Philadelphia Eagles: 6 Keys for Late-Season Playoff Push
The Philadelphia Eagles beat up on the Tennessee Titans in Sunday’s contest, racking up over 450 total yards in a 43-24 win that improves the Eagles to 8-3. But all eyes are already on the Thanksgiving Day showdown with the division rival Dallas Cowboys, a game that will have immense impact on the NFC East race.
That’s not the only tough matchup for the Eagles though; Philadelphia still has to play Dallas again in December. There are two more divisional games as well, plus a home-field matchup with the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
The Eagles swept the AFC South, but the problem is that Chip Kelly’s team has lost critical tiebreakers to NFC opponents. Philly lost to Arizona, San Francisco and Green Bay, meaning that winning the division is absolutely crucial. The Eagles can’t expect to get a wild-card berth given that scenario.
Kelly has shown a knack for getting the best football from his team in the second half of the season; last year, Philadelphia won seven of eight after starting just 3-5. Let’s hope that carries over to 2014, although this year’s second-half schedule features some difficult games.
Here are a handful of ways the Eagles can win football games, starting with perhaps the most important of the bunch.
1. Limit the Turnovers
1 of 6
Since taking over for Nick Foles, Mark Sanchez is winning football games. He helped the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Houston Texans. He beat the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football. He did lose to the Green Bay Packers (then again, probably every opposing quarterback in the league would have lost that matchup), but he bounced back and beat the Tennessee Titans.
The problem is that Sanchez is turning the ball over at a high frequency, even more so than Foles earlier this year.
Sanchez’s 4.1 interception percentage, per Pro-Football-Reference.com, is nearly a full point higher than what Foles posted (3.2). Sanchez has thrown multiple interceptions in three of his four games, and they’ve been really bad turnovers—like the pick-six to Julius Peppers or the one to Daimion Stafford this past week.
Successful football teams very rarely turn the ball over, unless you’re the St. Louis Rams with Kurt Warner. The Eagles actually rate last in the entire National Football League in turnovers, even worse than the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders or New York Jets.
Look at recent Super Bowl champions.
The 2013 Seattle Seahawks had the fourth-fewest turnovers. The 2012 Baltimore Ravens were second. Even the 2011 New York Giants, with turnover-prone Eli Manning, were just 16th. The Eagles need to eliminate their turnovers or they won’t keep winning football games.
2. Rely on the Running Game
2 of 6
As mentioned, Mark Sanchez’s turnover struggles have continued from New York to Philadelphia. Fortunately, the Eagles do have an elite running game, and relying heavily on this unit is the best bet for continued success down the stretch.
LeSean McCoy’s numbers support the argument that he’s not the same player he was last year, although he has played significantly better over recent weeks, as noted by CSN Philadelphia's Reuben Frank:
"Over the last seven weeks, LeSean McCoy is averaging 95 yards per game and 4.5 yards per carry.
— Reuben Frank (@RoobCSN) November 23, 2014"
The Eagles have a tremendous complement in Darren Sproles, a new addition to the team who has exceeded all expectations. Sproles leads all running backs (minimum 40 carries) with a 6.4 yards-per-carry average, and he’s scored five touchdowns.
Third-year back Chris Polk is the power back; his numbers are down after Sunday’s seven-carry, five-yard performance, but he’s a hard runner who is extremely tough to tackle.
The Eagles have an elite offensive line composed of arguably the most athletic linemen in the league, and they’re going to need more games like the Snow Bowl win they had over Detroit in 2013.
3. Win the Close Games
3 of 6
Good teams win the close games, and the knack of a good quarterback is coming through in those clutch, fourth-quarter scenarios. The Philadelphia Eagles don’t have a franchise quarterback right now, but if Mark Sanchez can play his best football in close, late situations, it will go a long way for the Eagles.
The 2013 Eagles were pretty good in close games. They beat the Dallas Cowboys by two in the season finale, held off the Washington Redskins with a Brandon Boykin interception in the end zone and they also narrowly defeated the Arizona Cardinals when a Nick Foles interception was wiped out by a penalty.
The Eagles went 4-2 in one-score games last year; this year’s team is 3-2. Overall, Chip Kelly has a .636 winning percentage in one-score contests, although he did lose last year's playoff game by just two points.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
4. Pressure the Opposing Quarterback
4 of 6
When you can’t stop the opposing quarterback from throwing for a slew of passing yards, you have to apply constant pressure. At least that’s what the 2014 Philadelphia Eagles need to do.
The secondary doesn’t have a playmaker, and as a result, the Eagles rate near the bottom in most defensive passing statistics. The Eagles are 30th in the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns allowed, and the secondary has been especially poor in recent weeks, according to CSN Philadelphia's Reuben Frank:
"Newton (306 yards), Rodgers (341), Mettenberger (345) - first time in franchise history Eagles have allowed three straight 300-yard passers.
— Reuben Frank (@RoobCSN) November 24, 2014"
Fortunately, the 3-4 scheme under coordinator Billy Davis has been getting frequent pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Connor Barwin is having himself an All-Pro season, and he’s already at 12.5 sacks. Trent Cole and Brandon Graham are fine pass-rushers, and the line is stout with Fletcher Cox and Vinny Curry as 5-technique ends.
There will be some difficult tests, notably the top-notch offensive line of the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles still have to play Dallas twice, and to stop Tony Romo, they will need to sack him multiple times.
5. Stay Healthy
5 of 6
There’s only so much a coach can do to keep his team healthy. Last year, Chip Kelly’s unique conditioning programs seemed to be a major factor in the offensive line starting 80 of 80 games during the regular season.
This year, the Philadelphia Eagles haven’t been so fortunate. Both Evan Mathis and Jason Kelce missed extended time, although each is healthy now. Mychal Kendricks missed his fair share of time, and now inside linebacker partner DeMeco Ryans is out for the season.
Other injuries have included Nick Foles, Allen Barbre and Earl Wolff, with the most important obviously being the broken collarbone suffered by the team's starting quarterback. There are a handful of players the team absolutely cannot afford to lose, especially as the Eagles gear up for the stretch run.
6. Continue the Defensive and Special Teams Scoring
6 of 6
Realistically, the Philadelphia Eagles’ amazing success on both defense and special teams has to end soon. Teams just don’t average one touchdown per game from those units; in fact, the 2014 Eagles are on record pace, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter:
"With Josh Huff's opening kick return for a TD, 9 different Eagles have now scored a return TD, tied for most in single season in NFL history
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 24, 2014 "
Fletcher Cox started it all with a fumble return score in Week 1.
Since then, Malcolm Jenkins and Bradley Fletcher have taken back pick-sixes. Chris Polk and Josh Huff have kick return touchdowns, and Darren Sproles has a pair of punt return touchdowns. Brad Smith and Chris Maragos have blocked punt return touchdowns, and Cedric Thornton has a fumble return touchdown as well.
It’s a huge bonus for the offense when the defense and special teams can help out a team like this. It worked out well for Tom Brady in the 2001 playoffs; it could have the same effect for this year’s Eagles.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
