Eagles Analysis: Ten takeaways from Week 3 vs. Jets

The Philadelphia Eagles finally won a game yesterday as they defeated the New York Jets 24-17. It wasn’t perfect but the Eagles got a huge win. If the Eagles had fallen to 0-3, realistically, they had very little chance of making the playoffs. Here are my main takeaways from the game:

1) Chip Kelly hasn’t been “figured out”

You can’t simply figure out what Chip Kelly does because he basically runs a standard NFL offense using no-huddle all game. There’s nothing revolutionary involved with his offense or defense. It’s down to the players to execute the offense. Even if the opposing defense knows you’re running the ball, you can still have success running the ball if you block well. Chip’s emphasis on special teams proved vital again as Darren Sproles 90 yard punt return for a touchdown changed the game. Chip still has a lot of work to do but sometimes you have to blame the players for not executing and not the coach.

2) The Eagles defense is really good

The Eagles defense played lights out despite not having starters Mychal Kendricks, Kiko Alonso or Cedric Thornton. The Eagles pass rush was better than in previous weeks and they were superb against the run as always. Week in week out the Eagles defense shuts down the oppositions running game. The secondary is a lot better than last year, Nolan Carroll is playing really well and both Malcolm Jenkins and Walter Thurmond are playing great. Jenkins has been the Eagles best player this season so far, both his tackling and coverage have been excellent. The Eagles might have the second best safety tandem in the NFL behind Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor right now.

3) Sam Bradford is still struggling

This game worried me a lot more than the previous two weeks. The Eagles ran the ball reasonably well and the pass protection was excellent almost all game, yet Bradford was not very good. Bradford’s accuracy was terrible on a number of different throws when he had perfect protection, that just simply can’t happen. Yes there were drops that hurt the offense but Bradford’s ball placement was just off all game and he needs to get better quickly for the Eagles to be serious contenders. Remember when Foles or Sanchez would throw 300 yards without even playing well and we’d joke that anyone could put up 300 yards? Bradford had 118 yards on 28 attempts yesterday.

4) Offensive line bounced back

The Eagles offensive line had a good all round game and the pass protection was very impressive in particular. The Jets defensive line is no joke and the run blocking was so much better than in previous weeks. The run blocking was not perfect but they opened just enough holes for the Eagles running backs to get going. Brent Celek is basically a 6th offensive lineman at this point too and he looked a lot better than last week.

5) Impressed by Eric Rowe

Eric Rowe didn’t play much but boy did he make it count. What an interception that was, the Jets tested him deep twice and his technique was absolutely flawless on both plays. He got his head round perfectly on both occasions, a skill Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams could never master, and found the ball without making contact with the receiver. Cornerback is a position that takes time to learn and rookies always struggle, I hope Rowe continues to play around 10-20 snaps each week and gets even more comfortable.

6) Brandon Bair made an impact

Without Cedric Thornton and Taylor Hart, the Eagles needed Brandon Bair to step up and he did. The Eagles depth on their defensive line is very impressive, they don’t have a bad defensive lineman on the roster. He looked good against the run but it was his batted passes that really stood out. He had 3 batted passes by my count and one of them led to a huge interception by Jordan Hicks. Bair has earned some more playing time even when Thornton is back.

7) Jordan Hicks looks great

Jordan Hicks made some mistakes last week but flashed real potential. Yesterday, he just simply played well all game and didn’t look like a rookie at all. The Eagles currently have two great linebackers with Kendricks and Alonso and Hicks is an unbelievable backup to have. If Kiko is out for a sustained period of time, I believe Hicks can start and the Eagles won’t miss Kiko too much. Hicks is looking like a steal in the 3rd round right now which is great news for Chip Kelly.

8) Running game improved but inconsistent

The running game was so much better than the first two weeks, Ryan Mathews looked great as did Darren Sproles. However, it was still very inconsistent and a lot of runs still seemed to end up with a loss. DeMarco Murray will still be starting when healthy but Mathews definitely deserves more playing time. It’s ridiculous to compare Murray last week to Mathews this week because the offensive line couldn’t block anyone last week. Mathews has hands of stone too, dropping two easy passes albeit making up for it with a touchdown catch. His fumble could have been devastating too, you can’t do that when you’re running out the clock, it’s inexcusable.

9) Eagles have to close out games better

This has been a problem with the Eagles ever since Chip Kelly got here. The Eagles offense is built around tempo and they have to play fast to have success. However, when you are up 17 points going into the 4th quarter, you need to slow it down and still have success. It appears that the Eagles can’t do this consistently and they failed to score any points in the second half yesterday. A team with a better offense than the Jets could have turned the game around, the Eagles gave them enough chances and they need to be more like Patriots and continue to dominate teams even when up.

10) Thank you Sean Payton

I mean really Sean Payton, you were going to cut Darren Sproles two years ago? I have no idea what the Saints saw from Sproles but he clearly isn’t done. He still looks fast and extremely elusive and his punt return completely changed the game. Since joining the Eagles, has any player sparked the team into life more than Sproles when the team needed a spark?

Next: Eagles topple Jets, 24-17: Game Recap & Analysis

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