Honestly, there aren't too many huge discrepancies here. The Eagles only lost the game by 10, but it felt like much more than that based on how poorly they played. Want proof? Fix your eyes on the final two stats: Turnovers and Points Off Turnovers. While the first two games were played fairly clean (2 turnovers) by the Eagles, they more than made up for that against the Chiefs (and are now even in takeaways/giveaways). Michael Vick looked like he forgot how to make good decisions. Simple things like catching a punt and snapping the ball could not be done. In total, the Eagles turned the ball over to the Chiefs 5 times, who scored (luckily only) 13 points as a result. Philadelphia didn't help their cause early on, as 2 of their turnovers put them in a 10-0 hole before 5 minutes were off the 1st quarter game clock. Hmm, seems like those 10 points really helped out Kansas City, considering THEY WON BY 10 POINTS. Without that help, who knows how this game would have ended. Other stats to take note of: the Eagles are obviously better running more plays on offense, but this was the second game where they lost that battle (77-63); when they do run plays, they have an excellent average gain (6.8) and can clearly run the ball (260 yards vs 147); penalties have been pretty good this year; and third down percent was sub par this game (30%).
I'll start with the defense again, but this time for a positive reason. Easily, far and away, the best game they've played thus far. As I hinted at earlier, this game could have been a really ugly loss for the Birds, but the D kept them close. They only gave up one touchdown, and 19 points total. That includes a field goal on a Chiefs drive that started on the Eagles' 8 yard line. Out of 4 real red zone possessions, Philly only allowed 1 touchdown, showing that they could buckle down at times. The pass rush was significantly improved from last week, evident even during the first play of the game. The secondary played OK, only allowing 1 play over 26 yards (still some blown coverage). However, there is still room for improvement, as the defense failed to come up with an important stop after pinning Kansas City at their own 5. Not only did they let the Chiefs take valuable time off the clock in the 4th quarter (8+ minutes) BUT they allowed a field goal to make it a 2 possession game with just over 3 minutes left. Ouch.
Now to the painfully obvious reason the Eagles lost this game: the offense! I don't follow other teams like I do the Eagles, but they have got to be one of if not the only teams in the NFL that continually puts up great offensive numbers but still loses games. Check out last years Behind the Numbers for the full season stats if you don't believe me or need further proof. If you scroll back up to look at the offensive numbers you'll see that the only stat the Chiefs were better in was passing yards, which is expected given the final score. But once again, it doesn't matter how many yards you gain if you fail to score; 16 points won't win too many games (5 games out of 33 were won by a team who scored 16 or less). 5 turnovers clearly doesn't help, especially when they result in 13 points by the other team. Add in another missed field goal by Alex Henery, and poor decisions by Vick and you won't come out with the win. At least LeSean McCoy is a beast, but he is taking a beating. DeSean Jackson was basically a non-factor this game, which helps to explain the lack of points. Out of 13 possessions, only 3 resulted in scores; they were 11 for 23 before Thursday.
Miscellaneous:
-Time of possession was waaaaaaay too lopsided for the second week in a row. Yeah, the offense is fast, but you can't leave your defense on the field for 40 minutes game after game, especially without scoring points.
-Talk about a quick strike team... the longest drive (time-wise) only lasted 3:05!
-If you run the ball for 260 yards, wouldn't you think the score would be lopsided in your favor? Not this time! I feel like they may be running the ball too much, as crazy as that sounds.
-To Chip Kelly: What the hell was up with that 2 point attempt in the first quarter? It made no sense, and didn't work. One more block and it may have, but it still wouldn't have made much of a difference.
-Not too impressed with Alex Henery after these first 3 games.
-Nor am I impressed with Vick after this game. He looked like he did last year, making downright terrible decisions and throwing behind or overthrowing receivers. He must play better, and hit DeSean on the deep ball.
-Jason Avant still has the best hands on the team, but even he can fumble. Go figure.
-Basically, if the Eagles offense executed this would have been an easy win. Like I said last week, the defense needed to play better to keep them in games. They did just that this week, but the offense sputtered.
-I can't see good things happening next Sunday at Denver. Could be a shootout, but the Eagles need help in order to win.
Last week vs. Chargers: L 33-30
Next week at Denver: Sunday, 4:25pm
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