Eagles vs Rams: Behind the Numbers 2014

So the bad news is that the Philadelphia Eagles almost blew a 27 point lead to the St. Louis Rams. The good news is that they hung on to win 34-28. The game was much closer than it needed to be, but the Eagles offense seemed to shut down towards the end of the 3rd quarter. It's as if they said "we have a 27 point lead, that's good enough. Shut 'er down boys!". Instead of scoring again to ice the game, the Eagles let the Rams score 21 straight points and gave them a chance to win at the end. Let's take a look at the numbers behind the game; I'll try to keep it shorter this week:

*Note: switched avg gain stat. Will be fixed shortly.

Eagles vs 49ers: Behind the Numbers 2014

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Unfortunately it happened sooner as the Philadelphia Eagles lost for the first time this year, falling to the San Francisco 49ers 26-21. Before the game the Eagles were the best second half team, and the 49ers were the worst second half team. So naturally the Eagles went scoreless after halftime, and the 49ers scored 13 points in their come from behind victory. The Eagles defense played fairly well and special teams accounted for all their points. The offense was anemic, as I'm sure the numbers will support:

Eagles vs Redskins: Behind the Numbers 2014

Well, looks like the Eagles finally decided to show up for a full game! Unfortunately no one informed the defense, which was essentially non-existent the entire game. The offense picked up the slack though, as the Philadelphia Eagles beat their divisional rivals Washington Redskins in exciting fashion 37-34. 3-0 for the first time since 2004! It was certainly an exciting offensive shootout (I think both teams are still scoring touchdowns), so let's see how the numbers support what we saw:

Eagles vs Colts: Behind the Numbers 2014

The kick is up and it's GOOOOOOOD! Eagles win 30-27!!!

The kick is up and it's GOOOOOOOD! Eagles win 30-27!!!

See what I did there? I hate icing the kicker; can someone please do a study on how ineffective it is? I had no doubt that Cody Parkey would drill the kick the second time, and he did just that to give the Philadelphia Eagles a dramatic 30-27 comeback win over the Indianapolis Colts as time expired. Once again the Eagles found themselves in a first half hole before storming back in the last 30 minutes. The game was still fairly close throughout with the Colts and Eagles seemingly evenly matched, so let's see if the numbers support that:

Eagles vs Jaguars: Behind the Numbers 2014

**For those new to BTN, be sure to check out previous installments every week by clicking the tag below each post**

Yesterday marked the opening day of the 2014 NFL season for the Philadelphia Eagles, so today marks the return of Behind the Numbers! The game against the Jaguars was certainly a tale of two halves (how many times have you heard that already?) but in the end the Eagles won in a blowout 34-17. Even though they were down 17-0 at the half, the game never really felt out of reach; what will the numbers say?

Eagles vs. Redskins II: Behind the Numbers

When you have 4 wins and 11 losses on the season, chances are you probably won't have a good division record. So far the Eagles are 1-4 in the division, with 2 losses against the Cowboys and after last week, 2 losses against the Redskins. The game managed to be fairly entertaining, and came down to the final anticlimactic play. How close was the 27-20 score? Let's find out:

 



 Yet another game in which the Eagles offense outgained the opposition, but yet another loss. Turnovers were AGAIN an issue, and the Birds third down conversion rate was again sub par. By comparison, the Redskins didn't have as many first downs, but were able to convert half of their third downs and thus sustained drives. Both teams were good with penalites and similar in the rushing attack. The Eagles pass game demolished the Redskins, but in the end an underthrown ball cost the Eagles a chance at OT.

Eagles vs. Buccaneers: Behind the Numbers

Woah, was that a win last week by the Eagles? I had forgotten what that felt like! A beautiful final drive led by Nick Foles allowed the Eagles to come out on top on the last play of the game. Do the numbers support the final score?



Pretty evenly matched teams here, with the Eagles having a slight edge in final score, plays, total yards, average gain, first downs, and 3rd down %. They also fared much better in the penalty department, committing only 2 penalties for 13 yards; the Buccaneers had 8 for 60 yards. Nick Foles definitely had his best offensive game of the year, and that was reflected in the Birds domination over the Bucs in the passing department. On the flip side, the Eagles run game was abysmal against the top ranked rushing defense of the Buccaneers, and I'm sure Bryce Brown had a wake up call. Oh, and of course the Eagles lost the turnover battle!

Eagles vs. Browns: Behind the Numbers

I figured I'd start a new weekly feature on the blog for the Philadelphia Eagles; I'll go behind the numbers and stats from the games each week, and see why the Eagles won and lost, and my analysis.  Let's see how it goes, shall we?

 

Taking a look at some key stats above, we can easily see that the Eagles dominated the Browns in nearly every facet of the game. This unfortunately included penalties and turnovers, however. The Eagles amassed a whopping 12 penalties for a massive 110 penalty yards, which is even more alarming compared to just 3 penalties for 35 yards for the Browns. Both QBs -Michael Vick and Brandon Weedon- threw 4 interceptions; just for good measure, LeSean McCoy tossed in a fumble, too. Based on these stats you'd expect a sloppy game, but also a loss for the Birds. But of course, there's more to the game...