quarterback (and) has been great…I've seen it over the years and the progression and everything and his arm is developing and putting it all together, it's just been great."

There is a realistic expectation, when defending a rushing attack like the Eagles present, that some plays will inevitably happen. For Robinson—who leads the team right now with 51 tackles in the run game (59 overall) and is second behind Josey Jewell with eight run stuffs—it's about not letting one play bleed into the next.

"(With Jalen), it's just trying to control and minimize the damage that he can do because he's an X factor," Robinson explained. "So, you got to just take some of those things that he's going to do out there and you know, every amazing player has their plays and just take those on the chin, get back up and stop it the next time."

Sunday will objectively be the Panthers defense's biggest test to date, particularly in the front seven. They've acknowledged it, now it's time to face it.

"I feel like if we come ready to play, the sky is the limit for the defense," said Wonnum. "We ain't worried about no names or nothing. We're going to come ready to play."