The opening few weeks of the NFL Season have proved to be very bumpy ones for Philadelphia Eagles fans, but with their first win coming against the New York Jets..things seem to be moving in the right direction. But here are some very interesting facts from the opening three games that are definitely going to raise an eyebrow..
5: Sam Bradford has received a lot of criticism in the opening weeks of the season but one of his saving graces have been the poor performances of the Offensive Line. However, quite alarmingly only five Quarterbacks have had better protection when it comes to the pass. Bradford has seen pressure on 25% of his snaps..rendering the Offensive Line arguments largely irrelevant.
4: Prior to DeMarco Murray’s incredible 2014 season, he had never played an entire 16 game season due to injury. That trend continues a season after when the former Cowboys running back missed week three against the Jets due to a hamstring problem.
3: The Eagles most used receiver..is also their least targeted. Yup, rookie Nelson Agholor has been active in 174 total snaps, the most of any receiver on the team..but has only seen 12 targets over three games.
2: Ryan Mathews rushed for over 100 yards against the Jets and it set the record number of rushing yards for the Eagles this season. However, it also meant that it was the first time the Eagles had rushed for over 100 yards in five regular season games. Their last coming from week 13 of 2014 when McCoy ran for 149 against Dallas. It was also Mathews’ first 100 yard game since week 12 of that season.
1: Sam Bradford has only 29% of his throws marked as ones that have been converted for a first down. The only starting quarterback in the league below him currently? Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens. The stat leaves Bradford 35th out of the 41 Quarterbacks to take a snap this season.
BONUS FACT: The Eagles Defense also come under a lot of scrutiny in the opening two games, but the team are ranked eighth in the league when it comes to stopping the rush and are ranked the 11th overall Defense according to ESPN..not that bad considering the amount of field time they have faced!
