Philadelphia Eagles Face Few Obstacles in Pursuit of NFC East Title

Two weeks into the season, in sole possession of the NFC East lead after Monday night's comeback win over the Indianapolis Colts, the Philadelphia Eagles have a clear path carved out to a NFC East title. 

In addition to being the most complete team in their division in their own right, a series of unfortunate events has befallen the Eagles' divisional opponents. The Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys sit behind them at .500, while the New York Giants have failed to find a rhythm so far in their 0-2 start. 

Set to play their first division game in Week 3 against Washington, Philadelphia is primed to outplay its three rivals in all areas of the game. 

Nick Foles was set up for regression after his 2013 campaign—a 13-game string that saw him throw for 2,891 yards and, most notably, post a 27-to-2 ratio of touchdowns to interceptions, the best in NFL history. 

He's matched his total interceptions from 2013 in two weeks this season, and his completion rate is hovering around 60 percent. 

Still, Foles has done what Tony Romo, Eli Manning and Robert Griffin III (now Kirk Cousins) haven't been able to do—he's orchestrated game-winning touchdown drives to bring his team back from a double-digit deficit in both games to start this season. 

Team	Player	C/ATT	Completion %	TDs	INTs	Rating
New York Giants	Eli Manning	44/72	61.1%	3	4	69.2
Washington Redskins	RGIII *injured	31/40	77.5%	0	0	98.4
Washington Redskins	Kirk Cousins	22/33	66.7%	2	0	109.4
Philadelphia Eagles	Nick Foles	27/45	60.0%	2	1	87.5
Dallas Cowboys	Tony Romo	42/66	63.6%	2	3	75.1

Washington should have been the biggest threat to Philadelphia this season, but an ankle injury Griffin suffered Sunday brought backup Cousins in for the third time in his young career. Cousins played well in relief against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he has proven to be inaccurate over the last two seasons with 10 interceptions total. 

We need to see Cousins start after practicing with the first-team offense for a week and with a gameplan designed specifically for him in order to assess where his level this season will truly be. 

Manning and the New York Giants under offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo's new offense have looked disoriented at best and terrible at worst through their winless start to the season.

By attempting to change Manning's throwing motion this late in his career and having him drop back to pass on his right foot, McAdoo has exacerbated Manning's existing struggles with accuracy. It doesn't help that few of the Giants receivers can seem to gain separation. 

Tony Romo's recovery from his December back surgery may be having more of an impact to his season start than the Cowboys organization expected this offseason. His three-interception performance against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 was made all the worst by the fact that he landed on his back three times, bringing his durability into question yet again.

Though the Cowboys bounced back to rout the Tennessee Titans in Week 2, even owner Jerry Jones remarked after the win that Romo made "a couple of passes that looked like they needed a little more energy," per Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com. Though Romo completed 65 percent of his passes in that game, he missed multiple routine passes to Dez Bryant and Jason Witten. 

That leads us to Foles, who has played 22 games in his career, the fewest of any quarterback in his division save Cousins, and he thus remains a bit of a variable starting off the 2014 season.

What do we know about Foles so far? He has a tendency to miss some open throws, and he holds on to the ball too long. However, he also has demonstrated that he can protect the football, which his two interceptions so far this season haven't disproven...yet.

Foles gets some help from the potent weapons the Eagles have assembled around him. As Football Perspective pointed out, of his 331 passing yards, 233 came through yards after the catch by his receivers, including a whopping 147 from Darren Sproles. 

But Foles' receivers also hurt him Monday night. Riley Cooper had two costly drops against Indianapolis, one of which would have been a sure six points had he been able to hang onto it. 

It's the short passing game where Foles and the Eagles have really found success this season, even though Foles led the league in yards per attempt in 2013, averaging 9.12, and he was remarkably accurate on his deep balls, converting 25 of 55 on passes of 20-plus yards according to SI.com.

That could be because his receivers haven't been up to the task of bringing in those deep balls in the first two weeks of this season, but it's also largely because of the acquisition of Darren Sproles this offseason, who has proven to be a game changer for Chip Kelly's offense.

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Utilizing Sproles on plays such as the screen that he gained 51 yards on, or a 57-yard catch-and-run, gives Kelly a dangerous weapon who defenders have to account for all over the field. 

All in all, Sproles had seven receptions for 152 yards and four rushes for 26 yards and a score, his speed making him impossible for defenders to catch in open space.  

But opponents must also account for LeSean McCoy, and Kelly took advantage of some light boxes to utilize McCoy's speed and vision in sweeps, where his ability to cut upfield extended runs for as much as five or 10 yards. He also used his power to punch the ball in at the 1-yard line for a touchdown in the third quarter that kicked off the Eagles' comeback win.  

The offensive line is a weak link for this Philadelphia team, however, and McCoy could stand to benefit from better blocking.

For those in New Orleans who claim that Sproles is hot and cold, his 49-yard touchdown run in Week 1 compounded with his unbelievable performance Monday are building a case to the contrary. 

As for Philadelphia's defense, though the Eagles need to start off a game without ending up in a double-digit hole in the first half, it's easy to see this unit giving Washington, New York and Dallas trouble. It forced two turnovers on the Colts, which brought the streak of games in which the Eagles have gotten a takeaway to 14, the longest active streak in the NFL.

What's more, the Eagles are currently the best third-down defense in the league according to Bleacher Report's Christopher Hansen. Philadelphia can exploit that when it matches up against the Giants and Redskins, who are converting 36 percent and 34.6 percent of their third downs, per TeamRankings.com. 

It will also come in handy against the Cowboys later in the season, who have the second-highest third-down conversion rate in the league, if Dallas keeps it up. 

Three of the NFC East's teams were winless after Week 1 this season. The Eagles were the only one to come out with a win, and to have a record over .500 heading into Week 3.  The division is led by a group of mediocre quarterbacks and defenses that, based on what we've seen through two weeks, look to have a hard time containing Philadelphia's complex and up-tempo offense. 

From the early vantage point of the conclusion of Week 2, the Eagles look to have a clear path to the NFC East title and the playoffs in 2014.