Last year Eagles fans were introduced to the turnover ski mask when Malcolm Jenkins pulled it out after forcing a fumble on the opening kickoff against the Dallas Cowboys (although the referees were blind enough to not give the ball to the Eagles offense).
The Eagles defense rallied and used that mask as motivation to make an impactful play -- and it seemed to work. Over the team's six games where they used the mask, they recorded nine turnovers (technically 10 if the refs didn't screw the call in Dallas).
In the season opener it didn't no ski masks appeared due to the defense not creating any turnovers, but on Sunday Night Football against the Atlanta Falcons the team created a handful of turnovers. The team did not pull out a ski mask though. Instead, we saw Ronald Darby use something new -- a turnover backpack.
The idea isn't an original one, as Florida State's football team used a turnover backpack for the 2018 season. It was widely mocked by their fans and other college football fans and the team ditched the idea for their 2019 campaign.
It is unclear if Sidney Jones and Nate Gerry (the other two defenders with turnovers) used the turnover backpack in Atlanta, so it might not be a team-wide thing yet. Darby played for Florida State's when he was in college so this might have been just Darby doing this as a solo tribute to his former stomping grounds.
We'll have to wait and see if the defense forces any turnovers against the Detroit Lions this upcoming Sunday if this backpack is going to be here to stay for the entire team or if it was a one time deal from Darby.
