LeSean McCoy, Darren Sproles Making Up for Problems in Eagles Passing Game

The Philadelphia Eagles managed to make history on Monday night in their eventual 30-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

In mounting a successful comeback against the Colts, "the Eagles became the first team in NFL history to begin a season 2-0 after trailing by 14 points or more in the second half of each game," according to Joseph Santoliquito of CBS Philadelphia. 

This is an incredible accomplishment that should give Philadelphia players a boost of pride. However, the fact that the Eagles were down by that many points late in each game (17-0 against Jacksonville in Week 1 and 20-6 on Monday) indicates a fairly big problem.

The Eagles have obviously struggled to get off to a hot start early this regular season. And a lot of relevant blame has to be placed on quarterback Nick Foles and the Eagles passing game.

Foles was a revelation a season ago, passing for 2,891 yards and 27 touchdowns with just four turnovers in 10 starts. He was named to his first career Pro Bowl appearance as a result.

However, Foles has not been quite as sharp so far this season. After tossing an interception on Monday, Foles has already matched his turnover total from 2013 (two picks, two lost fumbles). Coincidentally (or perhaps not), all of Foles' turnovers have occurred in the first half of games.

Part of the problem appears to be a lack of chemistry between Foles and his receivers. While Philadelphia has earned a reputation for fielding a big-play offense, Eagles wide receivers have only accounted for 245 receiving yards through two games.

Against the Colts, wideouts accounted for just 70 yards of offense.

Yet, the Eagles have never panicked when trailing. This is probably because of the incredible amount of talent that resides in the backfield. 

The Eagles already had one of the league's top running backs in LeSean McCoy when the team traded for former New Orleans Saints back Darren Sproles during the offseason. 

The move to pair the two dynamic runners has paid immediate dividends. The duo has combined for 480 yards of total offense (rushing and receiving) and three touchdowns through Week 2.

	Yds Rush	Yds Rec	Total Yds	TD
McCoy and Sproles	250	230	480	3
Everyone Else	22	423	445	3

That's right, two running back on one team have combined for 480 yards in a pair of games in which their team trailed by two scores in the second half.

For most clubs, this statistic would seem a bit strange. However, it makes perfect sense when you consider the skills possessed by McCoy and Sproles as well as the uptempo offense employed by Eagles head coach Chip Kelly.

Both McCoy and Sproles excel at making plays in the passing game from multiple positions. This means that either back can stay on the field in a variety of formations and situations and still have a tremendous impact on the offense.

Nick Foles told the ESPN crew after the game, "Once they [Sproles and McCoy] have the ball in their hands, they're going to do something outstanding. They're going to make a guy miss, and you saw what both of them can do."

The two combined for 11 receptions and 175 yards receiving against the Colts alone. That's more than half of Foles' aerial production. 

When a quarterback can get that kind of production out of his backfield, he simply doesn't need to worry that much about his wideouts being covered down the field. 

The other part of the equation is Kelly's offense, which is designed to rattle off as many offensive plays as possible at a frenzied pace in order to wear down a defense. The theory is that a tired defense will be less effective in pursuit of the ball-carrier or receiver and will struggle to finish tackles.

This means that explosive chunk plays can come in the passing game—especially on screens—and on the ground. After all, it only takes a missed tackle or two to turn a run-of-the-mill play into a game-changing one.

The ability to create huge mismatches with Sproles and McCoy is what really makes this strategy effective, as trying to tackle or cover either explosive back is a virtually impossible task for a gassed defender late in the game.

It was certainly too much for the Colts, who allowed Philadelphia to score on each of its final two drives on Monday night.

As long as McCoy and Sproles are running on all cylinders, the Eagles are going to be a dangerous team that can overcome practically any deficit.

Now the Eagles just need to find a way to not be behind at halftime for a change.