Week One: Eagles 33, Redskins 27
To begin the new Eagles era, head coach Chip Kelly exploded onto the scene in the opening week. Running the most first half plays in ten years, the fast paced offense got off to a great start, posting 33 points. Although the defense was lax in the second half, their first half performance was flawless. They pressured opposing quarterback Robert Griffin III and intercepted two of his passes. The Eagles defense finished with three turnovers but the real story was with the offense. The Eagles had the Redskins on their toes each play, averaging twenty seconds between plays. Lesean McCoy contributed to the offensive success, with 184 yards rushing in thirty one carries. Quarterback Mike Vick had a good day as well, completing fifteen of his twenty five passes for a total of 203 yards.
Week Two: Chargers 33, Eagles 30
The home opener for the Eagles was a heartbreaker. The offense continued to do well, excelling in the passing and running games, taking care of the ball, and scoring. The main problem was the defense. The Eagles allowed Chargers quarterback, Philip Rivers, to throw for over 400 passing yards., and the blitzing pressure was not as nearly effective as it was against the Redskins. Another issue was their inability to get off the field. The Chargers offense had a third down percentage of over 70 percent. This allowed the visitors to take time off the clock and set up a game winning field goal with only seconds remaining. Besides the late field goal, the Chargers took advantage over the Eagles’ atrocious defense, who allowed easy scores throughout the game. This could very well be the story of the Eagles season this year: Offense excels, but defense struggles.
Week Three: Kansas City 26, Eagles 16
The Chief’s visit to Philadelphia was highly anticipated, as Andy Reid was returning to Philadelphia for the first time since last year’s firing. The Philadelphia fans welcomed Reid, thanking him for his many years of service as Eagles head coach. After the pre-game applause, Reid’s Chiefs set the tone quickly with a long kick return to start the game, which led to a field goal. The first Eagles possession ended abruptly with an interception returned for a touchdown. Although the Eagles played poorly for the first two quarters, they managed to tie the game going into halftime. However, the Eagles could not keep up with the Chiefs in fourth quarter, as the visitors used long drives to melt the clock and nurse their lead. The Eagles offense struggled and unlike the first couple weeks, committed multiple penalties and turnovers. The defense, played well, but not well enough. All in all, the Eagles were not ready to play this week and the Chiefs were heavily motivated, wanting to win for their new coach against his old team.
Week Four: Broncos 52, Eagles 20
If Eagles fans thought that the Chiefs game was sickening, then they could barely keep their lunches down after witnessing the most humiliating loss in Eagles’ history. Nothing went right during the Bronco’s game. The defense played terrible and the offense was even worse. Peyton Manning had his way with the defense, putting up the most points in Broncos’ history. Mike Vick and the offense have now had two sub-par weeks. The fast paced offense, which was praised three weeks ago, is now being tormented. Teams are adjusting to the new offense and have seemed to figure out how to stop it. Wes Welker and Peyton Manning led the attack for the Broncos; Welker caught two touchdowns and Manning threw for four. After this demoralizing loss, the Eagles look to regroup and get ready to play the New York Giants and try to avoid losing their fourth straight game and falling to a 1-4 record.
Week Five: Eagles 36, Giants 21
For the first time in a month, Eagles fans finally could celebrate a victory, but, it came with a price. With a minute left in the first half, Mike Vick scrambled out of bounds and pulled a hamstring, causing him to miss the rest of the game. Second-year quarterback Nick Foles took over and performed well. He allowed the Eagles to get quick scores and manage the clock. The defense did their job well this week, having four turnovers and allowing 43 rushing yards. Kicker Alex Henry also performed well, going five for five in field goal opportunities. Vick’s pulled hamstring caused him to miss week six. All in all, the Eagles played a good game and deserved this victory to improve to 2-3, handing the winless Giants their fifth consecutive loss.
Week 6: Eagles 31, Buccaneers 20
With MRSA infecting some of Tampa Bay’s players, there was thought of canceling the game. But, all went according to plan as the Eagles were ready to go on Sunday. After the first play, it was obvious that the Eagles were ready to stick it to the Bucs, opening out with a fifty yard screen play to running back Lesean McCoy. With starting quarterback Mike Vick sidelined, backup Nick Foles continued to do well this week by totaling four touchdowns. He three for three and ran for one. Foles’ strong performance helped the Eagles to earn their second straight victory. (Calm down, this has happened before) The defense was not to bad this week either, putting up multiple sacks and takeaways. Despite the Bucs leading heading into halftime, the Eagles had control over the entire game, plowing their way to a 31-20 victory. With this win, the Eagles are now tied for first in the NFC East with the Dallas Cowboys, who they host for their next game.
