Philadelphia Eagles Running Game Holds The Key To Success
Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
The Philadelphia Eagles offense is based around the running game. Everything Chip Kelly does schematically with the passing game works a lot better when the Eagles running game is clicking. Despite everyone in the media talking about Nick Foles, Mariota and the quarterback position right now, I thought I’d look deeper into the Eagles rushing attack in 2014.
When I looked into the Eagles running game I found some surprising things. I looked at the Eagles rushing stats (LeSean McCoy, Darren Sproles and Chris Polk combined) and separated the stats into two categories depending on if the Eagles won or lost the game. The table below shows what I found:
As you can see, the Eagles ran the ball better in the games that they won.
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No surprise there. It’s too simplistic too simply say that if the Eagles run well then they win but as the table above shows, it does have an impact. It also shows that in my opinion the running game is the most important part of the Eagles offense. The difference between 4.8 and 3.7 yards per carry is pretty huge.
I know it sounds really obvious that the Eagles ran the ball better when they won but I was surprised the difference was so big. Especially when you consider that the Eagles beat the Redskins in week 3 when McCoy had 19 carries for 22 yards. Foles had to play out of his skin to win that game though, you can’t win many games playing that way.
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The NFL has become a pass heavy league and passing the football well has never been so important. However, the best team in the NFL the last two years, the Seattle Seahawks, have a run heavy offense and don’t throw the ball particularly well. The Eagles run the ball to set up the pass just like Seattle do, this is how Mark Sanchez managed to have some good games when the running game got going.
A number of things that the Eagles do well when passing the football, like play action, only work when the Eagles can run the ball well. When the Eagles ran the football very well last year, they didn’t lose a game. The Eagles never rushed for over 4.3 yards per carry in any of the six games that they lost.
With all the talk about the quarterback position and how we desperately need a stud quarterback, don’t forget everything that Chip Kelly does on offense focuses around the running game. Just look at the Eagles personnel, Riley Cooper was signed back because he’s a great run blocker at wide receiver. Brent Celek played more snaps than Zach Ertz at tight end because he’s a better blocker despite being very average as a pass catcher.
Look at the draft as well, the Eagles selected Lane Johnson with Chip Kelly’s first pick as the Eagles head coach. Johnson was seen as an average pass blocker but a superb run blocker coming out of college. Both Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff were good run blockers during their college days as well. Matthews size gives him a big advantage over nickel cornerbacks in the run game.
The running game was not consistent last season even when the Eagles had a healthy offensive line. The Eagles lost 4 out of their final 8 games after only losing 2 of their first 8 games despite a number of their offensive lineman coming back for the second half of the season.
The two Dallas Cowboys games show how inconsistent the Eagles were running the ball. The first time they played the Cowboys at AT&T stadium, they had 37 carries for 221 yards. Two weeks later at home to the Cowboys the Eagles had 21 carries for 75 yards. Yes, they were losing the game so they had to throw more but they still had 21 carries and only averaged 3.6 yards per carry.
The Eagles running game may improve slightly with a mobile quarterback but don’t forget how good the Eagles ran the ball in 2013 with Foles at quarterback. LeSean McCoy had a bad year in 2014 compared to an incredible 2013. The Eagles offensive line is getting older with three of the five starters now over 30 years old. Whilst everyone worries about the secondary and the quarterback position, the Eagles running game could determine how successful the Eagles are in 2015.